The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-02-26

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money which is not redecma BILE. - Fiat
money means money that is held by
the fat of the government at a value
in excess of its real or intrinsic value.
The fat contained in tho legal dollar
of 25.S grains would be the difference
between the gold which it contained
and the gold which the gold miner
would have TO pay TO the mint to get it,
When Professor Fisher says further
that although the gold producer gets a
smaller price for his product "be gets
that price paid in heavier dollar. - it
is impossible to ser the logic. He pays
n heavier price in gold for the dollar
and gets, iu fact, a dollar which is
| lighter in gold than the gold which be
pays: and getting bis pay In gold Ger.
| tificates wouldu ( mend the matter a
bit.
With regard to the statement of
Messrs, Felix Scbustcr and Edward
Holton that gold is, iu fact scarce in
place Of suporabupdant. an opinion
which is concurrcd in bv Mr.. Charles
y. Conant. the greatest authority We
have on finance aud economics in the
United States. ii is impossible to give
much weight TO Professor Fisher as
against the practical judgment and cX-
pericnce Of those great tinancicrs And
when Professor Fisher says that the
apparent scarcity Of gold for bank re-
serves is, in fact, symptom OF the
abundance Of gold, the contradiction in
terms is evident.
Professor Fisher docs not believe that
the increase of population has been
greater than the production of food:
and yet. the constant reports of the L.
5, Department of Agriculture show that
this is the case. We produce OH the aver
age no more wheat than we did ten
years ago. and vet our population has
increased upwards Of 100000 We
produce no more of general food
products thsn we did ten years ago,
the ten year average, as reported by
the Agricultural Department. being
fairly constant. The latest report OF
that department covering the matter
of farm animals, shows that the num-
Der of beef cattle was a million and
figures arc easily accessible 10 every
ono. and il is very singular indeed that
Professor Fisher declares his disbelief
of them. If il is his idea that be will
refuse to believe anything except
what fits in with his theories, then his
position is comprehensive though indie
fensible; otherwise il is cXplainable
only on the idea that he considers
academic theories better than estab
lisbed facts.
With regard to the basic idea that
the ovcrproductiou of gold is re-
sponsible for the increased cost of liy-
ing, it is quite true. as Professor Fisher
SAYS, that some economists agree with
him, but the weight of opiuion is de-
cidedly contrary, and the fact that
the markets has far more to do with
the cost OF living than any other con
trolIable factor that enters into the
problem.
With regard 10 the price of silver
with gold we ipstanccd that
because of the fact that silver has
the ages been counted a
royal metal, the same as gold, and be
lieve if there had been any real
depreciation in the purchasing power
Of gold, silver would have been the first
TO be affected by it. 1t is quite true,
ss Professor Fisher says. that it is
idle to base any theory, either af-
irmativc or negative, upon the huctua
tions of single commodity; but silver
is a commodity on somewhat differ
,nt footing from other commodities;
and when we bring forward the case
Of silver and find that our views as to
that square precisely with the views
Of the great fuapclers. Schuster, Hol'
ton, and Couaut, and that there is in
fact no ovorplus of gold, but on the
contrary, a scarcity of it and feverish
,agerncss to get each new consign-
nent Of it, the world 3 great business
aud demand for credits having out
grown even the great production of
-old, we are quite content to rest our
,ase as we have presented it,
THE MERCHANTS LICENSE.