Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1874-04-14

CURRENCY.

From The Coopers' New Monthly. Toledo ohio.l
1Ey Dear Sir s-In the Industrial Age, of
the 31st of January inst, l read your very
interesting letter, giving an account of the
origin and formation of the 'Induslrial Cons
gress of the United States,' and also the pre-
anible aud admirable resolutions accompany>
ing the same, all of which merit great praise,
and / admire and accept them without a
single exception, and particularly the last and
18th in regard to ''national circulating me-
dunn" Such circulating medium is
vital to all the sons of toll, as the means of
expressing the values of their tolls and ex>
changing them, when those values have been
ascertaiued by the great principle of supply
aud demand of those values auong which
do not include, as value, the supply and de-
mand of money, for money is, and ought to
be, supplied by the nation, as convenience,
and not as a commodity for traffic; and should
be, in quantity, fully and liberatfy adequate
to the easy and rapid exchange of all labor
and production When our forty millions of
people have. each, rounded up his respective
pile, each has a surplus, for which he wants
other things; and to exchange this surplus,
which does all the paying-for production pays
for production-he wants the conveuiences
of money and transportation. The cheaper
the congeniepces are, the less of his pile will
it take to get what he wants, and the more
will be left for his share, in kind. or in the
representative money. as the beginning of
capital for himself. He wants, then, cheap
money and cheap transportation, and must
have them. if ever he is to form capital for
himself. When usury and high exchanges
on railroads absorb all the net earnings, he
does not advance an inch, but stands where
no SS
heartencd. and falls back further and lower
to the mere rank oF scrf or pauper To pre-
vent this "a railroads and all ronds are public
conveniences. and money is also public con-
venience, and both money and highways
emana!e from the sovereign power Of the
State, both should be limited tn a fixed toll
or rate of their uses. and that fixed toll or
rate of interest should never exceed the net
| annual increase profits of labor Taking
the average of agriculture, manufactures and
commerce. Wells. in his report to Congress,
fixes the net animal increase at three and
third per cent; and the average net increase
of agriculture, by itself, at only two or two
and half per cent. As tire nation creates
these couvenicnces of both money and high
ways, and not individuals, nothing can he
be palmer than that'it has the perfect right
to regulate the rates and charges of both
v.
the United States is express: .'Cuugress
! shall coin money, and regulate the value
thereof." Aud as our Constitutions have
abolished "entails and perpctuit;es" in landed
estates, TO prevent landed aristocr acies lust so,
too, tho regulation of the .'v,luc of money!
was intended, in the United States Cons,itu.
ton, to prevent the establishment Of rnoueyed
aristOcracics and if Congress had ever at
! tended tn this plain duty and requirement.
VIC should nov be as safe from the latter as
the former. Just think, for moment. how
| easy it would be to carry cut the design of
| your fourth resolution, to wit the ''cstab-
! lishmeHt Of cooperative institutions" if tho
mon (who would be poor who compose thenO
had only the use of their own convenience at
a regulated rate and cheap Nor would this
regulation do harm tn any one who held the
! convencncc-tl public CONFERENCE.-The il
he was not satisfied 'ntake what the law creating
it allows, lie is at full liberty to huv land and
make more hy honest labor, as other people
do, or to build factories, or 90 into commerce
aud do the same. Fix the rate on money at
the same throughout the United States, and
you cut up. riot ami branch, the t,mpta'ion
to hoard money and to cxtors, and corner.
and speculate, nnd you onnihi'ate pan;cs, and
only compc! men to do what is fair and honest.
and to be content with what they can make
by intelligence and industry, and to refrain
from cheating Others by their sharp aud dis
hnncst practices.
Ioolosod, send you letter of mine,
which, think, lays the foundation f,r the
"nationsl circulating medium" you want. and
am, with erest respect. very truly yours
JNo a THOMPSON.
p. s. You can make public this letter, if
you choose. j. 4. r.
This letter was received by Mr.. schil-
ling.-ED.J