The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-04-15
TUESDAY. APRIL Is. 1913.
THE FREE COINAGE OF GOLD.

MINNEAPOLIS Journal: The great eco
nomic problem Of the world today is
how to prevent the fu%ctuation Of price
,exels-or, stated in another way. how
to bring about a stable relation be-
tween none and prices. 1t is an in
ternational problem. to be solved only
by concerted action. In this day of
rapid interchanges between nations, 1t
in evident that no single country a
10 act as to bring about stability OF
price levels within its OWL borders
while there are violent fluctuations
among its reishbore.
Economists are coming to believe
that Simon Newcomb. the great Amer
team economist whose achievements
ars but now tardily being recognized,
propounded the sound theory Of the
relation Of money to prices in his
, Principles Of Political Economy. pub
| list.sd IN 1885. The essence OF his the
DRY II that two elemnts enter into
! Axstion Of price levels-the quantity
tof money In the world. and the speed
nth which 1t circulstes.
when money changes hands fast. az
Iit does In hush times. prices tend to
{stse. When money 10 sluggish and
moves soviy. prices tend to fall. The
function Of money has. therefore, been
taptly Nkened to that Of a freight train.
Two elements enter into the efficiency
lof = freight train-the capacity of its
tcars and the speed with which it
moves Similarly money performs it's
function Of exchange according to its
'qusntity ana its speed.
Obviously. the speed with which
money changes hands. being depend
ent on numerous natural and artificial
factors. cannot be regulated by Law.
But governments can control the
amount Of money. and that in precisely
the means by which 1t is now propos-
ed to regulate price levels and to COM
bat the evils Of the high cost Of living.
A writer in Golfers describes the SIM
pie. yet ingenious device proposed by
Professor irving Fisher Of Yale. This
calls for an international agreement
between. say. the United States. Eng
land. France aud Germany. to restrict
the. free coinage Of gold. 1t il we'll
known that the production Of gold haA
increased 70 enormously in the last de-
cade that the worlds stock Is now es-
timated a even billion dollars. or dou-
bic what It was sixteen years ago..
Professor Fisher proposes to put a
variable tax on the coinage Of gold.
If the average price Of q hundred ar
tieles OF commerce rises fve per cent,
Professor Fisher would have the mtnts
Of the world demand i've per cent
orr Of gold from the miners before
giving them q certificate for a dollar,
or . sovereign. or a franc, or a. mark.
But these coins would not be changed
IN the least Is to quantity Of gold con-
tanned. In other words. the higher
prices went, the larger a tax or seig-
norsse. would governments charge for
minttng. In this way a correlation
would be Get mp between the demands
Of t1ada and the amount Of money in
circulation. that would tend to main
tain prices on q fairly constant level.
Congress- IVES asked by Mr.. Taft to
organise IN international commission
On. the cost Of living. ana the bill is
still pending. II such . commission Is
authorized. its chief purpose will be to
subject the Fisher plan to exhaustive
examination. A more important ques-
ton can &cArcelv he tina