Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-11-13
CLUB DISCUSSES
VALUE OF DOLLAR

Gold is the basis for monetary
value and the NOR money there is in the
world the less it will purchase. The
question of supply and demand has
little to do with the amount gold will
purchase, it was held at the regular
meeting of the Fortnightly Literary
club at the home of Mr.. and Mrs. r.
B. GTiggs on Friday evening.
''The Present Value of Dollar"
(what dollar will purchase at the
present time) was the subject of a
paper by the host. Mr.. Griggs gave a
definition of money as found in the
dictionaries andheld that the Tedemp@
ton Of paper by gold, as usually
practiced in the financial world, is
relic of the dark ages. He told of
the fluctuations of money during the
Civil war and said that there was not
enough gold i'll the world at the
present time to equal obligations to
the extent of one cent on the dollar
then what is the value of the dollar?
The speaker told of the quest of Pro
fessor Fisher for the ideal dollar and
how an effort is being made to place
it on a dozen or more staple commodi-
ties instead of on yellow metal. The
money of the world represents an in
verted pyramid, little gold at the
bottom and much paper, bank drafts,
and other mediums of exchange at the
top He declared gold kept in storage
was to satisfy our superstition-we
knew it was there but it did not rep
resent the wealth held against it.
Prices were affected by the amount
of the circulating medium.
Must Know Evolution of Money
In the discussion A. S. Kingsford
stated that we must know all history
must know the evolution of money
lin order to understand its value to
commodities.
/ The medium of exchange was
once iron, now it is gold.
2. Since the standard of value is
gold at the present time, when the
price of the metal goes up other
things go down, and when gold goes
down commodities go up.
8. The standard of deferred pay
ments. A man who contracted debt
four or five years ago is now able to
pay with inflated currency much to
his advantage but to the sorrow of
the one he owes.
The United States has received
more gold in the past fifteen years
than the world had acquired in all it's
history. Gold has deprecated and
prices have gone up.
M Kingsford does not think this
means an economic decay because the
merchants are doing more business
and on a better basis. Labor is better
paid. Labor is scarce because mil
lions are not coming from abroad.
Labor upheavals are natural con-
sequence of war-that has been his
tory
Mr.. Kingsford thought it was a
good thing to have the intelligence and
standard of living of a people raised
more money does this.
A higher level has come to stay,
was the general opinion OF the mem
bers.
Mrs. J. E. English discussed the
houseing problem telling of the diff
culties of the government in producing
homes and how England has created
new centers of population known as
garden Cities" The fiocking of peo-
pie to the cities, the many war brides,
the farmer leaving the farm for will
age and city, the slowing UP of build
ing operations during the war, and
the demand for better homes have
caused the housing problem.
What Happened to Europe" will
be presented by Mrs Margaret Hill at
the next meeting of the club and A.
S. Kingsford will give an address on
'tThe World Crisis; How Shall it be
Metz"
~15E~a7~