The Washington herald., 1910-08-13
AS TO STANDARDS OF VALUE.
Much Confusion of Thought Concern
ing the Same.


ing the Same.
Query IS made why. in view Of the fact
that most political economists are saying
that gold has become an unstable stand
ard Of value. radium should not be
chosen" TO oil its place as a standard,
says the New Bedford Standard OF this
substance affirmation is made that there
IS not much of it in sight. It is difficult
20 segregate. and Il is very valuable"
Probably the suggestion $ intended as
morer or less OF joke, but in some re-
spects It illustrates the confusion Of
thought existing in many quarters con-
corning money and standard value. We
have seen this confusion in the country
within recent years. when thousands OF
people. including not few eminent men,
concluded that all that was necessary TO
make silver an ultimate standard Of value
was for this nation 20 decree that the
metal was a standard Of value. But stand
ards Of value are determined by no such
process. One government alone. nor a
half dozen governments. can do more
than TO give official sanction 10 a stand
ard which has foeeu concurred in by those
interests and activities which may be
broadly grouped under the classification
Of business" when a government under
takes 20 go farther than this-as some
governments have undertaken-it is GER
tain. sooner or later. TO make trouble for
itself and for its people. Standards Of
value are not deliberately selected by a
committee which addresses itself to the
task OF weighing the merits Of candidates.
They are developed out Of the require
ments and necessities Of trade with the
materials which are most conveniently
at hand, and all governments can do is
10 give them formal and defnate express
sion. This is the way in which gold mas
come 10 be a standard Of value. and which
Is likely TO continue It as a standard of
value for many years 20 come. in spite Of
its conceded drawbacks and inefnCiencies.
At this moment, whatever may be said ih
dispraise or criticism Of gold. it is unmis-
taxable that no other substance has the
/ possibility Of acceptance by the great
! trade influences Of the world as q stand
ard of values. and as an1instrument for
adjusting international balances-a pro-
/ cess which is at the bottom Of tie whole
business. The world has been a long time
evolving the international trade relations
which have made the gold standard i'm
perative and the prospect is that the
world Will be a long time in coming 70
any new basis. especially If that new
basis involves many radical changes.
Some OF the speculative political econo-
mists have devised systems-all theoreti-
cal as yet-of dispensing entirely with
gold as a standard OF value and even for
use as money. We would not like to say
that the world may not yet reach a point
where one Of these systems viii be en-
ployed. In his Looking Backward" Ed
ward BeTamy describes his idea of the
socialistic device which answered all the
purposes for which money was needed in
| the socialist community of his dreams
Perhaps he was looking forward far
/ enough 10 see what is some day coming
TO the world. Nevertheless. the discus
sion now going on about a new standard
Of values in view Of the belated discovery
by some persons that gold is not as stable
as they had fancied is rather pointless
IN its application TO the immediate pres
ent. Gold is assuredly imperfect; but
nobody has any alternative which is per
feet.