Salt Lake Telegram | 1932-01-18 | Page 11 | The Day in Dollardom

the DA YIN I The economist of the Alexander Te Hamilton Institute is among those who openly scoff at the possibility of the world suffering from a shortage shortage short short- age of gold gold In a recent bulletin the tile institute says The fear of scarcity is I entirely un u. u warranted Certainly gold is scarce There Tere is said wid to be only about tons of gold old in the world word It I could be contained in a cube about 31 feet long The amount is not likely to increase rapidly But the very scarcity of valuable gold is one of the characteristics characteristics charac charac- that makes it valuable as a standard The only ony ultimate effect of or a relative relative rela rela- tive lve shortage of gold will wi be to make it more valuable You will wi have to give more of other forms of wealth In i order to get an ounce of it i. i To put it the other way you will wi not have to give as much gold or money to get other things Bluntly Blunty prices will wi come down down That Tat Is I what is i happening happen happen- ing toda today 6 The Te descent of prices does not worry worry worry wor wor- ry the institute at all al It I waves that trend tend aside as harmes harmless saying Until such distant time as the amount of gold in the world word becomes so minute that it becomes diU difficult to handle in commerce the value ul of gold w will adjust itself itel in perfect balance balance bal bal- ance with wih other forms of wealth You will wi simply use less les and less to complete com corn pl comparable transactions The real thing tIling to fear er is i an extraordinary extraordinary increase in the amount of gold A discovery of huge deposits deposit or a method of producing gold cheaply 1 from other elements element would lessen its It i unique value Money prices of all al Iother I other valuables would then soar and the savings of true investors in banks building loans loa mortgages es and ad bonds would suffer accordingly Why it should be more of an economic eco cco eco calamity for investments in banks bank building loans Joans mortgages and ad bonds to t suffer than for the prices pries of ofal all al commodities to su suffer er is something something some some- thing not explained to us e f Money and especially gold money is supposed to be a measure of or value Men contract obligations payable In Inthe Inthe inthe the future because of the theory that at the time lime of repayment the money will wi be as easy to get as it W was S when the borrowing was done If I it so happens that the measure of value changes in quantity and therefore stretches or shrinks in value during the life lie of the debt somebody is going to be left len holding the sack If I the victim with the sack happens to be the debtor the Alexander Hamilton Ham ilton ion Institute sees nothing to worry about Other economists whose about sympathies sympathies sym sym- sy are with wih the debtor class clas are concerned only lest Jest the measure of value shrink and make the commod Ies excessively chean cheap From their standpoint it is nothing to cr cry over if the creditor is stuck with wih the sack Both sides are right both arc wrong Any disturbance of the buying buy buy- ing and paying debt power of money or money material destroys the balance bal ance arice of business and industry The temporary profit gained by short shortchanging shortchanging shortchanging changing a creditor or a debtor sets in i motion moton forces that injure both set To trust to the vagaries of at nature for Cor stabilization of the gold supply and ad to the gold supply for the stabilization of debts debt is a n form of speculation specula specula- tion lon that makes business a gamble and national prosperity a mere hazard Cannot we devise a regulation of value measurement that will make life tife less les like a poker game wi