The Winslow mail., 1899-11-16
NOT ON A GOLD STANDARD.
Present Status of the Question Re-
Earding Standards in the
United States.

We are constantly being told that
the United States is now under the
gold standard by law. One of the
regular correspondents of the Inter
Ocean, Mr.. Thomas Hitchcock, who
writes over the name of Mathew
Marshall, says in recent letter: The
gold standard is now established by
law and can be overthrown only by
new law, but it's permanence rests on
the public opinion" We understand
that Mr.. Hitchcock is one of the mil
Ionaires of New York and is an able
and interesting correspondent, yet he
is constantly making assertions just as
erroneous as the one just quoted. He
is not an advocate for the destruction
of the paper money issued by the gov
eminent, but wants it redeemable in
gold only.
The standard is an important matter,
so let us examine and stand by the facts
in the case. In 1873 it was enacted by
the United States law that the gold
dollar of 25.S grains of standard gold
''shall be the unit of value" The
quoted words are as the law stands in
an official copy. That law has never
been repealed, but in 1878 we partial
ly remonetized our silver dollar and
made provision for its future coin
age. That law of 1878, in speaking of
our standard silver dollar, says
(which coins together with all silver
dollars heretofore coined by the United
States, of like weight and fneness,
shall be legal tender at their nominal
values, for all debts and dues, public
and private, except where otherwise eX-
pressly stipulated in the contract"
This part of the law of 1878 still stands
unrepealed. Up to June 30, 1899, we
have coined 4SO,657, ,231 silver dollars
under this law of 1878, and we are,
compelled by later enactment to con-
tinue coming them at the rate of $751;
coo, 900 per year. We have all of these
silver dollars at the command of the
government of our people as full legal
tender money, Except where otherwise
expressly stipulated in the contract
AS the full legal tender of the silver
dollar was restored in 1878, tainted,
however, with the exceptional clause
just quoted, yet perfectly regardless
of the gold dollar being named as 'the
unit of value" This law of 1878 vir-
tually annulled this unit of value"
phrase. The legal tender function of
money is the special attribute that
makes a selected commodity money,
after it is coined. We believe in hold
ingfirmly to the doctrine that gold and
silver money, at our existing coinage
ratio of sixteen to one, is wise and
equitable. This position is not antag-
onistic to the wisdom of the govern
ment issuing large amount of paper
money, all redeemable in gold or sill
yer money at the demand of the holder,
but at the option of the government as
to whichever metal may be most con-
venient to the government for it's re-
demption.
Many of us see danger lurking under
the issue of unredeemable paper money
by the government, but we think it
would be very far preferable to the is
sue of paper money under the auspices
y
assets and controlled by their human
selfishness or whims. There is no ne
cessity of adopting either one of these
methods, as the government can safely
and wisely should issue a much larger
amount of paper money than it now
does, made redeemable in gold or sill
yer as long as the government holds
the option as to the kind of metal
it should use for its redemption.
There is fallacy lurking under the
phrase unit of value" or STANDARD of
value" which is very mischievous. This
word fallacy has often been pointed out
in very clear way by some of the most
scholarly and acute financial thinkers.
A standard for measuring either weight
or distance must have from its very
name something precisely fixed as to its
own weight or dimensions. Thus we
have our legal yard. 1t is not the length
of a certain metallic yardstick at all
temperatures, but at one temperature
only, which temperature is precisely
named by statute law. A standard yard
then is not a piece of metal of a certain
distance between two points measured
by piece of metal at given tempera-
! ture. From the very nature of things
| the eXchangeable value of certain
quantity of gold or silver will always be
subject to the rigid economic law of
supply and demand, and their ex-
changeable value will alter in obedi-
ence to this natural law. As these COM
modities are subject to a constant
change in eXchangeable value, strictly
speaking, neither can be a fixed stand
ard Of eXchangeable value. We have no
| quality like temperature that can be ap-
piled to them and make them perma-
nent or fixed as standards of exchange
able value. l most decidedly prefer to
use the phrase "agents of valuation" )"
rather than standards of value as
more precise or scientific.
"Standards of value is convenient
phrase for us to use, like the phrase
currents of electricity" Every cleo
trician speaks of currents of electricity,
vet in the same breath they will tell you
electricity is not thing, like water or
steam, but natural force as mysteri-
Gus as gravity. The eXchangeable value
of money or any other commodity is
always subject to that personal force,
sentiment or desire The individual
settles in his own mind, through this
subtle force, sentiment or desire, what
| ba will ocoaDt or what he will nav in