The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-03-11

10 gel more COWS was 10 go W WIN a'Id ioieC
them, or raise something else equally VaIua'
bic, and then with this something else buy
cows; fourth, that there are certain ctcrna!
veritics against which it is useless for either
babies or men 10 contend. 4 committee was
appointed 10 procure mill of the gods to
grind up those who disbelleved IN the last
resolution, and the meeting then adjourned.
IDEAL rIST POTS.
This WAS the first indication OF anything
like popular dissent from the views Oh the
Friends OF Humanity Others, however, soon
followed Value having been declared to be
an ideal thing, and ideal measures OF value
having been substituted in the place OF the
real and tangible measures formerly IN use,
it had been deemed proper TO substitute ideal
measures OF weight, and capacity IN the
place of the foot rules, yard STICKS, pouhd
weights, and buShel measures formerly EN-:
ploycd. Shopkeepers, plumbers chafCoai
men, gas CCrporatOrs and all others VINO hau
anything to sell accordingly provided them
selves with slips of paper, upon when were W.,
printed respectively, This Is Il foot This
is a bushc," This is a pint, This Is a
pound and the services Of the arithmetic
men were again call for 10 prove how
much cloth, beer, charcoal, gas, and all oth,
er measurable things the community would
certainly have by the saving OF labor ana
capital contingent on the avoidance OF the
necessity OF further manufacturing, purchas
ing, and using the old measures. But the
new system did not work smoothly. lhere
was no harmony Of sentiment between buyers
and sellers, and what was one mans ideal OF
what he should give or receive in trade was
always different from every other mans, ana
before the community were well aware OF
what they were about they found themselves
drifting back to the old system OF barter
which had been tried and Abandoned IN the
early days Of the Islands history.
SCALES OF EXCHANGE.
Instead of one price everyone who had
commodities or services TO sell adopted scale
of at least four prices: PAY price" money
price" pay as money price" and trust
ing price" and the seller, before hxing MS
price, invariably asked his customer how he
would pay. Pay price" was barter; mon
ey price" WAS in the ideal money OF the is
land trusting" was an enchanted price, &C
Cordlng to time. Thus, supposing custo-
mer wanted knife, its price IN pay would
be a bushel OF corn; in money price," nifty
cent gold or silver com; IN pay as money
sometimes as much as lie could bring in
basket, or other times as much as he could
bring in wheelbarrow and before the ultl
mate abandonment OF the use OF ideal money,
cart had to be employed to bring the mon
ey Trade in this way became most intri-
cate
THE TAXATION TALIsNAN.
News came also, about this time that the
heather, not being able TO stay their stom-
achs with the pictures Of fat cattle that had
been so abundantly sent them, and consider
ing themselves humbugged, were preparing
to declare war. To meet threatened in
creased expenditure on this account, the COY
eminent levied new taxes; and as the valua-
ton of the property Of the island. under the
influence of the new fiscal system, had, as
before stated, enormously increased, 1t was
anticipated that small rate would yield a
large revenue. But rs soon as SCrapehem,
Double, and their friends, who had been
multiplying their property by multiplying
titles, were TO be assessed as wealth equally
with the property which they represented.
they fastened TO swap back, and cancel their
mortgages; and Immediately half the reput-
ed wealth of the islaEd disappeared.
TIGHTENED REALITIES
All who had loaned valuable commodities
desired 10 avoid tapping, and consequently
FASTENED to demand repayment before the
ideal money could be extensively issued and
put in circulation, and having once obtained
payment were very cautious how. they lent il
again. All this contributed, in the language
Of the day, to make money very tight; but
this language had, 10 a great extent, no
meaning. The only money that was tight
was good money, and this had been gone so
long that the younger part Of the population
didn't even know how il looked, while OF the
bad money there was a continually increas.
ing quantity. Besides good money, all real
capital, timber for building ships, factories,
and houses, iron for the construction of
machinery, cloth for clothes, and grain for
food were tight; not because there was any
lack OF all these useful things, but because
the owners had all become afraid that il they
! once loaned or parted with them they would
never receive back an equivalent. SO the
island, instead of being lifted up to great
prosperity, was plunged into the depths of
adversely. There was Il general lack OF con-
lidence. Societary activity was abated. pro-
duction arrested, and men DESTROYS of being
industrious had no opportunity of following
any industry.
! EASE ACTION OF FOREIGN CAPITALISTS.
| Gold had long disappeared from circula.
ton. Although produced in lerge quaint
ties on the island, none of It would stay
there, but flowed off TO foreign countries in a
steady stream. The common explanation Of
| this phenomenon was that gold had become
! the cheapest thing the island produced, and
was, therefore, the first thing exported. But a
majority ofthose who said and heard this did
not clearly see that the average purchasing
rowcr OF gold the world over had not varied
| in any degree, but that the price OF almost
every other thing produced on the island had
so varied and relatively increased, by reason
of domestic fiscal circumstances, that il was
far better Tor the foreigner to take pay in
gold for all the commodities he cold TO the
island, and then, with this gold, purchase IN
other countries the very things which the is
land specially produced and wanted 10 sell.
AS already animated, the islanders found
great difficulty in understanding this little
arrangement; but foreigners understood Il as
by intuition, AMI never failed TO act upon it,
All of this further contributed TO turn upside
down and inside out the industries Of the is.
! land and while the friends of humanity con.
tinucd TO loudly proclaim that the issue of
; more money would cure all the difficulties,
the people, sorely distressed and ready to &C.
, cept relief from any quarter, began TO loudly
, murmur m turn at what seemed an unneces