The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-07-05
Fiat Money

\
sions than the q absoluten or s. fat" money
notion. The definition OF It.. as given in
the platform of the Missouri Greenbackers,
| IL q the issue Of absolute money In green
| backs equal to gold and silver; that all
tbonds now subject to redemption be imme-
diately,redeemed In absolute money equiva-
| lent to conn., etc. Perhaps General Butler
nut the idea more plainly when he made
argument in favor OF circulating medium
whose value should be determined entirely
/ by the stamps put upon it by the Govern,
ment. tt was to be non.redeemaDlc ana
nou-exportable. 1t would have no worth
in foreign trade, and no promise TO pay
would accompany it. The Treasury
must stamp upon a piece OF paper,
Tor wood, or leather-upon any tnins' IN
fact, that would bear an 1mpr1nt-tnat Tue
instrument is one dollar. hundred dollars,
mr. Thousand dollars, and it would pass in
] nil transactions at that valuation, usurping
all the functions of gold and silver and rel
coating the precious metals to employment
in the orts and rs the basis OF foreign eX-
change. We, Of course. understand per-
fectIy well that to almost every Intelligent
man such financial system seems like an
| impossible project born in the brain OF an
| inmate OF a unatic asylum, but it is still
! true that it possesses certain 1asclnation
| for d very large mass of people who have
lost sight OF the correct fundamental prin-
ciples OF industrial and commercial pros
perity, and IRE ready to follow any Wlll-0'-
| the. wisp through the bogs and morasses OF
false reasoning and falser promises. We do
not expect reform from the mental inebri-
ates drunken with the wine OF fallacy, but
it is worth while to study the system and
the consequences of this glittering delusion
of g fat" money. ~ .v
The foundation Of the blunder is that the
political corporation known as Congress
can create money superior to silver and gold.
The fantasy is Just about comparable with
the belief OF ancient alchemlsts that they
could discover secret OF nature which
would enable them to transmute the baser
metals into gold. We might even say that
it equals in absurdity the by-gone fiction of
tic philosophers stone, which was sup
posed to turn into gold whatever metal
touched it. 1t inevitably strikes, in the first
place, every discerning person who reads the
Missouri platioI m, which we simply select as
an example OF the tone Of the absolute money
people throughout the country, that it
contradicts itself. An "absolute" green
back is misrepresentation OF terms, for The
greenback is treasury-note promising to
nav so much money in coin, and depending
for its value and purchasing power upon
the popular faith in the performance OF that
promise. But the "absolute scrip is SIM
ply something which is called 80 many dol
lars, and it is not note or guarantee to
pay anything at any time to the holder.
How Congress can make this irredeemablc
paper equivalent to gold or silver" when
| it is never to be redeemed in coin, and the
metal currency is to be totally eliminated
| liz ~ 1op hop is 10
something that passes the ordinary com
prehension. 1t would be as reasonable to
| talk OF establishing value for the cowrle
shells Of Africa or the wampum currency
Of the aboriginal Indians OF America.
| Now, suppose we trace up the t0rtuous
paths Of fiat " money. What would these
scrip slips with dolar-marks upon them
represent? The accepted definition OF
dollar is amintcd piece OF gold or silver OF
tyed weight, or paper promise to pay
that piece OF precious metal. But II we
throw aside tie coin measurement what
idea OF value will attach to one OF these
fragments OF printed paper? How can one
denomination he worth more than another
in the way OF eXchangeablc value! When
| farmer, for instance, sells Il certain
quantity OF grain and gets his pay in
| gold, silver. Sreenbacks, or NATIONAL
| bank notes, he knows that the recon-
pense is ii substantial onc.. He has in bis
pocket either the colG or the rcdcemable
paper based upon it. But il lie dlsposeS or
the same quantity OF his produce, and IS
paid with bit, OF stamped paper-iet us
say S1O0-can he possibly tell what he
| makes or loses by the trader That little
slip NAV be forcible legal tender, but it is
| not measured by any tangible thing. His
grocer may demand it OF him for pound
| of sugar; for its only worth is sentimental
and subject to the widest fluctuations. In
trinsically it is good for nothing. What
reason is there for supposing that slip OF
| paper with the sign $1,000 printed there
| upon will purchase more clothing or food
than a similar scrap of paper stamped
with $50 or any other figure. No mat
ter how We argue around it. we return
to the same difficulty, that no known
standard OF value can be applied to the pro-
| Doscd .absolutc" money. 1t has no in
| trinsic or commodity worth, ard its use in
barter is purely subject to individual dicta.
ton A slip printed with the figures $1,000
is worth no more property and is rcdeema-
| Bile in no more value than slip bearing the
$40 legend, because the mark OF the dollar
conveys nothing substantial, and Is entirely
arbitrary. TO explode the halucination
| regarding Sldlll!)ctl papSis lCe uS "upP"SN
that the Government should take as much
copper as there is in the old pennies and
mass it through the fity-cent die. Does
anybody imagine that its purchasing power
| would be any greater than that of the cent !!
| And vet that would be legitimate "tat -
| money.
| But this is not all. The patent paper
scrip would inevitably establish 4 new rcla-
| ton OF it's own to commodities. The al
legged dollar might buy pound OF meat one
week and an ounce the next. Naturally its
purchasing efficacy would continually de-
crease. The finance thinkers propose to
meet that difficulty by issuing more and
more of it as it dwindles in value, and as
there is bottom to every descent, it would
| come IN the end to be OF no greater account
| than waste paper. How can prices be
| fixed in such money, when one piece
OF irredeemabc scrip is intrinsically
worth no more than another? Even
| if it be said that it will be 4 legal
tender in the payment OF debts and taxes,
and thus some value will attach to it,
the reply is that nobody will sell property
on credit, to be paid in such currency; no
debts will be made payable in that kind OF
paper, and no government can be maintain
ed on revenues OF that worthless sort. No
body would serve the Government or sell
supplies to it, and take such valueless stun
in payment. or course. the currency hay
ing no worth, and the products OF mecllan-
les and agriculture being actually valuable,
we would be compelled to adopt general
system of barter. Instead OF rendering
money for commodities, one product would
he traded for another. The legal-tender Of