Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-08-26
Primary Lessons in Money.

Primary Lessons in Money.
Some short and easy elementary lessons in
money would be good for such wonderful
statemen as Allen, Cary, Ewing, Pendleton,
Morgan and the rest of that lot, if they were
capable of learning the most rudimentary
principles. For example.
! The prices of things in general will adjust
themselves to the volume of money; therefore
money cannot be permanently either plenty or
scarce.
The quantity of money is always sufficient
for business, so that the quantity be fixed, or
subject only to such variations as are made by
the natural movements of trade.
Increase in the volume of money raises pri-
ces, and SO increases cost of production, which
diminishes exports and enhances imports, and
thus the country grows poorer.
If the money be that which is current in the
world, such as gold and silver, increase of its
quantity in one country, by raising general
prices, causes the money to flow abroad, un-
til its diminished volume reduces prices, and
therefore increases production and expectation,
and causes it to flow back again. These are
the variations spoken of above as by the natu-
raj movements of trade
1t is for this reason that we look upon a
large export of gold as showing weakness in
our productive industries; and, on the other
hand, diminishing export of gold as sign
that onr industries are growing stronger.
If the iDpraosa of ha ol ~,
that which is not current anywhere, the con-
sequent outflow will be in the precious metals
only. The export of these will in general be
in ratio to the increase Of paper money so long
as the supply holds out. j
Therefore increase of paper money can nev-
er promote industry and trade so as to bring
back gold and silver; it can only drive out
these metals
The increase Of natural money, ie. gold
and silver, in the circulation Of country, al
ways comes through an improvement in its
productive industries; it is the consequence
and not the cause of this industrial improve
ment
High prices must, in the nature of things,
become general, and high prices in general
mean high cost of production; therefore, high
prices always weaken the productive indus
tries.
The augmentation of the money circulation
by emitting notes as money, did never
strengthen our industries; it always weakened
them.
The use of money in trade is to settle bal
ances in volume of trade many times greater
than the volume of money; the volume of
trade is not limited by the volume of curren-
cy, nor swelled by sugmenting the volume of
the currency.
The trade of modern civilization is carried
on chiefly by the exchange of commodities,
and by the use of private bills and of credit,
and the volume Of current trade credits is
eight or ten, or NOSE, times greater than the
volume of currency.
The notion that the volume of money must
be increased in order tor have an increase in
trade, is an ignorant notion that civilized
commerce is limited by the barbarous condi-
tions and customs of the wild Arabs or Afri-
cans.
1t is not true that increase of trade requires
or is caused by increase of money; for the
trade of great Britain has doubled in the last
ten years, without any increase in paper mon
ey, or in gold, save that which is shared by
the world
In fine, the emission Of paper money raises
the cost OF production, weakens all the indus
tries, diminishes the exports, causes excessive
importations, drives out gold, makes the
country poor-justa spending ones note does
the individual al-and brings the country in debt
to all the world.
The working of this may be seen in the |
enormous importations of our paper-money
era during and since the war, when we were
actually impoverished by our destruction of |
capital; by our diminished exports of manu-
factured articles; by our exports of gold and
silver, which have taken all we mined and |
probably 200 millions of the stock in the coun- |
try before the war; and by the export. on the |
top OF all this, of probably 1000 millions of |
gold-bearing bonds. This is the poverty |
which comes from trying to make ourselves |
rich by emitting paper money. 1t is this, on
magnificent scale, that such currency char
latans and imposters as Cary, Kelley, Ewing,
Allen, Morgan, and Pendleton offer to repeat |
on condition of being elected to power We
doubt if there is one of them that is such q |
fool as not to know that this course tends in
evitably to general prostration, bankruptcy,
and national and individual reputation. Gin
cisnati Gazette.