The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1869-08-26
For the Telegraph.
MONEY.
BY INCOG


Money is a convenient circulating me-
dium of exchange non-productlVe rep
resentative of value accumulative by in
terest only, which interest is the product
of labor Some kinds of money possess
a value nearly equal throughout the civil
lied portions of the earth; while other
kinds have merely local value, circum-
scribed by certain territorial limits, be-
yond which it is worthless, except by the
courtesy of those outside of that terrific
rial Jurisdiction. The former are made
from what are called the precious metals,
and are looked upon as permanent repre-
aentat1ves. of value; while the latter are
usually manufactured from paper and ink,
and are mere certificates of Indebtedness
which, it is expected somebody will, some
day, redeem with its equivolent IN some
more permanent form.
The value Of the money used in effect
ing the necessary business exchanges of a
community is much less than the total
value of the property to be exchanged,
BECAUSE all the exchanges are not made
at the same time. Therefore a small
sum of money may be made the medium
of exchanging large amount of proper
ty: The miller may pay the farmer FIVE
dollars for wheat-the farmer pay it to
the grocer for sugar-the grocer to the
tailor for making coat-the tailor to the
halter for hat-the halter to his work
man for labor-and the workman to the
miller for flour; and the five dollars has
effected the exchange of property to the
value of thirty dollars. If one exchange
each day, =" Sundays excepted" for year
were made with the same five dollars, the
amount of property exchanged thereby,
would amount to $1,565. The value of
the property in the United States is about
$50, 1000 100000; which could all be ex-
changed in like manner, within a year,
through the medium Of about $95, $780,
| in money.
Our proportion of the money of the
world, is about $500OOO,O0O. This mon
ey should possess three important quail
ties it should be safc-unifor1n in ex-
changeable value, and stable in its use,
fulness. Specie made legal tender, is the
best material to use, as it has naturally all
these Important qualities. It is not only
current over this country, but throughout
the commecial world. When paper is
used, it is necessary to invest it with
all these qualities; TO which end,goTern-
ment alone should issue it-make it legal
tender-use it in its receipts and disburse-
1nents, and limit its amount, which should
not exceed our share of the worlds cur
rency. Thislis all that needs to be done
to make it pass as current as specie, and
be as stable, so long as the amount IN cir
culation remains unchanged. Ii we can
float $500, 100000, in specie that cannot
be taken from us by foreign trade; we
can float that same amount ID legal ten
der paper money, at par with specie, but
no more; because, as soon as we hold
more than our proportion, depreciation
follows as an inevitable onsequence, Wei
may issue twice that amount, but its ex-I
changeable value would be one half low
er, as the whole amount would be worth
only about $5O0ooO,o00, whatever the
amount in excess of that sum. 1t would
be impossible to increase the specie cur !