El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-10-25
VARY WEIGHT OF DOLLAR AND MAKE
PRICES STABLE. is A SUGGESTION

PRICES STABLE,
TIE cost Of living problem with which eager minds
tie world over graphing in an effort to find a
solusn which shan restore the people greater degree
Of comfort and aay the unrest noticeable in nearly every
country
H prices are declared BY some to be due to too few
goods The world resulting in competition OF country
against country and individual against individual for pos
session Of what goods be had with corresponding
advances Of prices By others high prices ascbed to
money imitation with lowered purchasing power and
BY san others combination Of circumstances cntering
around labor shortage and consequent bidding up Of wages
and shortening Of which BY adding greatly the
cast Of production reacts directly the prices consumers
Irving Fisher, professor Of political economy IN Yale
university, says prices wont come down because they
have been inzted BY increased money and bank deposits
and these caused BY finance soon, ever be
retired without distress and nearbanuptcy to the gov
enmsuts and hanks that issued them he says that cut
side Of Russia the money Of western civilization has IN
creased from sf5o00O00Oo0 TO $4,000 100000 and the
deposits IN banks from s27oo0oooo00 to $4,000 100000
he says this TRIPPING Of purchasing medium without any
ncesse Of Things 30 purchase has tripeo me world
prices He says the world not growing poorer but that
the dollar Is growing smaller 10 purchasing power, and
sThs public always overlooEs the fundamental
hidden cause which always controls the price
lsFel-ths quantity Of money and circulating
credit substitutes for money! and fix their eyes
little details which they magnify many fold
Pr5fiteering, trusts labor unions, strikes,
kating By telephone, extrayagances drouth and al
the 20 other explanations which have been OF
fersd have about much influence on the H. c.
L Is 8 rainstom has the height Of Pixies
Peak We must realize that what seems
10 Be q simultaneous rise and fan Of hundreds OF
eoEmodities Is really rise and fall Of the dollar
81 reference TO which we view these eommodities-'
Tais IS predatory to lr Fishers main argument which
s that the purchasing price Of commodities should be sta
bzed b varying the value Of the dollar, the result being
his wage and that that S. VIII always have the same
purchasing power but that the actual value Of the dollar
in ne gold wn be made greater or less to correspond
With eommodities which the dollar is to purchase.
Beginning this argument Mr.. Fisher says:
A dollar is 258 grains of standard god-that
Of gold nine-tenths fine and, since an ounce
IS $50 grains, the number Of dollars IN an ounce
IS $50 divided BY 25.8, OF 1850. In other words,
any 100-ounca lump Of standard gold taken BY
god miner 70 the mint be cut up and coined
INTO I $50 dollars and handed back to him Nat
uraIy he gets $3.50 ounce, and this price
never vary 50 long IS the weight Of the dollar
mus 100 ounces Of gold win always be worth
1880 dollars Of gold long 1850 dollars
tain 100 ounces Of gold; Just as q quart Of milk
VIII always be worth two pints Of milk long
rs two pints make q quart Gold is stable in
terms Of itself and II terms Of itself only. FIX
ing the dollar at 25S grains Of gold fixes the price
Of gold at $3.50 q ounce But, Of course, this
fzity Of dollar weight, Of gold pricsNin terms
Of gold does not fix its price or value in terms Of
ofher conmoditias
Re goes On to say that Mexican gold dollar weighs
about half much and has less purchasing power
Nov, Mexico SHOULD adopt the same dollar that We have
and that Canada has its purchasing power would rise; that
IS the prise level Mexico would fall The heavier
lighter ts gold dollar, the mere less win be its Pur
It follows SAYS Mr. Fisher, that If We add new grains
Of geld the dollar Just fast enough compensate for
loss Of purchasing power in each grain OF vice versa take
away gold to compensate foT gain, snail have afuly
compensatory dollar stationary instead Of fuctuatng
dollar when judged by Its purchasing power he adds
nat zhe alteration Of the purchasing power Of gold dol
IS MOI at all impossible feat that It has been
oompshed twice. 1884 when the weight Of the gold
dollar reduced percent and again in 1887 when
increased oHstenth Of percent, and says that
Z il can Be changed once twice century Il be
changed once OF twice month
This can be accomplishing nors easily, # Mr. Fishers
hypothesis is worth anything because Of the fact that
gold ciruates almost entirely through the medium
Of 4yeIoWback gold certificates. The geld itself not
often TIE form Of coins but Of bar gold lies in the gov
eminent vaults The gold certificates have 70 Be backed
dollar f0r dollar, By corresponding weight Of gold n
the government vaults. 10 increase tie valus Of the
paper dollar therefore, is only necessary to increase the
weight Of gold to redeem that dollar.
10 show how his plan would work cut, Mr. Fisher
ssys:
II, Tor Instances, the index number repre-
seating the current price Of composite basket Of
goods IS found to Be per cent above the ideal
par-that Is shove the dollar price it had at
first-zis fact VIII indicate that the purchasing
power Of The dollar has gone downs and this fact
WI Be tie signal and authorization for IN