The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-11-27
The Gold Problem characterization of Sill
yer Most Promising Solution


High prices for other metals and
other commodities only mean decreas-
ed earnings or downright disaster to
the gold miner, for they increase the
cost of his supplies and labor, where
as the price of his product is fixed.
More accurately speaking, his product
cor~respondingly decreases in price.
The price of potatoes or wheat or iron
is expressed in terms of gold, the
standard measure of value. A quota
ton OF potatoes at 81 a bushel means
tenth of an ounce of gold; when pota-
toes are 81 a bushel a bushel will buy
only on~e-twentieth of In ounce. Con-
versely. the price of gold may not be
determined by the arbitrary and fixed
quotation Of $20.67, which means moth
ing-saying in effect that an ounce of
gold is worth 20 times e-twentieth
of an ounce of gold, but by it's pur-
chasing power of some other standard
commodity,
At present, then, an ounce of gold
will buy 10 bushels of potatoes though
a few years ago it would buy 20 bush
els. Therefore, gold Is worth roughly
only half what it was previously. The
price of gold may be determined more
closely if we find it's average %purchas-
ing power of various commodities,
weighted according to the relative
quantities ordinarily required by an
Individual.
Gold is not a symbol but a commod-
ity; the idea that 1t Is a substance Of
intrinsic value, worth what 1t Is ex-
changed for, is a sound one, as every
gold miner knows. Real machinery,
supplies, and labor are necessary for
its production and, once produced, it
Ia an object of utility and real value
ii not comparable in point of neces-
sity with wheat and potatoes, certain
ly to silver, nickel, lace, paintings, and
Venetian glassware, all of which have
a well understood, real exchange
value In return for other commodities,
"'N'hN Ppih, dtiit VI iutilDtT,
Therefore the logic and stability of
its immemorial use as a standard com
modify for exchange purposes.
To go back, then: Wheat at 81 az
bushel means that a bushel of wheat
will buy a tenth of an ounce of gold.
Ii 1t does not mean that, it means
nothing. But will it? Try and see,
friend miner, farmer, or seller of your
W labor. Bring to market your APP
pies and your potatoes or your copper
and lead, and ask for the correspond
ing gold, You will not get it. You
viii get paper instead; and you can
not exchange this paper for dollars
20 to an ounce. Some of the paper
carries the government promise so to
be exchanged on demand; more of the
paper contains no such pledge. II
your dollars, then, are not gold doll
lars, what are they? Nothing. We
are on a gold standard; the dollars are
gold or nothing. Have they, then, no
value? They have indeed. They are
the | o US of a strong and prosper
Gus government-temporarily bank
rupt, having out far more paper
promises than it can redeem. They are
worth the amount they stand for, less
n substantial discount due to the fact
that they are only promises, This dis
count varies with the prospect men
see of having the commodity, gold,
Ialiyaral 10 thn,. 10 81 - ut
more | O Us there are in circulation,
and the more they become dispropor-
Tomato to the governments present
ability to deliver the gold, the great
er the discount-the less the barter
value of these paper promises.
The United States is not he only
nation on a gold basis. England,
France, Germany, Russia, and many
other countries have the same system, :
and all have reserves of gold on which
they found their paper currency. They 4,
promise to pay five, so, 500 gold dol +,
lars to one dollar which they actually ,
have to pay with, and the trading +
of this paper varies accord :
lngly. We hear much Of prices in Eu- .
rope. which tell us nothing. Bread is =,
sS6 a loaf in Petrograd; clothes are >
1000 a suit in Constantinople. 1t f,
simply means that the people of Rus ~
STA n Turkey have not that faith In /,
heir governments promises that we =
ave. But our own faith is not 100
per cent, 1t would only be that il we j,
get the gold at once. Do YOU 2
lot think that an ounce and a half of =
sold would buy more than a loaf of =
in P~etrograd? Doubtless il G
buy hundreds of loaves and !,
it would buy so suits of \
lothes in Co~nstantinople. If our own +,
'aper money were withdrawn, and all u
valuable gold was put into circula-
ION, do you suppose you could buy an
'unce with 10 bushels of potatoes? BY :
70 means. Gold is comparatively
than recently. There is less of
and there are more potatoes than :,
crmerly. and according to natural :
aws OF supply and demand, it might :,
cst you 40 bushels to buy an ounce -
the metal. The fact that gold is not =
in hint lie baardod ~, A. ~