New-York daily tribune., 1843-02-02
Z. FHURsDAY moRN1SG, FEBRUARY 9. 1s4s.
Paper Circulating Medium.

Paper Circulating Medium.
To .as Editors Of TIE Tribune:
Several schemes have been proposed, ard one at
least put in operation, to issue paper medium OF
exchange based On something else than the precious
metals. land bank was one, tobacco bGak
another: the latter was in Virginia, and served
toleraby well. But agreements TO furnish par
tlcular commodity, whether land, tobacco, or gold,
are liable to the objection that their values fluoru
ate: any Of them may be worth twice the labor
at one time that it is werth at another.
Another kind OF paper has been used to limit
ed extent, namely. the promises of dealers TO pay
in goods, out of their stores. These are liable to
three objections: the dealers may cheat; they may
net have the goods that are waited; and they are
not generally exchang even when not disuust
ed. But if, in g large city, immense bazaar
we're established, which should always adhere TO
one price-the market price-its paper would cir
culate in the neizhborhood; and it might make
many of its purchases wiki that paper. In times
like the present, there are thousands out et en-
ployment who would gladly exchange with each
other; the carpenter with the shoemaker, and SO
on but it would be almost impossible to find out
such persons as could combine in building house,
to be paid Tor in shoes. But if man had shoes
enough to pay for house, in time wnen he could
sell them for cash. or promises pay cash. such
establishment might give him its paper, Promls-
ing TO pay in any goods it kept, or even in certain
kinds Of soods-say the produce OF the country,
the products of mechanics or whatever It chose to
call first, second third class goods If its stock
OF shoes were already large, 1t would not pay LOT
more, unless from other stocks which we're large,
or from stocks which could recruit by paying It's
paper. Promises to pey in -four, beet, potatoes,
chairs and shocs-or in domestic artlcies-thoush
tea and silks could not be got for them, would
readily be taken by laborers out of employ he
lumber merchan, would take some; perhaps the
establishment would deal nlumber the butchers,
bakers, and people about town would take enough
TO mike their own purchases; and if some cash
would still be wanted, less would be required than
when only particular medal commodity is used,
as the basis of paper promises.
The stocks of shoes, or other articles, when too
much accumulated, could be transferred to the ex-
porting merchants sent to Cuba or elsewhere; ex-
changed for foreign products ard thus assist IL
keeping up the stocks OF such articles as small es
adjustments must pay fer money Such an estab-
lishment would be a barter estabshment but II
would be barter mathodized. In fact, all trade is
barter, but money is the article for which each man
barters what he has got and which he then bartess
for what he wants but if any such paper were
aAoat, from any establishment nor suspected OF
roguerv it would, for local and immediate use, an
swer all the purposes of money. 1t when money
is plenty, not much of i, would be used; whea
money is so scarce that no prudent dealer dares
increase his stock without some assurance that he
can pay for the increase Of that stock trades
men, farmers, ana laborers could obtain some arti-
4 ~.
j. K. F.
% Wepubli.h the above, not as liking it, but
because there is geod idea at the bottom of it. II
we had some way in which those who labor could
reaaily exchange their products with each other
without requiring the intervention of Money, 1t
would doubtless increase the regularity of En-
ploymens and the reward of Labor. But we are
not sure the plan proposed will answer this purpose,
and it seems inevitably liable to great abuses.
Ed Tr,