Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1870-12-06
tFor the Spirit of jefferson. ]
WHAT IS MONEY!

and they understand III, they VIII achleVe lnelr
liberty and emancipation from ,ollite slnVe'y,
just as the negroes have from black slauery /;
but, if they do not aud will not understand
it. then ,ohae slaUeyy will continue and it is
much greater curse and evil than negro
slavery ever was.
What. then, is money? From ancient
times down to our present. many men have
written on this subject, but they we're alias
they are now-in the employment of The mo-
MED class, to hide instead of explaining to the
masses of mankind the true nature of money.
Tallyrand, think it was, who said that
speech seemed to have been given to man not
SO much to cg71oiip his homgbLs as TO conceal
them and verify. upon this question of mo-
ney all the political economists l have ever
read. with the exception of Aristotle, seem to
me. under the brhes of the money mongcrs,
to have written not to inform or enlighten
mankind, but to deceive and cheat them. and
keep them. as much as possible. in the dark,
in regard tn the true nature Of mouey-its or
isin. it's object, its office, and its true use.
What. then. is money? I will endeavor
to define it, and if the money mongers, with
all their hosts of hrclings. should object to
my definition will only say in my own de-
fence. that have with me the first of phi
Iosophers and the first of poets-Aristotle aud
Shakespeare.
I say, then. fearless of contradiction. that
money is the consolidated credit of all the
members of any society. for the purpose of a
convenience of exchanging their labor and
the productions of their labor with each
other ~ This take to be money, nothing
more. nothing lcSs
Well. to examine logically-how the "con-
solidated crcdit?' TO answer this primal
ri bo,
to the time when there no money and
there was such time when there was no
such thing as money, and when money trQS
instituted to answer specific cHd.
Then, why was money instituted. and what
was the specific end and purpose "f the insti
tuition and introduction Of money?
The answer is it was instituted and intro
ducc!. solely. n convenience to interchange
the labor and the products Of labor of the mem
bers Of society who luhored and who had their
different products to be iutcrchanged among
each other
The question. then is how did all these
members of society. prior TO the introduction
of money, Interchange their different produc.
tiors among each other?
Why if there was such thing as money
to effect these exchanges among them. then,
they would exchange one hing for another
Mi"g. The man. who raised wheat or corn,
and who wanted wine or oil would exchange
wheat or corn for oil Each would cacularc
the valne Of his labor in wheat and
against the value uf the labor in producing
wine and oil, and the xchauge would be made
accordingly.
Say that, at this moment, there was no snch
thing as money either in gold and silver or
paper, and, that laborer had done on farm
ten Days work. equivalent to our now monicd
rates to ten dollars. how would he be paid
My idea is. the farmer would give him, say,
ten bushels of wheat as his pay. What then
The lnborer would take this ten bushels of
wheat. with n cart and horse, to the mill to be
ground into -four and when ground. he would
be under the necessity of carting it around
with the same cart and horse, to be exchanged
for the different things he mi ght want. lie
would exchange so much with the merchant
for his sugar and coffee, so much with the
butcher for his meat. much with the shoe
maker for his shoes &C. &c. This would be
naniEestIy expensive and troublesome. 1t
would be n costly mode of making his ex-
changes of his wheat or -four for what he
wanted Here then arises the necessity for
money as less costly mode Uf exchange. and.
here, is the origin and beginning of money
And right here, we come to our definition
of money as the 'coDSo2jdote6 credit of society
for The purpose of making their exchanges y
Now, how does society consolidate its credit,
for tlic purpose of instituting and creating
money as an agent, or as convenience, to
exchange its products upon more favourable
terms than the '.cart and horse" we have al
read referred to-in word, TO barter?
Tie process is most simple and natural
The mau who paid the ten bushels of wheat
when there was not yet muney-and the
man who received it and had to cart it around,
to make his exchanges for what he wanted,
would, naturally, say TO each other, "if you
and | can agree upon some one thing that
either Of us will take for any thing we have,
and others will agree with us to take it. why,
then, there is no use for the cart aud horse,
and our exchanges can be made cheaper and
easier than by the cart aud horse that IS
barter"
Here. then, is the agreement of exchanges.
here as money! Here is the consolidated
credit Of society which makes money the
medium of exchanges The man who uses
the cart and horse credits it and thus makes 1t
mouey-monetat the s;amp-the man who gave
him the ten bushels of weat credits it-and
thus makes it mOney-moneta, the stamp
and, so on, the agreement of all society. and all
the members thereof. for their mutual con-
venience, constitutes that thing called money,
and gives to it all its powers and virtues this
is. emphatically, so true. that the greek word
Cor money, is ..nomsma," that is the creation
Of law; ..nonlos'' is the greek word for law
Then, money, is originally and derivatively,
n thing of law; and ought to be. as in its
origin. throughout, controlled and directed by
law!
Originate, and control. and direct money
Jy IdIr. and it will answer it's end; effect ex>
changes cheaper than barter ;-cheaper than
the cart and horse = but. once permit it to
go out of the control of law. and permit it to
become subject of speculation, and. then,
;nstnnd Of hain.r n cnnrenisnce for the ex.