The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-03-01
FREE SILVER FUSION and CONFUSION

I N Mr. Townes silver and fusion speech he says
that we have words in the language, from the
ancients showing the different things that have
been used for money. Thus pecunia is from pecus,
herd of cattle showing that cattle were formerly useo
as money and a standard of value. In the Hebrew
tongue shekel lamb, showing that lambs ana
sheep were money and standard OF value among the
Hebrews before the name was given to CON- All
this is true and being true, one is astonshed that
Mr. Towne does not apply the truth IN MS argument
To be consistent he should arraign the anciens tor
demonetizing, in turn cattle and sheep. lhey were
money once and measure OF value. But the COW
gave way to the sheep. In that day the sheepDug
overcame the free-conage- party, and
were disused as money did prices fall? Was there
steady advance in the value of sheep and deprecia-
ton of the products of human industry by reason of
the sheep standard, which the people refused to en-
dure? Was there pursuit by hue and cry of the
authors of the demonetizing crime OF the year
Did the anciens finally return to the COW standard
did they adopt the b-animal standard, at ratio Of
10 lambs to I COW? AS matter of fact they did
neither They learned the loss in exchange that is in
a fuctuating standard Of value. They needed a
standard at all only as they emerged from the age
in which commerce consisted in direct barter of the
articles exchanged. Naturally they chose print
tive medium of exchange the article they had found
in barter have the stable value. AS they were
near to the nomadic period cattle had been found
suitable for the purpose. But good years and plenty
of forage inflated the currency Its value fuc-
tuated 1t was no longer a stable standard. Sheep,
by reason of their fleece which could be the
pet by garment or could be drawn into a
thread and woven into fabrics, had uses superior to
cattle, which made their value more stable and then
the COW was demonetized because human experience
Z l.
story of primitive conditions and progress COM
merce grew and the need of common of
value increased is the story of every advance the
same line, to the present time. Men have gone by
natural selection from standard OF value to an
other When they reached the use of gold and silver
and pecus and shekel translated into coin terms,
the metals were subject to the laws that affect
ed the primitive standards which preceded them The
ancients had witnessed the effect OF these natural laws
but were ignorant of the cause
Before the Middle Ages over these laws were
discovered Mr.. Towne has not heard OF them yet,
il one is to judge his knowledge by his speech. The
law which governs the selection and circulation OF
money is that when two kinds of money OF equal
function and privilege but OF unequal intrinsic value
are put in circulation the of less value will drive
the other out.
1t is for this reason that in every country in the
world where gold and silver have free coinage and
full legal tender function gold driven out and silver
remains the deprecated legal standard OF value.
Mr. Towne IS fighting against this natural law. He
processes to advocate bnetaisn, at ratio of rs to
I, when the actual ratio is 81 to I and huctuates
silver goes up and down If his party prevail, there
will be no bimetallsm We will have silver
nletallism and the single silver standard legal
measure of value Then will appear the consequences
which followed the greenback issue Men will exact
in prices enough silver to make the gold vaue OF
what they SELL and the apparent rise in price will be
the actual fall in the purchasing power OF legal
money.
In effect then Mr.. Towne is crying IN the political
wilderness for return to the standard of value
and his attitude is against every advance in the stan
dard which natural law has caused.