The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-04-17
WHAT Is MONEY g--No. VI.
BY wH- II. sYLyIs.


No argument that viii stand the test o
reason. an be produced in favor Of a metal
lie cSrrency, and whatever arguments ar,
produced in favor Of such currency, apply
much better to iron, than TO gold ana silver
because it is more plentiful, can be produced
at much less cost of time and labor, anC
iron could not be hid away in bark vaults
or takea out OF the country so readily al
gold. Lycurgus' Of ancient Sparta, under
stood this matter very well, when be mad,
money OF iron, aud made 1t so heavy that il
took yoke OF oxen to pulfa hundred dol
lars. By this be made money 50 cumber
som that no man would have more Of it thar
would actually serve him as a medium o.
exchange. Tnere was no Wall streets in
his day. ii. totally annihllatsd the Who'll e
hoard Of usurers, and compelled them to
make an honest living or siarve We pro.
pose to reach the same result, but By diff
ferent road-by paper currency.
TLs idea that dollar made Of gold, i:
more valuable as money than 9 dollar made
Of paper, is 50 absurd that it seems strange
that sensible men can entertain it. GJld
aud paper each have a commercial value,
and this value is neither increased nor de.
creased y converting them iaIo money
The tfiiciai stamp BY and through which
they become money gives them a new value
"a legal value, and il s this legal value, In
dependent Of any value in the mater al, that
makes them money. 4 dollar made Of pa
per is no less dollar than a dollar made 81
gold. A mortgage is a lien upon property,
Il is legal instrument written upon paper,
and derives its value from, or by the Law.
A piece Of paper ten inches square, has a
CONNER ial value as paper Of not more than
three cents,yet upon It's face may be written a
mortgage Cor $40. This gives it legal val.
ue Of $40 BY simply adding the word
Thousand" after the word ''ten," 1t will
have legal value Of $4,000 Strike out
the word "tenH and insert the word "fif,y,"
and it will have legal value Of So, coo. but
still It is only worth three cents as paper
Now, if this mortgage was written upon a
gold book ten inches square, it would be
worth no more as lien upon property, il
would possess no greater legal value than
the paper instrument. The same is the
case with deeds, mechanics liens, notes,
baak checks, &c, all these have legal val
ne and legal power over property, ard this
value md power IS the sane whether they
be wri. en- ;poa paper or gold. Bat would
il not be very dangerous 10 make mortgages,
and other legal documents Of gold What an
inducemen; i would be 70 thieves to break
open vault doors, and dig through walls to
get At the gold plates upon which these ID
struments we're written. And to destroy
every evidence that they ever had legal
value, it would only be nrce sary to melt
them over. While this woe 4 destroy their
lega value, they would still retain their
commercial value, they would BE- Just a.
valuable T. the thief, as though no legal val
ne had ever been written upon them. Not
so With paper documsnts, to destroy or de.
face them renders them utterly valueless ID
any sense or to any body. A business man
would be considered mad, who should have
his vouchers and other business documents
written upon gold plates. 4 greater in
ducement to thieves could not be off.red,
nor higher premium be placed upon ras-
cality.
Money Is FIRST mortgage upon every dol
lars worth Of property for sale in the ma
ion, ard il Is just as absurd t. make such
r mortgage If gold, as it would be in the
other case. The premium upon thievery
and rescality is much larger, and the injury
done much greater, because there is no pun
ishmeut for the theft, and when by The use
Of gold dollars, the people are robbed every
Gay, as they are by the thieves in Wall
street, AMI in the treasury department at
W ashington, and in many other places, not
only one individual but the whole commu-
nifty is Iajurei.
One Heart, One MIND, One Way.
Communications have been received by
US, charging that The New England Labor
League, lately established ia Boston, Mass,
has been organized for the purpose Of form
ing new ccai 'e Of operations, distinct and
separate from that Of the National Labor
Union. Ii Is our belief that this il not 50
At the same time, the detriment to the cause
Of even the shadow Of disunion, Is 50 great
that we feel justified in asking rom those
friends OF labor nov about to meet again il
council, at New Haven, Conn.,, for a specific
statement, warranting US in denying, on
their part, any such intention. When Il il
considered al what great cost and difficulty
the Union We now boast has been effected;
how admirably eontrived and arranged ID Is
70 represent and express the demands OF
those who toll in this country; what saluta-
ry resolutions have been promulgated by It's
annual congresses at Baltimore, Chicago,
and New York, we feel confident that our
New Englan1 friends will feel il to be a sa-
cred duty to render to Us, as its appointed
organ, the satisfaction we require on this
important subject.
The Income of Mechanics.
According " recent calculation as to
the condition of the working people of the
United States, the average life Of American
mechanics is estimated at 461 years and
the average number Of days Of work in this
climate at $50 in each year. The average
expenses of an adult for board and clothing
in the Seaboard cities are calculated at