Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-11-13
For the VERMONT FARMER.
MONEY.

Having shown that money is not a meas.
ure Of value, let US see what money is. The
mass of mankind have been taught that
nothing but gold and silver coin is really
money; and this education has made them
the easy dupes Of bondholders, bankers,
and other capitalists who have been clad in
purple and Jared sumptuously, without earn
ing dollar. This is the idea that lies at
the bottom of the stcreotyped cry for ere.
sumption oil specie payments"
Money, IN its broadest use, is simply
medium OF exchange. To illustrate A
farmer in Iowa has Wheat that he wants to
exchange with merchant in Boston for
tea. la the first place he cannot send his
wheat to Boston and then, the merchant
does not want it, Here is dilemma. So
the farmer sells his wheat for cash aud sends
his money for his tea and this money is
what political economists call "medium of
exchange" 1t makes no difference, really,
whether the money is paper or coin; except
that the paper is most convenient for trans
psrtation.
In oIden times, believe gold and silver
were used exclusively as mediums Of ex-
change in the most polished nations though
our American savages, and other barbarous
peoples, used different materials. But coin
is comparatively modern invention. The
precious metals were once estma ted by
weight, as We estimate iron now. Thus,
Abraham weighed four hundrel shekels of
silver for a sepulchre, and, stripped Of all
disguises this is what all nations are doing
now Tne value Of our gold aud silver
coins is estimated all over the world by the
weight Of pure metal in them and the only
advantage of coming them is that they bear
on their faces government certificate that
there is a certain weight of pure silver or
gold in them, which saves the trouble Of
weighing. Instead of counting over coin by
pounds weight we count it by dollars This
is one kind of money.
There is another kind of money made by
the government 10 most civilized countries,
either directly or through the agency Of
corporations; more convenient as medium
of exchange than coin. 1t also answers
another useful purpose, it increases the
amount of money 10 circulation making ev.
en- coin cheaper than it would otherwise be.
But it often happens that these two kinds
of money are Of different values for purpos-
es Of exchange, and the paper dollar has al
ways the least value in times of war or great
civil convulsOns. So it happened during
our late war that the paper dollar issued by
the government was worth, at one time, as
compared with gold, but thirty-6ve cents
The government borrowed immense sums oI
this cheap money, gave bonds for it bearing
gold interest, aud now the bondholders dc
mand that the cheap money snail be with
drawn from circulation till we have a sort oI
} money famine, and thus compel the payment
; in gold, and the farmers have got them t.
pay. ST.
! Lyme, N. H.
} III seems the only practical differences
between the position of rs. f." and that O.
} the FARMER is in regard to the expedency
or prOpriety of bringing our paper money
, upon solid basis before the outstanding
bonds have matured and been redeemed ii
deprecated paper. We consider that : maj
is bound by a voluntary obligation as
T sumed by him to relieve himself from |