Value Aud Exchange

Valué is not a mere quality of a thing. It ia the relative power which one thing has of purchasing other things. As a general rule aud in poplular language, gold has a defmite valué, and with it all other articles inay be purchased. But this is not strictly true. In the case of a shipwreoked crew at sea iu a boat, on the point of starvation, a bag of gold miy be of small valué compared to that of a loaf of bread, and not exohangable for it. The gold would be there with all Hu intrinsic qualities, but its valué would be gone, because this is not intrinsic but relative. The same principie is true of a watch or any other article. Valué is not an independent quality. It is simply relative, not absolute. Desire, effort, and satisfaction constitute the whole circle of political economy. These qualities or feelings of the mind apply to the buyer as well as to the seller, and move the commerce and trade of the world. One has au article which the other desires. Mutual efforts aro made, and exchange is the result. Each party exporiences a satisfaction, though it inay be but temporary. All eominerce and trado are simply barter, that is exchange of commodities, for commoditios. It makes no differeuce that credit and uiouey are largely used to facilítate this exubange, the result is the same. There are only three kinds of thiugs that are exchauged ; material commodities, iiumaterial ser vices, forius of incorporeal property. Service is perhaps the most important element that eulers iuto the soience of political econouiy. It is defined to be anything rendered to another for the sako of a return. Sotne hitve contended that the value of a thing is in proportiou to the labor it cost. This may be generally true, but is not always. If a person picks up a diamond on the seaside, his labor is almost nothing, bat tlie valuo of the article he obtains is very great. Neither is wealth confined to uational commodities. The hod-carrier adds to wealth aa truly as the brickmaker. All who reuder real services that are necessary to society add to its wealth. This is not contined to those who opérate on material things, but eludes tho teacher, doctor lawyer, and clergynian. Valué is not in material things, but in the service. The journey man sells his service, the niaster liis. Service tor service, in the last analysis, and no article for article is the law of exchange and the rule of value. This definition ot value shows the distinction between it and utility. Utility is gratuitous as Hght and water. They are of the highest utility, but of no exehangeable value. Utility in connection with value is derived partly froin nature and partly trom man. Great errors arise from confoundiug utility and value. AU utility is tree till souie human service has been added to it. Market value is the rate at which services of all sorts are exchanging at the present time. Supply and demand fix this value and equalize each other. And here comes in the great law of exchange which moves the commercial and trad ing world. It is founded on the tact that men have desire, that they make effurts to gratify them, and that they teel a satisfaction in their gratitication. These are the great laws underlying political economy, Tlioy are so natural and simple that it seein8 a self-evident truth that exchange, whicb. growa out of thein, ought to be substantially free. And yet a large proportion of the wars aiuoug civilized nations during the last three centuries have arisen from attempts to hinder tree trade, under a mistaken notion that an exolusive and selfish policy was the way to national wealth. P. L. P.