The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-02-20

The difference between money and the
farms Is, that the former Is legal repfesgn-
tatlVe and measure Of value, and the latter
are OF actual value. The money is az capa-.
! bic Ct representing and measuring it's own
amount Of value hundred times 10 a year,
and creating q hundred incomes, ss the
pound weight is Of determining its own
amount Of weight hundred times. The
quantity of cloth measured, and the weight
of things weighed, cannot be increased by
the number Of times that the measure is
applied 60 them. Pat money being a rep
resen'atlve Of value, and being endowed by
law with The power 20 accumulate " inter
eet, makes 40 income whenever it Is trans
ferred from one to another as loan.
Anything ID It exists in perpetulty, is val
uaeie 10 exact proportion to the income it
will yearly bring to it, owner. The market
v~41e OF house, store, or farm, rises or
falls with the rise or fall Of its yearly rent !;
and the value Of the dollar rises or falls
with the rise or fall OF its rent or interest.
II we admit both the property and the mon
ey 10 be merchandise, this principle cannot
be true in one case without being equally
true in anJther therefore, whether we as
sumo money TO be 0f actual, or OF legal
value, 70 keep its value uniform the rate OF
interest must be kept uniform Doubling
tie 0apabiiity Of the dollar to accumulate,
doubles the value IF the dollar. lite nomi-
nal value may, and does remain the same -
that IL, IL retains she name of dollar, al
tough IL possesses twice its ordinary value,
o. power over property and labor.
The same principle applies 10 all meas
res. the length Of the yard-s,ick being
doubled, although il mi BIT still retain it's
name, it would measure twice as much
cloth a. with It's present limits. And mon
ty, while its Denominations remain the
same. measures more or less property, &C.
eording to The rate OF interest We NAV
imagine a meast re fuctualirg, expanding
ard contracting between certain POINTS a.
yaTd-siiek, made Of some elastic material,
susceptible Of being stretch. 60 twice or
thrice its ordinary limits, and still called a
va d-stick, and used as such. But no one
would dee himself acquainted With the
actual length Of anything measured by this
yard stick, although, if it ere the legal
lied one, il could, and must be usrd In busi-
ness.
Measures Of quantity are instituted, and
their length, bulk, and weight are fixed by
Law, and not by indiv iduals. The measure
Of value is instituted and made bv Law; and
consequently, il i frs udultntly used whe }
the rate Of interest upon il, NLieb deter
mines its value, is altered by ind idualf.
The fundamental proposition Of Jeremy
Bentbam, IN bis 'Defence Of T. ~" is as
follows:
"No man II ripe years, and of sound
judgment, acting freely and with his eyes
open, ought be hindered, with view to
bis advantage, from making such bargain,
in the way If obtaining money, as be thinks
1t nor (wbat is necessary consequence
anybody hindered from supplying him, up
on any terms be thinks proper TO accede to.
According 10 Mr.. Bentham's theory, when
money is loaned, the rate Of interest to be
paid must o. matter Of agreement be-
tween borrower and lender. This makes
the rate ~ interest belong to the system Of
free-tTade, whereas il no more belongs TO
this system than the length Of the yard
stick Or the weight Of The pound. By in
creasing The rate 81 interest, both the prin-
oipal OF The money and the interest upon it
hsve an increased pow er oyer property, just
az the pound increased in weight would call
Tor sn additional quantity Of products 20
balance il. The right to tx the value Of
money is as much reserved BY the govern
ment as the right to FIX the length of the
yard or the weight u the pound and the
regulation Ct is value 10 a thousand times
more important to the people. The value
81 money L no more fixed or regulated BY
the laws ordering each piece Of money to
De coined II a certain weight and kind Of
metal than the length Of the yard would be
h1ed BY ordering il to be made Of certain
weight and KIND Of wood, without regard to
it, length.
The value Of money depends upon its
power 70 accumulate value for It's owner, BY
interests, and not upon the worth Of it's ma
teTial a. The value q paper instrument,
which secures ground rent, depends upon
the pr ductiveness Of the land on whicB Il
Is secured, and not upon the inherent quail
titles Of the paper. If the land were per
maDertiy lnurOductiFe, the lien could com
mand nU products, sad would be worthless
except 50 far as lbe paper on which it was
drawn possessed inherent value. Suppose
The lirn % be epgraVrn on silver plate,
insttad Of or pal er. aud ID tie made 10 Der
petuity Tor $4,000, 81 SIX per cent. interest
per annum. Let the annual products of the
land be sufficient 20 pay for the labor ex-
petded upon IL, ana 20 pay the ground
rent, ard the silver On which the ground
rent was ensTayen would be worth ten
thousand dollars, whether the plale Of silver
on which u was drawn wee three feet
square, ana weighed three huudrs pound,
q ~hether II wac three inches square, and
weighed bot three ounces If The grs und-
rms On each plate we're in perpetuity, aud
lt we're necessary 70 preserve each Ia It's
proper foim, ~ keep the title good, although
80 great difference xIetrd ~ tho weig3t,
there woLlu Ot no difference iu the value of
thv Two platts = both would secure the
same a. Dunl aInt unt IL interest II, how
eFtf, the X 0ubc rent should fail because OF
some defect 10 tne title, VI course the lar
ger pate OF metal would be worth more
shan thU smaller, " n would make mUTs
usefui and uTuameb, y articles. A ground
rent made In pen Pelnity l2r $4,000, secured
On good properly By iaper iustruments,
wvulG be az valuSt' 30 any owner As The
laigeI silver late. Y this aud tor similar
PURPOSES, the Eal en- much superior 20
The silver az, ~ :. 1ut.f, aiing, the power
loom A. superior 70 hand exvtng. The val
ue " 1hese Liens on specific Aleces Of laEd,
aoes not mote depend On the productive
ness Ut The land than the value Of money
DEL sbds VI on It's power 10 accumulate an
income II, u The labor or S-ss EFT, Of ber-
rOwers. The value u the papers which Sc
cure lhe National Debt of England would
cease II the government would pass law
e pay no more interest upon the debt. A
mere legislative enac .ment could annul the
value oitbe papers. Laws, then, give them
their worth, aud their worth consists in
their power TO collect yearly income,
Nblcb lay be exchanged Tor the products
Of labor.
Money could not answer the purposes Of
a medium Of exchange unless it we're neees-
sary to part with il to make It valuable.
Fer this reason it il made 20 accumulate no
Interest 10 the possession Of It's owner for
Tit wooli accumulate interest 10 bic bands,
1t would b. legally equivalents 20 bond and
mortgage bearing interest, Or 20 prodnpfiTs
property. and the owner would NOS need 70
part with Ito make Il productive.