The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-08-04
FINANCIAL.
resumption Heard From.

Some writer has said that money
is the cart by means of which we
make our exchanges. Another says
''to get oyer the difficulty, that a sell
Ter of goods might not want the
other goods offered by a buyer, was
alone the true origin of money"
One of the ways we distinguish |
ourselves from the bsrbarians, is by |
using money instead of barter.
Money is the medium of exchange
the measure of vaiue. We send
out our corn and cattle on the cart
money, and bring in our sugar, tea,
coffee and clothing. When we have
a cow to sell. and a coat to buy, in
stead of looking around until we
find a tailor who wants a COW, we
exchange the COW for money and
the money for coat; by having
this common medium of exchange,
we save q vast amount of time.
Money is q tool, which every one
uses; as such it is valuable. No
sane man values money for its own
sake, but for what it will bring. No
one gets money to keep, but to part
with, for something else. Currency
is from euro, run the mission of
money is to run; the more it can
be made to run the more useful it
is. Money is not wealth, in the true
sense of the term. Because we can
exchange it for anything we desire,
we have come to regard it as wealth.
Why do men take money for any
thing they possess ? Simply because,
as Aristotle said, many centuries
ago, they ''agreed" TO. No law, SO
far as 1 am aware, makes a man part
with what he has for money. AS a
matter of convenience and saving
of time and trouble, all meu have
agreed to it. True wealth is in the
corn and wheat, in the cattle and
wool, in the iron and lead, in the
gold and silver. "The ultimate reg
ulator of Yalue," if left to natural
laws, sis cost of production"
1t is no argument to say that
money is scarce here. 1t will al
ways be scarce until we produce
something to bring it here. The
man who has corn or cattle or wool
to sell has no difficulty in getting
money for them and never will
have, if trade is allowed to follow
natural laws. am in favor OF
gold as legal tender because it has
all the desirable qualities 1 have
mentioned, and many more. Unless
there should be a discovery OF some
great amounts of it, of which there
is now no prospect, there will be no
sudden change in its value; while
there has been a decrease in its val.
ue since 1851, it has been so gradu-
al that it has produced no shock. II
is highly valued by all peoples and
is gradually becoming the legal
standard among most of the civilized
nations. England has it; Germany
has recently adopted it; France
though nominally having the double
standard, by limiting the amount oil
silver coined has, in effect, the gold
standard. While the silver five
franc piece is legal tender to any
amount, yet the coinage is limited
by law, as it is also by agreement
with Italy, Belgium and Switzer.
land, according to population; il
can be had only in limited amounts
and is therefore not an unlimited
ender. Gold is subject only to nat
ural laws of production and not
subject to sudden fluctuations. Il
can be easily transported, costing
only two or three per cent, inclu-
ding insurance, to convey it to the
most distant parts of the world, ant
it can always be had by any natior
that has any thing to exchange for
it. l am not in favor of silver as 1
legal tender, except in small
amounts, because it is being demon
etized by other nations and thai
together with the open ing up o
the Bonanza mines has caused trap
idly to decline in value, being low
er now than was ever before known
Make silver legal tender and al
our securities would rapidly declin
in value; even the much abuse
greenbacks would disappear tror
circulation. Silver would com
from every land, for it would b
worth more here than anywher
else. was surprised to hear ger
tleman of intelligence say a fey
days ago that Congress had reduce
. the worth of the silver dollar t
rs or so cents. Congress has don
no such thing; it has simply enact
ed that an article which has depr,
> ciated 20 or 25 per cent. in Il
y markets of the world shall not pa
: debts the same as though there W.
no depreciation. In other words, IL
law will not clear man yet /
: paying 20 cents on the dollar {
> what he owes.
Silver is too bulky for q cenvt
nient currency, being about 151
times heavier than gold of the san
Z value. With the limited amount
we have now we hear people con
u planning every day of its inconvt
3 nience. Should it come into gel
6 eral circulation it would remind I
or the two daler pieces coined /
i Sweden in the 18th century, frol
4 copper, being ia inches square an
3Ja lbs. in weight.
= Money is a measure Of value.
is very necessary to have som
common standard to which we ca
bring everything of value an
measure it. 1t would not do I
say that two cows are worth horl
and five and half sheep worth