Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1874-09-01
SUMMIT Pr, JEFF. Co., W. Va, !
July 2lst, 1874.

SUMMIT Pr, JEFF. Co., W. Va,
July 2lst, 1874.
JNo. T. CAMPBELL, ESQ,
Ny Dear Str 81 received duly yours of
the 9th inst. 1t would afford ne much pleas
ure to reproduce the letter you refer to, if I
could but [ am in the habit of writing so
many letters on this engrossing question of
currency that do not now recollect the points
made in my letter to you, while l am truly
happy to find they met your approval There
can be no doubt but that expressed the
opinion that, of all the questions of tenn
poral character, there could be none of more
importance than that of currency or money {;
indeed, it is question that, in its connec-
tions and penGencies-inasmuch as We are
combination of soul and body-is not only
interviewer and bound up with poral things,
but will have its influence over the future
and eternal destiny of men. For fully con-
cur in a sentiment have seen somewhere ex>
pressed, that, "if you would save mans soul,
you will find it intimately connected with the
saving of his body" Indeed, it is the body,
and by cooperation of both soul and body
that those material substances are created and
formed, wpon ,chtch, as the cornerstone aud
foundation, rests the whole fabric of ciyiliza>
ton, and all our mental, moral, social and res
ligious advances aud Improvements have been
made, and rest the same foundation
When the Creator, for his trausgrassion,
turned man out of Paradise, and imposed on
him the penalty of living by tho ''sweat of
his brow" he did SO in mercy nor vas the
penalty by any means, harsh and severe ono.
For God knew well that, with very moderate
labor he would not only supply his food,
raiment, and shelter, but would, in addition,
have an overplus of net gains, upon which as
a capital he could rest and have time for de-
veloping and improving all the high and di-
vine faculties with which he had so literally
endowed him. It has been .estimated, bv
Goodwin, that if every man, woman. and child
able to work, would work one hour in the day,
there would be an amount Of capital in the
world fully equal to the present when a t6,0,
by the idlencss of many. have been compelled
to body and soul crushing servitude and
labor that was never designed by a merciful
Creator, but has been imposed upon them by
the crafty rascality and wicked contrivsrces
of their fellow men. While we admit and
recognize the differences and inequalities. both
mentlliy and bodily. of a small number of the
race over the masses of their fellow men. still,
we insist that, in any given race, on the 1p-
crGg", man is equal to man throughout the
world and that the great inequalities we see
in condition. wealth. intelligence. morals and
religion have been brought about rather BY
the INSCRIPTIONS rascality and shrewd wick
edness of the few fsvoritcs of fortune as they
are called, than by any extraordinary supe,
riOrify of faculties over others in the endow>
meuss of nature or Providence
If this position is. in the general, correct
In regard TO the many inequalities among
men, it is most signalIy 30 in tho great and
unequal distribution" cf ,realth, and which has
been brought about not so much by the supe.
rior intelligence and industry of its profess
sore, as by special advantages gained in unfair
and corrupt class legislation; aud in that un.
fair and corrupt class legislation, especially,
and pre- emnently by the unfair and special
advantages gained, by a comparatively small
number of men, in the institution of the ex-
changing medium, or money. In the early
ages of the first institution of money, and
t0hich was founded upon the consent of men,
simply as convenience in facilitating the OK
changes of commodities, it was overlooked
that if any ono of those commodities should
be selected as money, that this very selection
of that commodity, was the giving an enor>
nous and unfair advantage to one commodity
the product of one class of Iahorers. over all
other commodities, and would necessarily
become, unless qualified by restrictions and
whole system of unjust and iniquitous GLASS
legislation, which has ''gcnerated the glaring
inequality of property, and the oppression of
the many for the sake of Pampering the folly
of the few" 1t must be then, manifest, that
if commodity is preferred above all other
commodities by being adopted as their ex-
changing medium of value, and upon the
principle that it is the ins,rinsic value of all
other commodities exchanged the value of
that commodity, adopted as money, should
itself be ascertained as the dveragc only Of all
other values. In modern times. if it is in
sisted that gold only is money. then let the
world ascertain the Average raiue of gold by
comparison with the average vnlue of all
other commodities, and then-and only then
= can it lay claim to a standard OF values
We know that, by Wells report to Congress,
the net increase of all labor is fraction over
three per cent, per annum. The probability
is that the net increase of the labor of
tho world is not two per cent. per annum
and if so, then if all labor. in gold digging
and everything else. is to be treated upon
terms of equality, let the value Of digging
gold be estimated by labor other commod-
tiles, and you may arrive at a tdir standard
of values; otherwise, there can be no stand
ard, and the gold diggers and goldites will
continue to be-vhat they have always been
the irresponsible, remorseless and unre>
stricted measurers of 'sother peoples corn in
their own bushel" These last remarks ap>
ply. of course, to the gold worshipers who
insist that gold is the standard of all value,
and the only basis of a true monetary sys-
TEN; and who draw distinction between
money and currency, as Mr.. Phelps of New
Jersey did, in his much bruited speech on
the floor of Congress. He affirmed that. in
exchanges, two instruments were necessary.
,nnnc,, as a standnrd of ralne and c,,r-euca.