The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1849-02-02
Ban. : and Banking.


ten, to which, in the deaith 81 news thi>
week, we propose TO devote a few para
graphs The substance Of the article II.
question is about tli,: That money. land
by "noney"h he means gold aud silver.) has
no value Of itself, or intrinsic value; that
therefore paper money, if received IN trade.
is worth lust as much as specie: that the
amount cf money in circulation IN nation
isamattero findilierence, provided suchna-
ton has lis fair proportionate share; that
in proportion n : n nation has less than thl,
il is poor that the l. S. hare no! their fair
propor,ionaie share OF the money or specie
Of The world; and that, therefore, banks
should be created, aud paper money issued,
to make up the deficiency.
The wrerin the ConstitntionaIist scarce
ly deigns TO argue these pcsitions-he plankS
them down as carClcSsly as If they were as
firm and sold as s!edge h,mmers-and he
would evidently be amazed 10 find that there
were persons who did not regard them AS
unqurstioned truiSmS. But at the risk Of
incurring even his riiicule, we will ven
iure the assertion, that his first position, that
money has no iatriEsic value, and that, in
this respect, paper and specie are alike, is
as glazing all ab'lrdi.y as ever was put IN
print. 1t is one Of a thousand similar pC,tu-
iates that were invented twenty years ago
TO prop up the old United States Bank, and
that have exploded with that rotton concern.
Say, and Adam Smith, and we believe all
others writers on political economy that are
regarded as authority, maintain the position
that gold and silver have their price as much
as any other article Of commerce; and that
their prices are as subject TO iluctuatIon as
those of wheat or pork. Had gold and sil.
yer never been thought oil as circulating
medium, they would maintain about the
same relative value to all other articles as
they do now. Paper on the contrary is Of
itself utterly wolthless-it can neither be
converted into spoons for the presidents
house nor made into plate. 1t is only valu-
able as the representatives of value. Gold is
substance-paper a mere ShGdor. As
well might it be commended that cancelled
wheat receipts iatriasically as valuable as
the wheat it once represented, as that paper
is intrinscaly as valuable as gold.
II our position, then, is correct, il follows,
that, as gold is intrinsically valuable, while
paper is not, that the multiplication Of bank
bills cannot make money-tha, is, money
which is intrinsicaily valuable, more EN-.
ty; and that therefore if il is true that the L.
S. have not their stair proporiionate share"
OF the money of the world the deficiency
cannot be supplied by the issue Of paper
money. The case may be easily illustrated
thus: This nation has SlO0,00O,OOO of spe.
Gle; England has 500, 100000; in order 10
compete with England we must have $slO0,.
Ooo,0OO more. We adop, Immediately the
notable scheme Of issuing paper bills TO
the amount Of $l00,00O,000, or. in other
words, we borrow TINT amount of each 9th
or, and this, according to our bank phloso.
pliers, is doubling the amount Of money in
the ccutry. II equals the case Of the two
Yankee boys who were locked up together
In room by the schoolmaster, and who,
while thus incarCerated made s. piece by
swapping knives with each other,
The truth is, as long as paper can cnlyb be
the representative value, its issue cannev.
or make money plentier. Fit never need.
ed TO be redeemed, the case would be differ.
ent. But there's the rub. five had credit
we could 60 and borrow $1,000, and nigh,
Imagine ourselves SO much the richer: but
by the time pay day comes, and VIC are ask.
ed to redeem that little paper money we left
in lieu Of the 1000 hard dollars we borrow
ed, our notions about the actual increase Of
our circulating medium, we ina CINE, would
undergo a radical change. 1t is all fudge,
this thing our having less money to do bu.
sihess with than England. If il were tue
money wonld Immediately so appreciate
here in value, thatihe deficiency would soon
be made up. Bat were this even impossi.
BILE, the last way to make up the deficiency
would be to issue paper money. While
these floods ofpaper money were going ont,
we might feel richer; but when they come
back uponu again, and England would de.
mand fms the return of those yellow tren.
sures which our promises to pay make hers,
where then wouldbe our ''increased amount
OF money in circulation"
AS TO our cotemporary's argument, (by
way Of reioinder 10 our assertion that banks
In the nature of things cannot be honest, for
the reason that they have no souls, that
such Doctrine would overthrow our repub.
hcan government, which is but corpora
ton, aud establish an absolute despotiSm.
which is the only form OF government tina,
can have soul, we viii say this, that if
ueSpo's always acted in view OF the fact
mat they have souls to save, and did every
act cohscientionsly, we should prefer their
rule to any other that can be established.
was Rome less happy under The reign of the
An'onlnes than under that of her senate and