Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-08-28

medium Of exchange and to be a stand
ard of value in the payment Of debt.
Money fu.hi,s the first function best
when al i,s parts circulate at parity;
when its value IS uniform in all parts
OF the country. when Z can be cOnven-
ently handled in any sum; and when IL
can be used in international trade. Tie
presen. money of the United States,
composed of gold, Of greenbacks and Of
bank notes. silver and silver certificates,
kept q, parity with gold, has all the
qualities of a good medium Of exchange,
and nobody finds fault with il. But as
a standard Of value it shows the grayest
defects: while Z is sound money il
is not honest money.
Al homes, dollar. ike an honest gal
Ion or an honest yard stick is simply a
just standard. A just measure OF value
YOU get in the same way as you get a
just measure Of capacity. It makes no
difference how many pecks there are in
a bushel-three, four or eight II we
had an e.ght-psck bushel prices and
transactions would adjust themselves
20 IL as they do now 10 the four-peck
bushe, The man thing is, that when
y0u have once got a given number Of
pecks in a bushel. that You stick 70
that number. Il is not absolute size,
bu- change. that makes a bushe, unjust
and dishonest Likewise a just meas
ure OF value means a measure that is
constant. be there much or llJt.a value
n il. II must not change from time TO
time OF somebody will be cheated.
But how can You keep your measure
of value constant? a very simple
thin" I hear some people say; keep in
your dollar the same number OF grains
of metal and YOU are sure TO have a
constant measure Of value. II year af-
ter year the dollars are made Of the
same weight of gold or silver the dollar
Will be honest
But is this so? In the tower Of Lon
don is kept a bar of metal known as the
standard yard. and from time to time
copies Of tbs yard are taken 10 be used
in the custom houses and elsewhere.
These copies are ,aken in the presence
Of scientific men % insure accuracy.
Now. suppose some day they find that
somebody has Topped piece on the end
Of This bar. NIGH not some middle
headed person say: True. the bar is
shorter but being still of the same sub
stance and thickness. they can safely
neglec, any loss n length, and can prac-
tcsuy regard the bar as the same
Would not the answer be, that the I'M
por.a1J thing about this bar is just its
length. and not its thickness or the ma
terra, Of which il is made?
Likewise the important thing about
dollar Is not it's weight or substance. You
tell me the dollar has ain the time been
800 grants of fre gold. and my answer is:
Wen. what Of it2 The important thing
about the dollar s It's value. ard this de-
ponds upon it's use. one man wants "a dol
lar 20 melt zap into rings or watch chains,
i'm which case YOU can insure him con-
slant valtc only by keeping the same
quantity OF metal in it. But this is The one
man in ten thousand Everybody else
wants dollar not 20 melt, but 10 pass on
t. g.. 10 buy things with. That being the
case. fl is just ass irrelevant TO point out
that the dollar is year by year of the
same weight and metal as il is 10 point
out that the .andard yard is still of the
same thickness and material. What do
we care for thickness or material so long
as the yard is constant I'm length. or for
weight or material so long as dollar is
constant I'm purchasing power?
As the universal use of dollar is TO buy
things with. constant measure of value
is d. dollar Of constant and uniform pur-
chasing power. This means power to pur-
chase whatever we w3Dt-proviSions. fuel
clothing or labor. II from time TO time
the miller cot .Ver dollars for his flour
the baker fewer dollars for his loaves. the
miner fewer dollars for his coal. etc. we
should saw chat the dollar has gained in
SIS purchasing power. If. ON tie other
hand. man can buy less clothing and
furniture. or fewer shirts and car rides
for mis- dollar ve should conclude that the
dollar has decreased in its general pur-
chasing power.
Just hcrc the question comes up: Does
one article count as much as another
m the dollar fetchcs oue-half as much
wheat as formerly bu; buys twice as
much indigo. shall we say that THESE two
balance each other. and that the dollar
is the same in purchasing power? No.
because people spend more money for
wheat than for indigo and hence they are
not compensated for the deorness of wheat
by getting twice MS much indigo. Il is.
therefore. au honest dollar that stays con-
slant I'm It's pow.r to purchase for the av-
erage maa. NJ the average man receives
a yearly income o. say. $500 and that keeps
him in tee Same condition Of comfort from
year TO year. you have what 1 call an
honest dollar.
Nobody ever quotes purchasing power,
bvt we know an about prices. What. now,
is the relation of purchasing power to
priece
Purchasing power and price are the
same thing. seen from different sides. In
conparinc "a boy to man. in respect to
weight. we can say that the man weighs
three times as much as the boy. or that
the boy weighs ore-third as much as the
man. I'm cir .r case We have q ratio which
is Che saue-namely. 3 10 l. Now. pur-
chasing power means the power of the dol
lar over goods. price means the power OF
the Goods over the dollar. We can say
that the price of a hat is 81. or that the
purchasing power of the dollar is one-third
of the hat I'm both eases we are simply
expressing the exchange ratio Of dollars
TO hats-namcly. tc L. It is clear. then.
that as purchasing power goes down price
goes up. or as price goes down purchas-
ing power goes up. II purchasing power
is constant. So are prices. Therefore to
obtain honest dollars YOU must have u
uniform level Of prices
Risht here comes the fallacy that meets
ms yvc~ywtcrc. Scores Of times You hear
t Saia: I'VE must have the best dollar.
the dollar that viii buy the most Moth