Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-05-26
THE NORMAL DOLLAR.
A MULTIPLE STANDARD DOLLAR
WOULD BE NORMAL.
The Btandard Dollar Should he Based on
All the Leading Products and Not on
Gold Alone or Gold and silver Toge
or. 1t Would Then he Normal.

1t Would Then he Normal.
During the last campaign we advo-
eated, as being in the interest of the
masses OF the people, and hence of
physicians, the unlimited coinage of
silver and gold in the legal and historic
ratio OF 16 10 /. i have nothing to re.
tract that have said or written upon
this subject; but at the same time,
have always claimed that the silver is
sue is only small part of our financial
problem. With many the financial
problem is matter of standard of
value, and they sincerely believe gold
70 be the best possible standard, and
that double standard would be awk-
ward, illogical and well nigh impossi-
bic. Let us consider for a moment the
question of standard of value. The
English law says that pound sterling
shall consist of 1o3."7i grains of gold
Hip fine, and it makes this pound it's
monetary unit, its standard of value.
and gives it the power of absorbing all
other kinds of property, and requires
taxes and all kinds of obligations TO be
paid in these pounds sterling Other
leading countries show the same favor
to this product, and our country at
present coins all the gold presented in
to dollars of 25 $40 grains, 9-1O fine,
and this dollar is the only dollar that
10 legal tender for all purposes under
our present laws. 1t is not strange
that the increasing and exclusive favor
given TO this one product gold during
recent years has increased the demand
for it, and hence increased the value of
IL. Conversely, the decentralization of
silver has decreased the demand for
silver and hence decreased it's relative
value But while the legislative and
administrative favors to gold have in
creased its value, the relative value of
all other products as measured in gold
has decreased. The question is, is it
fair, Is it just, is it prudent, to give all
the legislative favors to one product
and hence debase all other products?
III gold were not thus favored, it would
fall in value as much or more than sill
yer has fallen. If silver had not been
sacrificed, it would have maintained it's
value along with gold. When we have
the privilege of paying in either of two
substances, we naturally choose that
substance that is easiest to get. That
oh -
mand for that particular substance
that it's value is incI eas sed, and the de
creased demand for she other substance
decreases it's value: i,ence the value of
the two substances approximate and
are maintained subs slantially the same
This was true of silNlr and gold until
the decentralization acts in the early
'70'S The tremendous and ruinous
fall OF prices under the exclusive gold
standard shows that nhis standard is
unstable and unrelia BILE. The ideal
standard is one under which prices will
remain stable. The fall of prices of
products in general indicates a raise of
price of the standard of value-at pres
ent gold. This is a fatal objection to
any standard. Under a double stand
ard, silver and gold, IL one should rise
in comparison to the value of products
in general, the burden of exchange
will be transferred to the one that does
not rise. The increased use of this one
will tend to raise it's value, and the de-
creased use of the other one will tend
TO decrease its relative value until they
approximate again. Hence, an equili-
brium is automatically maintained.
IL two standards are better than one
then many standards would be better
than two; for both silver aud gold
might rise in value as measured il other
products. Thus the same objection
might obtain to the silver and gold
standard that at present obtains to the
gold standard. All values are relative.
There is no justice in measuring values
OF all products either in gold or in gold
and silver combined. AS all values are
relative, every product ought to play
its part in establishing a standard.
For example, a gold miner should not
have the privilege of fixing the value
of all other products by his product;
nor should n gold and silver miner
combined have this privilege. The
farmer and coal miner have as much
right to establish the value of the pro-
duct of the gold and silver miner as
the gold and silver miner has to estab-
sish the value of the products of the
farmer and coal miner. This is so axi-
omatic and so just that no one, except
those blinded by prejudice or personal
interest, can take exception to it. The
ideal, just standard would be to calcu-
late the standard of the dollar accord
ing to the quantity and relative values
of each and every product This, how
ever, would be an impossible problem,
rs many kinds of products are unim-
portant. But Justice would be salts
fed by taking. say fifty or one hund-
red of the leading products of the coun-
try and establis q value in harmony
with the general average among all
these This is what is called the muI-
tiple standard. II is directly opposite
TO the single standard, whether that
singlc standard be of gold or any other
single substance. A double standard,