r a
loss upon the quantity he had received; if, on the contrary, it
rose, the debtor would have to pay more than he calculated upon.

I am on sound and scientific ground, therefore, when I say that a
dollar approaches honesty as its purchasing power approaches
stability. If I borrow a thousand dollars to-day and next year pay the
debt with a thousand dollars which will secure exactly as much of all
things desirable as the one thousand which I borrowed, I have paid in
honest dollars. If the money has increased or decreased in purchasing
power, I have satisfied my debt with dishonest dollars. While the
government can say that a given weight of gold or silver shall
constitute a dollar, and invest that dollar with legal-tender
qualities, it cannot fix the purchasing power of the dollar. That must
depend upon the law of supply and demand, and it may be well to
suggest that this government never tried to fix the exchangeable value
of a dollar until it began to limit the number of dollars coined.

II. BY M. W. HOWARD.

The term, "a standard of value," so often used, is erroneous and
misleading. There can be no fixed standard of value, and the student
who wishes to delve into our financial problems should clear his mind
of such a fallacy at the very threshold of his investigations.

Money is a commodity; it is regulated by the same laws of supply and
demand which regulate the price of corn, cotton, wheat, land, labor,
etc. If the wheat crop is short, wheat will be dear; if abundant, it
will be cheap. So with money. If the money supply is not sufficient to
meet the demands of business and commerce,--if the money crop is
short, in other words,--the money will be dear; it will command too
high a price, its purchasing power will be too great.

On the other hand, if the money supply is abundant, sufficient to meet
all demands upon it,--in other words, if there is a bountiful money
crop,--it will be cheaper; it will not have such a large purchasing
power; it will be worth less when measured by our labor, our lands,
and the products of our labor.

I oppose the single gold standard because it makes the money crop
short, gives us a small circulating medium, and hence enhances the
value or price of money.

We have a certain demand for breadstuff, which is constantly
increasing as our population multiplies; suppose that we cease
producing corn, and find no substitute for it, would not the price of
wheat be greatly enh