Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-01-30
ON
AMERICAN VALUES
interesting Discussion by Mary
land Congressman Before
Press Association.

u'eSs cos"'8 0toSNoosOt ~ sVot
land Congressman Before
Press Association.
American values were discussed by
Congressman +. Alan Goldsborough
OF Denton, Md, before the .Del-Mar-
Via Press Association last Saturday
afternoon ut a luncheon. In the Hotel
du pont, which followed the annual
meeting OF tho association.
II have been n little put to. IT," no
said. ito know just what to talk about
here today. Congress has been In al
most continuous session since the 18th
OF last April without crystalizing pub
lie opinion upon measures or the
greatest interest. and rs. therefore. l
am not In position to praise the
Congress for what IL has done I feel
that should not here and now criti-
cise tho majority FOR what 1t may
seem to mo It has not done. A well
known editor suggested that I discuss
tax legislation. but the only thing
can say on that subject without criti-
cising tho majority Is to suggest that
as long as we have these enormous
bills to pay and this great accumula-
ton of interest charges they must be
met by taxation. A congressional
friend suggested that ! discuss the
Peace Conference. but without criti-
cism OF our failure to ratify the Cove
nant OF the League of Nations. prac-
tically the only thing which can be
said for the Peace Conference Is that
Il is In session and that some agree
ments have been made which, while
they do not amount to constructive
achievement In any international plan
OF universal progressive disarmament
or toward the establishment OF uni
versal good will. arc makeshifts which
may tend TO postpone the date OF the
next great war.
After going over In my own mint
the Arms Conference, proposed ma
tional welfare legislation, taxation
and tho tariff and other things which
are 1.-Two but which might seem to in
yelvc a partisan point OF view / hav
decided to talk little while toda'
about something that affects US al
vitality but which we almost neve
hear discussed. that is, the perennial
uncertainty of the purchasing powe
of the dollar.
I'VE have all been taught TO lool
upon the dollar as absolutely stable
I'm value. q think / should say righ
here in order TO prevent any possible
Misunderstanding that l have thu
livery highest opinion OF our banl<ins
system. 1t carried us through the
war with practically no bank failures
an achievement without precedent N
the history of the worldly A dollar
Is 1922 100 grains of pure gold. there
fore we say that our dollar ia stable
but az matter Of fact 1t IL stable
only in terms of dollars. Instead O
\ taking gold II we should take som'
other standard. say. eggs, and ga,
that three dozen eggs were q dollar
tho prica OF eggs would still only b.
stable in terms OF eggs because whei
the hens stopped laying the purchas
! ing price OF the three dozen egg
would be great but when the hem
laid freely the purchasing price Of tn
For many centuries the precious
eggs would be small.
metals and particularly gold have beel
used as manetary standards. Unde
complex modern civilization there
not enough gold TO serve as a medium
of exchange so the expedient was de
vised of using gold simply as a re
serve, allowing ordinary currency
paper money. ETC., TO be inflated be
tween different limits beyond tn
amount of gold in reserve as expert
!, ence had dictated would secure Ger
? tain amount OF stability. Later, ban
deposits, which are created simply b
resented by currency tended towar
imitation. and have TO be restralne
in accumulation by the same method
that the issuance OF paper money
/ restricted. Later, and last I'm so ia
. as this country is concerned, the Fed
eral Reserve Act provides a flexibl
currency and tends TO prevent III
,, concentration OF available creditor
! in the great financial centers. princi
pally New York.
= at seems TO me that tho next ste
! should be an attempt 10 proven
: gradual rises or fails in general com
: modify prices through long periods o
years causing all concerned misery
2 misunderstanding and bad feeling an
! eliminating In makeshift Legislation
Z radicalism and sometimes even 4
. revolution and war.
! I'm the Bureau OF Labo- Statistic
B. In Washington there is what - know
as an index number, which, as
' rough explanation, l will say IS com
S puted by averaging the price level
= OF various commodities. These CON
n modities are in nine groups; farl
products. food. clothes and clothin;
: fuel and lighting, metals and metz
i products, lumber and building ms
: terials. drugs and chemicals, hou.
J, furnishing goods, and misceilaneou
/ There are 243 commodities listed
!, the nine groups, the wholesale price
10 each being accurately kept for Il
4. purpose of ascertaining tho tenden,
~ ~ of prices TO rise or fan. A chart
X kept which by means of a curved III
graphically indicates the trend
~ prices. AS your finger traverses tn
/ l.ne from 1873 TO 1896 you ind pric
constantly falling; from 1896 to 10
prices constantly rising with a sha,
upward trend through the period
the war AS i looked at this cha
:. the other day memories OF the har
G. worked and poorly paid farmer OF n
>. toyhood flooded back to me. II u.s.
o. 70 seem TO me that this man who
k 40 much for everyone else was able
n do very little for himself l remembe