The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-09-03
Silver and Paper Dollars.

The Greenback papers are exulting over
the fact that the trade dollar, containing APO
grains of silver, is received in trade for only
ninety cents, while the legal tender dollar,
containing but 4125 grains of silver is receiva-
BILE for one hundred cents; and they triumph
antly cry out, in proof of their theory of 'sfiat
money" that the Government stamp makes
the difference and confers upon the Bland
dollar value considerably beyond its intrin-
sic worth.
The assumption in plausible. Let US ex-
anime it. The claim that 4121 grains of sill
yer have greater value than APO grains is of
course absurd, for that would be saying that
part is greater than the whole, and thus be
contradicting one of the seltevident truths of
mathematics. 1t would be like saying that
three pecks Of corn are worth more than
bushel, or 120 pounds of flour worth more
than barrel. There is no reason why this
self-evident truth should not apply to money
as to all other things, for money is, and
should profess to be, but an equivalent for
the commodities for which it is exchanged.
The farmer who parts with a ton of hay, the
grocer who sells pound Of sugar, the tailor
who disposes of suit of Clothes these all
expect to receive something OF value equal to
the goods with which they parted. Other
wise they would decline to sell, for they
would not put themselves to the labor of cul-
tivating crops, or the trouble and expense of
building or renting and running shops and
buying material if they were not to be recon-
pensed, were not to get back all they ex-
pended and something for their labor. For
they would be constantly "running
behind" and soon be reduced to nothing.
The faIm would be run out and the shop
depleted. The farmer, if required to give as
much hay for one suit of clothes as it would
cost him to buy two would think he was
cheated The tailor if required to make two
suits of clothes as cheap as he makes one,
would think he was cheated. Both would
refuse to labor or sell under these conditions.
How is it then that both the farmer and the
trader will part with more commodities for
lesser weight of silver than for greater?
The answer is simple enough. The legal
tender dollar will pay duties on imported
goods as we'll as the gold dollar, while the
trade dollar will not. As the amount coined
is not sufficient to pay duties the nominal
value is maintained. If the Government
should promise to take potatoes, at hun
dred cents each, for duties instead of taking
dollars, each potato would be worth dollar
as long as the supply did not exceed the
amounf of dutios IN bn maid. Rut after that
who would give dollar for a potatoP What
would they be worth beyond their Intrinsic
value as food? What farmer after that
would exchange ton of hay for twenty pota-
toes? In what situation would the Govern
ment be? 1t might pay off its servants in
potatoes, requiring them to take two or three
or four or five potatoes, as the case might be,
for days service; but could it engage serv-
ants on a new contract for another day?
Would the man who could exchange his
labor for two bushels of corn OR ten yards OF