Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1874-04-28
Spirit Of geffnspn,
CharlcstOEn, Jefferson County, West Va.
TUESDAY MORNING, APRIL qs, 1874.
WHAT is MONEY PA SIMPLE LES
SON IN POLITICAL ECONOMY.
From the PhilsdelphinsIpouirer.I I

l
and come to unanimity of opinion but, as in
Congress now; perfect confusion of tongues,
| multitude aud muddle of Babel builders.
l propose to solve this problem by going
back to first priuciples-taking money from
the necessity that gave birth to it. and demon.
strating that, if confined to the necessity and
purpose of its institution, it can be as salts,
factorily solved as that the squares of the two
sides of right-angled triangle are equal to
the square of the hypothenuse. Nothing but
the dishonesty of monopoly, and fixed pur-
pose to hold on to unfair advantages over
labor and property, through usury. can OBJ
scure the simple truth of the question for
moment.
commence my demonstration by assuming
the existence of little State, or community,
of thirty individuals, who have been at work
for years without any knowledge or use of
money whatever, and until their accumulated
savings amounted to thirty thousand dollars,
or to each of one thousand dollars and which
is their capital in things. or surplus products
| of labor; for, yet, there is no money, and
have used Of course, the terms of c7oR1rs
in an assumed and fgurative sense. In such
a community, at the end of each year, each
would have surplus of his own products,
while ho would want the products of others
In such primeval condition of things the
| only mode of accommodation would be the
exchange of commodity for commodity, or. in
one word, barter would he their Only 'instru.
ment of commerce." ard this is Mr.. Op-
dykes curt and simple and true defoition of
r"oncy-I mean an "instrumeut Of commerce."
You have, then. before your eyes, two ''in~
struments of commerce :" barter is one, and
money the other. The first, 6arter, was
1ukS -
three or more preliminary exchanges before
the one needed would be effected All would
feel. and sensibly. this Inconvenience and ,raste
of power; and, just at This point would arise
the desderatum of new "iDstrument of com.
mercc," to remove the inconvenience if possi-
BILE. aud to do what? Effect the same ex-
change, substantially, of labor aud products
foF labor and products equivalents for equiv
aIeDts, and upOn the fair principle of trade,
"s"Dp!y md demand" of the labor and pro>
d"ctS. Necessity is said to be the mother of
invention, end in this dilemma this new Gin
strImcut of commerce" to wit: MONEY. wss
invented and instituted A. the good man.
ffrom the good treasures of his heart bringct;
forth @ood things" just so some good man in
that little State, pr community Of thirty sug
Cested t. the whole body in council tlat, if
they would agree upon and furnish some one
Miny that each would take for whatever he
had to dispose of. and make it receivable for
dues and taxes, they would have an ''instru-
ment Of commerce" better than barter, and
full of accommodation and convenience
The suggestion promptly adopted. and tho
agreement to take it. as before said. t1y euery.
Thing else, and far dues and t0reS, was the
common stamp of that society, constituting
money. and independent entirely of the ma
fertdi agreed upon. We have seen that the
object was to exchange labor and products,
and, Of course, anything would be money,
when agreed on, which could be redeemed in
hHLor and products. This is the unsophis-
ticated history of money. az 'iustrument of
commerce." an exchanging medium, pure and
simple Gold was the first material of money:
but anything can os we'll be money, as VIC
have seen the agreement to take 1.-THE pub
lie credit-makes it money and the money
we now use is paper money. We will sup
pose, then. that the first money used in this
society of thirty was, ike ours, paper money.
The entire capital of the State being thirty
M0WsGnd dollars, one thousand dollars OF our
paper money-a little over hirty.hree dollars
to the head of tho population of the little
State-wouId be the new ''instrument of COM
merce" TO effect its exchanges and to pass and
repass from hand to hand, honestly and with
out obstruction, and joint and common
convenience, in which all, as partners, had a
common interest in its fair and legitimate use
The entire Thirty thousand dollars of labor and
products in this new order of things would
bear fixed relations to this new "instrument
of commerce" and be denominated an u0l1e
as thirty thousand dollars Just as 1t is demon.
mated one thousand. The untair increase or
decrease of the one housa4d dollars, the "in.
strument of commerce" or the change of its
character and perversiOns to any other use, by
regarding it as a commodity, would, of course,
have an influence on the whole mass of props
erty, and of certainty bring gconfusion and loss
where the sole object was accommodation aud
convenience. Let US take, then, in the first
instance, the result of its honest use, and ez-
actIy as it was intended by the inventor, who
brought it forth from the 'Egood treasures of
his heart" It, of course, answered the pur-
poses of all, made all their exchanges directly,
and circulated through the whole body of
commerce and trade as the blood does through
the human system, and so would continue to
circulate as long ss used only Ns it was de-
signed to be used. All would be pleased with
it. AAl were pleased with, all continued to
work and produce and increase the wealth of
the little community until, as the serpent crept
into the garden of Eden, the "evil man.
from the ''evil treasures of his heart, pro-
duced evil things" Seeing the relation be-
tween the ship and the rudder, the labor and
property and the instrument of commerce."
he determined to quit work and become spec
uator, or robber, and to live no longer by his
labor, but his a7its. and truly an idle mans
brain is the DEVILS workshop" He sells one
half of his thousand dollars of property, puts
into his pocket one-half of the one thousand
Of -AI-
lation has been locked up, and presently finds
that labor and nrnnnrtu has f.uan 80