Willmar tribune., 1900-05-30
A MONETARY STANDARD.

"A mVNGxA AK 0xANUANOs
Defined by l.. E. Observation-Disclosures
Coinage Would Raise Prices Of
Products and Labor,
In reading the speeches of different
ones, on the financial question, they
seem to ignore the real facts, says
L. E. Hurlbut, of Fort Dodge, la. Also,
all speakers I have heard-they take
the ground that the value of money
is what it will pay in foreign coun-
tries. etc, referring to the standard
of value as gold and silver standard,
intrinsic value, ratio, parity, honest
money. sound money, money of great
est purchasing power, etc.
First. AS to the standard of value
there is not country on the face of
the earth that has either the gold or
silver standard. If SO, please give the
value of any article in gold, by tell
ms us how many COLDS, or parts of
gold, an article or thing is worth, or,
If they prefer, state how many sill
vers, or parts of silver, the price of
the article is and in which country.
I find the meaning of standard
is measure, and must therefore be
definite in quantity, either weight,
capacity, length, breadth or thick
ness, etc.
In measuring values we use the
dollar as the standard, i'm England
the pound, in France the franc, Ger
many she mark, etc. With us the
dollar was defined by act of congress
April 2, 1892. as being 37A grains of
pure silver. They did not define what
that dollar should exchange for, or
the value of it, nor is there such
law to this time, except the law of
supply and demand. The gold coin
was named eagle, to contain PAT
grains of pure gold, by act of con-
gress, April 2. 1792. By act of con-
gress June 2s, 1884, it was reduced to
232 grains of pure gold. The act
of 1902 defined the eagle to be of the
value of ten dollars, or units. The
eagle, it's multiple and divisions are
the only things that the law has de-
fined as to what their values should
be in comparison with the dollar, not
limiting the amount. The law defn-
ing the English pound, or sovereign,
says that three pounds, II shillings,
1Oh pence, shall be made of each
ounce of standard fineness of gold.
The English standard is II parts pure
gold one part alloy. In this law.
adopted ir 1914, it was made obliga-
tory for the Bank of England to pur-
chase all gold presented at it's counter
au the rate OF r. shillings, nine pence,
English standard. thereby establish
ing the value of an ounce of gold as
to their unit or standard of money
OF account the same as was done in
this country between the standard
dollar and eagle, while France adopt
ed the franc, as the standard of value,
as containing 69.445 grains of pure
silver. but the smallest full 1egal-ten-
der piece coined was a fve-franc
piece, to contain 347.228 grains of pure
silver, the gold coins to be five, ten,
10, so and 100 francs, each to contain
a proportionate amount of standard
gold, which is the same as ours (nine
parts pure and one part alloy); and
here again we find that there is no
law as to the value of coins, only that
these gold coins shall be equal in
the payments of all debts, public and
private, as the fve-franc silver piece,
and that all accounts are kept in the
0,1v>fS oF l.,
multiples and divisions, the same as
dollars in this country, and the pound
in England.
Let us examine these moneys as
they are in comparison with ours in
this country. | will first take ours.
Taking the law of this country (sec-
tion 1854 Revised Statutes of the
United States) is as follows: "The value
OF foreign coin as expressed in. the
money of account of the United States
shall be that of the pure metal of such
coin of standard value" (that is coin
that is of full weight of the country
where ctined.)
If we have to take the pure metal
of foreign coins to get at the value.
we must take the weight of pure
metal IN our coins.
Section 3511 says: ''The standard
weight of the gold eagle or ten-dollar
piece shall be 25s grains.'
Section 1914 says: "The standard for
both gold and silver coins of the
United States shall be such that of
1000 parts by weight, 900 shall be
pure metal and 100 of alloy"
Then one-tenth Of the eagle is alloy,
that is, of the 25s grains 25.S grains
are alloy, deducting this, and we then
have 1922 grains of pure metal in
the eagle. There being 4s0 grains in
the troy ounce, we find the ounce O.
pure metal (gold) will make $50 d.
vided by 1922 the number of grains
in one eagle we find from the ounce of
gold we can make 2.067 eagles as the
eagle is of the value of ten dollars.
the ounce of gold made into coins
will be of the same value as $20.67.
The silver dollar is defined in Sec
ton 1 of act of February 20, 1878,
which reads as follows: '"That there
shall be coined at the several mints Of
the United States silver dollars of the
weight of 4121s grains troy of stand
ard SILVER as provided in act of Jan
uary 1s, 1887"
By the law, then, this silver dollar
contains -one-tenth alloy, one tenth of
412A is Az, this deducted leaves us
then 371A grains of pure silver in the
dollar. We will divide 4So, the num-
ber Of grains in a troy ounce, by 371A,
the number of grains of pure silver
contained in the dollar, and find it to
be 1.292929, therefore, an ounce OF