Arizona republican., 1922-02-08
Those Who Live In the Cloud Lands

our colleague and collaboration DR. Frank Crane,
is an admirable inhabtant the cloud lands of the
aerial There he is graceful but like most OF
the upper air denizens when he down to earth
his movements erratic uncertain and awkward
Politics and political economy purely earthly sub
jects. They rest facts and not on theories They
have but little changed in principle from the dawn of
civilization to the present day Some changes OF
methods have been effected and sweeping they
may appear, they only surface changes.
Dr. Crane who believes that national lines should
all be wiped out believes that the world should also
have common monetary system with some other
than gold basis, preferably labor basis. "a uni
versa rate Of exchange of the time value Of labor
exerted in one country as compared with the time
value Of labor OF the same exerted in another.
All this we suppose rests on. the oft proclaimed
theory that labor is the basis of all wealth. Allow
ing that to be so there is distinction between
w@ath and money. Money is not wealth; only the
sign Of wealth so that though labor may be the base
ofswealth it would necessarily serve base for
mSney. Nor is it easy to be seen how the time value
of labor which would have to be rather arbitrarily
fixed could become the assured basis the sign of
wealth
The objection Of Dr. Crane to gold the medium
Is that shifts from place place it did during
the war. 1t is now nearly all in America. Another
objection that the volume Of it is uncertain very
small volume of gold may be produced within a GER
tain period and another period may be very pro-
ductive OF gold so that the value of it is subject to
change
That IS true but experience taught men to choose
gold as a basis for the that it supposed
to be less subject to flucuation quantity than
any other enduring substance There are metals
less frequently encountered than gold and which
account of their smaller of greater value
Though there is less fuctuation in the volume OF
them produced their scarcity is great that they
would not serve monetary purposes. In gold were
combined ALI the obtainable qualities Of medium
1t is not perfect medium though for the
signed by DIR. Crane. but there is nothing in this
world perfect 1t is toward perfection though that the
inhabitants Of the cloud lands striving and they
have never been content with anything and
will be content. We have always had idealists with
us but is to the practical who have perceived
human limitations that the poor old world
such advancement it has made.
The Lawgiver Of Sparta revised the none
tary system Of the country by ordaining that all
money should of iron. His purpose to discour
age the accumulation of wealth. He failed to dis
tnguish though between wealth and the sign of it.
He effected his purpose. When Spartan took his
produce to market in cart, he took another cart
Citizens as Lycurgus had figured lost the desire to
cumulate money and also inevitably lost the desire
produce wealth heralded by the sign Of iron
This ordinance repealed.
DIR. Crane refers to Professor Irving Fisher as
an opponent of the gold basis. That reminds us that
only recently Professor Fisher in Germany at
tracted by the information that German scientist
had perfected a process for making gold which was
imitation Of gold but the real thing. After
investigation Professor Fisher in an interview gave
a sort of endorsement OF the discovery but little
later his return to America he admitted that he
had been deceived and declared the discovery be
q fraud.
We are left in doubt whether he is embttered
against gold by that experience whether he at
first interested in the experiment as a means by
which gold would be made so that it could
no longer be used monetary basis.
An Association for Girls
There is no other agency which promises so