Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1845-10-28
From the United States Journal.
PAPER MONEY

promise 10 pay five dollars on demand. doe
not prove that the maker Of the promise i
able or viii be oitiing to perform the prom
I Use. The paper on which il is written OF
printed, is all tie intrinsic value it has
All beyond the worth of the paper Itself
exists only in the idea Of The holder, anc
and in the concurrence of him who
accepts it as money, in that idea, iha
the promise was made in good faith
and viii be observed. The w tten or prin
ted I romlse, proves only thai the MAKER
ores The holder the sum promised. A bank
note is neilhe. more nor less than prom
Use, which may be broken or kept-t is ar
evidence OF Indebtedness, which NAV OF
may not be cancelled.
1t would seem that ,here could be nee.
essl'y that truths So sel(-evldent should be
so often repeated But the fact is, notes
are almost the only circulating medium in
this country, and consequently are gener-
ally recognized as money. In fact, few
men practically know much about any 9th.
/ er. That they pass as money, is only be-
cause the receiver has confidence that the
/ promise will be kept, and believes that any
one to whom he shall offer i, in exchange
/ for food, clothing or labor, will have the
same confidence. A paper bank promise
! TO pay five hundred dollars will not buy
me breakfast, until find some one who
| has confidence in il, al least 10 the value
/ Of a break asst. lis value, until it is presen.
ted al The Bank counter for payment. is
purely ideal.
But silver or gold, coined or uncoined,
have real intrinsic value, uniform in oil
civilized countries. The coming of either
OF these, adds nothing to the value, but sim
lP'y indicates the quantity aud quality OF
the gold or silver any piece con,u,ns. -
Gold is property itself, just as "a surplus
quantity Of bread or cloth is property; ant
If the sapply Of all these, was always the
same, in all places, there could never be
any fluctuations in the value Of either,w hen
compared with the other.
Gold is one kind Of property - -four is
another. II a man, or any company OF
men, could Incl ease the quantity Of -four in
market al pleasure, and inde fnHely, it i,
apparent that lis value, wnen compared
with gold, would be diminished just in pro.
portion to the amount Of this artificial in.
crease. If the quality Of gold and slve,
could be thus ariiiicially increased. It's val
ne, toe, when compared with -four would be
less and therefore, more gold would be
given for barrel Of flour, or an hundred
| barrels.
Now what we accept as asuUst;lute for
gold. and what men generally recognise as
! gold, or money, can be thus artifcIaliy in
creased. The material Of which it is made
costs almost nothing, and the supply is con.
stantly huctuating, -always uncerta ain, anC
variable as thought. Any increase of the
amount of paper issued, beyond the specie
basis, Gepreciates in exactly the same am
cunt. that already out Ii IA Bank having
"A real capital Of one hundred thousand dol
lars, issues It's promises in good faith, lis
notes are worth inst that sum, ard the
notes the same bank for a million Of dol,
ars would be worth no more. The first
hun1red thousand issued would be gooc
but every dollar of issue beyond tina,
sum, won diminish the value OF the ag
grcgate issue. II only increases the a
mount of Indebtedness, OF which the in
crease Of notes is the evidence. But this
is not clearly understood, because men re
cognise these notes money, and there.
fore consider thai an increase Of wealth
VIII CHI is, in fact, only an increase of Bank
Indebtedness. When such money is most
plenty. the Banks are most in debt to tie
peoyle-when il is mos, scarce, the peo-
PIE are most in debt 10 the Banks.
There is nothing so uniform in quantity
or permanent in quality. as gold; and TO,
this reason il is made the Standard of val
ne, or rate, by which all other values are
estimated. All the products Of nature and
art, are subject to fluctuations in quantity
and quality, and consequently are wortl
more or less gold, according as the quaint
ty TO be exchanged by the producer is great
er or less, or the quality good or bad. -
But whether there be more or less - hour
for instance-or whether il be good or bad
we measure its value by gold, or what we
recognise as its equivalent. The geld i:
Of all things the most permaneni;-iha
which we recognise as its equivalent, is
of all things the most changeabIe and uE
certain.
Gold coined into money is measure o
value. jus, as pound is a measure o
weight, and bushel is measure of quan
.ity. The nation has already been 10
great expense in procuring nicely adjusted
apparatus, and in furnishing TO the seve
raj States. perfect standards OF weigh; anc
quality; and rigid laws are every where
enacted, TO preserve these stand ,rds un
changed and uniform. Government an(
people appreciate the Importance of uniior
mirv and permanence, in the standard o
weight and measure. Why do they not a:
carefully guard the standard of value from
fluctuations What security would there b,
for any thing beyond the supply Of GU
daily wants, if, while the standard Of valu,
remained permanent, what was n pount
yesterday should be seventeen ounces 10
+ day and twelve TO morrow, AT the pleasure
of company associated 70. the purpost
of changing it as often as they could make
il pIoflablei What security is there, though
the standards OF weight and measure re
main the same, when that which we recog
nized as dollar yesterday. is only ninety
cents TO day. and TO morrow may not be
worth brass iarthng.
I Yet this is precisely the situation W.
are in. when we make paper money the
standard OF value. and recognise The pic
tured promise TO pay money, as the rea
u