The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-11-02
EDISON AND GOLD.
Great Inventor Has Little Respect for
Most Precious Metal.

Gold makes pretty jewelry and
picture frames and is used effectively
for filing teeth. Otherwise it is an
almost wholly useless substance. Yet
we hold it as the standard of all val
ues."
That is Thomas A. Edison's valua-
ton Of gold. The famous American
inventor has never believed in the
gold standard idea. In an interview
for the Mentor Magazine, he told
why.
.NTo me-" Edison said, "The gold
standard system is largely hctlon.
Banks have a gold reserve of, say,
fifty per cent of their note issue. This
is fifty per cent alleged real reserve
and fifty per cent pure. gamble, the
banks taking the gambling chance
that the note holders will not call on
them all at one time. Finally, if
things go wrong, and the note hold
ers begin to demand the fifty per cent
gold, the banks fall back upon the
credit of the government. and the
merchants notes through the FEEDER
al reserve.
''It seems absurd to me that all
our values should be based on boxes
of metal in any treasury. 1t is an
absurdity, but everyone has been
educated to believe that absurdity is
common sense.
Before the invention Of credit
money there was gold enough to
function perfectly with the small
amount of business that was transac-
: ted. Now it is otherwise. Just think Of
using gold as a standard of value in
the highly organized financial and
commercial system at present in
vogue throughout the world! Under
the present system our government
certifies to the amount of gold in
disks and bars of metallic alloy. Then
they are packed into boxes and kept
travelling continuously all over the
world-New York to London, London
to Bombay, back to New York, and so
on. The principal quantity we keep
in vaults as an alleged support to
our circulation medium. Other gov
ernments follow the same pro-
gramme.
ssI should think that values should
be based not upon supplies of gold in
treasury vaults-for gold is COM
modify and must fuctuate-but upon
the wholesale price of the necessaries
of life; that is, production cost plus
a reasonable profit at the point of
production, as for instance, the cost
of coal at the mine or that of certain
basic manufactured articles at the
factory.
sWhy should not all the govern
ments of the world come together
and establish an international index
Of value for exchangeable necessaries
of life in the countries producing
them. Then the peoples of the diff
ferent nations could do business by
the infinitely simple system of plain
barter. You have so much oil; well,
Lave 80 much wool or wooden goods.
I want your oil. You want my wool or
cloth. We might be governments or
individuals; it would not matter.
A great amount of research and
other work would need to be done be-
fore this system could be established,
because of the different tastes and
needs of the people. But what is
better money than that based on cer-
titled commodities in government
warehouses and merchants short
notes for goods actually sold and dis
counted by bank taking currency
issued by the Federal Reserve bank,
with notes as security?
1--WE need not worry very much
about standard for super-luxuries,
but the prices of absolute necessities
ought to be fixed. AS it is, no man
can tell how much, food, clothing,
pleasure, education, his labor will
secure"