Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., Something more about investments, August 9, 1909

              Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://media.library.ohiou.edu/scripps I August 9, 1909. \,L
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT INVESTMENTS.
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One of the least pr6fitable properties that a man can hold is
gold bullion or coinJ or its equivalent, so ... called paper money. It
costs soro.ething in either money or care to protect such possessions
against loss by theft or fire, and from loss or injury by other callses.
And all the time this gold, or its equivalent, is ~eing kept it is de­preciating
in value ,--that is to say as compared with other things for
~11ich it mir~t be exchanged its relative value is decreasinr~. It is
suppo sed that the chief if not the only cause of this reduction in value
is its excessive production, which is constantly growing more excessive.
There may be other causes for its decline in value; one of these may be
the constant improvement and development of that complex institution
that inclUdes all fonus of banklil1Q; and other credit systems.
While gold itself is the standard adopted for all values in
civilized countries and while all credits are based upon gold ooin or
bullion, and while in fact all dooumentary evidences of debt include
a certain number of gold pieces of coin or weights of gold to repre­sent
val'J.es, as a matter of fact gold is only to a verJ trifling ex­tent
the basis of cradi t. For instance when one man lends money
to another man the borrower pledges himself to return the money in gold
coin; the lender is not muoh, if any, concerned as to the ability of the
borrower, at the oonclusion of the loan, to pay him in gold coin. 'ibe
lender is 7 so far fro~eil1g anxious to get his gold money back, rather
in a condition ofJ.1ind that prefers that the debt be paid in aOTIle other
commodi ty, the possession of which in hand vTould be more profitable to
him.
Gold, as a medium of exchange J is only used in very trifling
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