The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1900-08-24


wheat for money and buying with
money the sugar
1t is easy to split up a dollar, and
everybody is willing to take dollars
for what he has to sell, because with
them he can buy whatever he wants
in turn, and us much or as little as he
ehooses.
A Measure of Value.
TO be II measure or value, money
must itself possess value, justsaas Il
measure OF length. must itself have
length to measure length, and a meas
ure of weight must have weight to
measure weight. II "a yardstick had
no length. we could not use it to
measure cloth with, and If IL pound
had no weight, we could not weigh
anything with it. In the same way,
if Il dollar had no value, IL million
| dollars would be worth no more than
one. and no one would accept mill
ion of them in payment for his com
modities any more willingly than he
would one.
The Ratio 1 6 to 1.
The dollar which, with its fractions
called cents, is the measure Of value
in this country. consisted at first both
of 9Th grains of pure silver and of
24.75 grains of pure gold. This made
the silver in the silver dollar weigh
fifteen times as much as the gold in
the gold dollar; and hence it is said
that the ratio OF the two metals was
Is to l. Afterwards, in 1884, we re-
duced the weight of gold in the gold
dollar to 1872 grains of pure gold,
or 25.S grains OF gold nine-tenths
fine, leaving the silver dollar at 37l4
grains of pure silver or 4l24 grains Of
silver nine-tenths fine. This changed
the mint ratio of the two metals TO
about Is to |, ut which it has ever
since remained.
The reason for The change was That
at 15to gold was underyalued in com
pa iSpil Will iUS NdlIC III IuiOpC: ~
tina: it was all exported and left lis
only silver dollars for use as money.
but the ratio of Is to / was too much
in favor Of gold, and undervalued
silver Hence. silver became worth
in Europe more than we allowed for
it. and was in turn exported, leaving
us only gold coin.
From 1884 down to 1873. the silver
dollar was worth S1.06 in gold. and
consequently ceased to circulate as
money: so that in 1873 we repealed
the law authorizing its coinage, sup
posing it would never again be want
ed
In 1878, however silver had SO fall
EN- i'm value that the 16 to | ratio over
valued it., and then We recommended
Looming it onfGosernment account and
have continued it, until now we have
coined 5OO,0OO,O00 silver dollars !, of
(which $4,000 .00oarePin aetpafuse and
! she rest are in the Treasury, being
i represented by certificates payable in
silver dollars on demand.
Money may be Made of Various Materials.
Gold and silver are the materials
out Of which are made the money
commonly used in civilized countries;
but they were not always such, nor
are they such everywhere now. In
certain countries of Europe, in
ancient times, cattle constituted the
chief part of peoples wealth, land
values were measured by them, 1t
was SO many head of cattle for so
much clothing. arms or whatever else.
other than cattle, people desire To-
buy or to sell,
In Sparta, iron was he measure;
in Rome: brass at first. and then
silver and gold. In this country
while we were British colonies, we
used tobacco. Indian wampum-
which consisted of beads made from
the rarer kinds of shells and were
valued as ornaments as we now value
diamonds and pearls-and furs.
In Mexico, when the Spaniards first
discovered it, the beans out of which
cocoa and chocolate are made, were
used for money, and in the same
country pieces of soap still serve for
j small change.
In some parts of Asia, tea, pressed
into small bricks. and in Africa, cakes
of salt are more or less the money in
circulation.
The money in China is silver, not
coined. but taken by weight; and that
of India, Mexico, and several South
American Republics is silver coin. In
] all civilized countries, however. gold
has become exclusively the measure
OF value, although silver in restricted
amounts is still in circulation.
Gold the Best Money Material.
| 1t has been shown that whatever is
used as measure Of value must itself
| possess value, because. if it did not
possess value, nobody would give in