Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-08-19
srnfit Of yetf6erso',.
Jefferson County, West Va.
TUESDAY MORNING. AUGUST 10. 1913.
lFor the Spill. of JetFer.oa.l
WHAT Is MONEY?-DOWN WITH
ALL CONSPIRACY &CESARISM!

Money is measure of value, and it is lust
as necessary to have the requisite quantity of
1t to measure value, as it is to have the reaui.
site number of yard sticks, pound weights,
bushels, &C., to weigh and measure exteption
and quantities. Money is, moreover, icgal ten
der for the payment of debts and the nation
alone can make any thing leyni tender for the
payment of debts, and therefore money is an en-
anation of sovereign power, and is SO stated to
be in the Const tuition of the United States, to.
wit: "Conyress shall hare po,oer to coin
money (aud of course stamp it if made of
paper) and regul,ite ats vuiue" 1t has all
ways, then, been the sworn duty Of Congress
to coin or stampa sufficient quantity of money
tor the business of the nation, and to "regn>
late its value" Has Congress performed its
sworn duty 10 either of these particulars, that
is in regard to the quantity of money, or the
regulation of it's value? The answer must be
that Congress has not discharged its sworn
duty in either particular; for neither is there
sufficient qmn"tity of money for the business
OF tie country, nor has its "uuiue been reou
lated"
ln regard to the quantity of money, Con-
gress has by fixing, by law, an arbitrary
amount, plainly declared that it will not per-
form this sworn duty: For, ga law of Cons
gress declares that more than four hundred
and fifty million dollars of u. s. leeal>tcnder
notes shall be issued. The amount of national
6amh notes (not legal tender, not n1oncy) nu-
thorized by Congress are af1oat, and the ,rhole
eqnalling the sum Of seoeu hundred and tft7u
millions Of dollars. The inhabitants of the
country are increasing rapidly by reproduc>
tion and emigration; the number of pros
ducers and consumers are multiplying from
day to day; the national wealth is rapidly in
creasine, and no arbitrary limit is OF can be
applied to the production of property, or the
demands for its use, and none should be an
Piled to the supply of money, to buy and sell
1t, to measure its value, to ship and exchange
1t. But it is idle to reason upon this subject.
or to attempt to reach by honest argument.
aud undeniable facts, equitable solution. so
long as it is the royal prerogative of certain
class, a te,o gamblers tn money, to manage
and manipulate our financial affairs in their
own way. for their sole benefit, and for their
own selfish purposes. The only solution this
class Of men desire is to increase their power
over the people to the utmost extent, SO as to
enable them to reduce the money of the coun>
try toJ"st rs snlaH an amount as their 1,oaoers
ao'H permit, and human endurance suffer
until bankruptcy comes Upon the business men
against obligations the people cannot meet,
and burdens they cannot 6earn'
But. having shown from the above quota
tlon of the Amti Wonopoli$t-(a most able
monthly paper. published in Philadelphia. and
at the cost of 81, and which can and should
be in the hands of all producers and con-
sumers, by addressing publishers of Anti
,'o"oooIist, Chestnut street 1912, Phila>
delphia )-that Congress, underth inf uence
OF the monied oligarchy-and many of its
members belonging to the olgarchy-have
failed to furnish the proper quantity of money
to do the business of the country, L will quote
from the same valuable paper to shew that not
only Congress. but all the departments of the
government Executive and Judicial in the
national government, and State too, have a
personal interest in high rate of interest. as
it enhanses and doubles their pay: give
the quotation as follows: ''Money has no other
Office hut to measure the value of property.
aud the rate of interest upon money measures
the value OF property; in representing and
exchanging property money is simply filling
Its office as measure of value. If the in
terest on money is six per cent. and corn is
selling at one dollar, and wheat at two dollars
per bushel, if the interest on money rises to
twelve per cent, corn will fall to fifty cents.
and wheat to one dollar per bushel, so that
doubling the rate of interest doubles the pur.
chasing power of the dollar; that is, when.
ever the interest on money rises, property de.
preciates in the same ratio, and if the interest
is doubled, property depreciatas in value one
half. because money is the measure of its
value, therefore the rate of interest regulates
the value of property; if interes. be high,
property will be low, if interest is low, prop
erty will be high. If interest stands at six
per cent. the President of the United States.
and every other officer of the Uated States,
and of the States, counties and cities, whose
salary is fixed by law, and who expend their
money for property, get, We would say. dollar