The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-10-04
FIAT MONEY.

that it Is republican bugbear, and say that no
one ls in favor OF any such scheme. We rec
ommend them to consult the platform of their
party in the State Of New York, which declares
squarely in favor of absolute full legal ten
der paper money, and demands the immediate
calling in of all government bonds without re-
gard to the time they have to run and their
payment at once in this absolute" money
Let them read the platform OF their party in
Nebraska, in Connecticut in Massachusetts,
or in fact any other State, and then say who is
responsible for this idea Of absolute or " fat
money, for there is no difference in the mean
ing OF the words. Absolute paper money means
paper made money by the stamp of the gov
ernment, and not government notes some day
to be redeemed, Let them listen to their
greenback speakers, to l.. V. Moulton If they
choose, the champion of their party, whom they
imported to expound the principles of this new
gospel of finance, and who bases his whole ar
gument on fat money and boldly declares
that the time is close at hand when that kind
OF currency will be the money OF this people,
and who says that the trouble, ,wth the present
greenback is that it. promise to pay and
not absolute money. When they have done
this then let them answer who is responsible
for fiat money, paper tickets without any
value in themselves, made money solely by the
' fiat" Of the government. This great champion
MOIilfOn m a61itiOn fn hio Haf oeha
declares that the precious metals are unfit to
be made basis OF our system of currency be-
cause of their great and sudden fluctuations,
and therefore proposes to use worthless paper
that possesses no value, and he attempts to
sustain his positions by John Stuart Mill, the
English political economist.
Now we propose to try him by his own favor
ite writer on both of these propositions, for as
be pins his faith on Mill, by him let him stand
or fall, and we are satisfied we can convince
any reasonable thinking man by the writings OF
Mill himself that each of these propositions
are fallacious and untenable.
In the first place we will examine the ques-
ton Of the fluctuation OF the precious metals
and see how, what Mr.. Mill says, accords with
the ideas so beautifully illustrated by that out
line map Of Moulton's, whereon with so much
grace aud skill he had drawn his waving lines
of yellow and green. We quote from page 20,
I'd vol, Mills Political Economy. Speaking of
the adaptabllity Of the precious metals to full
fill the functions Of currency he says:
ITO the qualities which originally recon-
mended them, another came to be added, the
importance Of which only unfolded itself by de-
grees. or all commodities they are among the
least influenced by any OF the causes which
produce fluctuations OF value. No commodity
is quite free from such fluctuations. Gold and
silver have sustained since the beginning OF
ne from the discovery OF the American mines -
and some temporary variations, such as that
which in the last great war, was produced by
the absorption OF the metals in hoards and in
the military chests Of the immense armies con-
stantly in the field. In the present age the
opening OF new sources Of supply, 80 abundant
III the Ural mountains California and Australia,
may U6 Lu0 COmLuouCcultub VI huOIuCE poIlOu
of decline, on the limits OF which it would be
useless at present to speculate. But on the
whole no commodities are so little exposed to
causes of variation. They fuctuate less than
almost any other things in their cost of pro-
duction, and from their durability, the total
quantity In existence is at all times 80 great in
proportion to the annual supply, that the effect
on value even Of change in the cost OF pro-
duction is not sudden; q very long time being
required to diminish materially the quality In
existence, and even to increase ii very greatly
not being a rapid process. Gold and silver,
therefore, are more ft than any other COM
modify to be the subject of engagements for
receiving or paying given quantity at some
distant period. II the engagement we're made
In corn, failure Of crops might increase the
burthen Of payment in one year to fourfold
what was intended, or an exuberant harvest
sink it in another to one-fourth. II stipulated
in cloth, some manufacturing invention might
permanently reduce the payment to tenth OF
its original value. Such things have occurred
even in the case of payments stipulated in gold
and silver; but the great fall Of their value
after the discovery OF America, is, as yet, the
only authenticated instance, and IN this case
the change was extremely gradual being spread
over period Of many years."
Again, on page 81 OF the same book, he says
f" In order that the value Of the currency may
be secure from being altered by design, and
may be as little possible liable to fuctuatiol
from accident, the articles least liable of al
known commodities to vary in their value the
precious metals, have been made in all civilized
countries the standard OF value for the circu
lating medium; and no paper currency ough
to exist of which the value cannot be made t.
conform to theirs
We see by the above extracts from Mr.. Mil
that he by no means bears out the doctrines
contended for by his pretended apostle Moul
ton, so far as the iuctuation Of the value o.
gold and silver is concerned. Mill says tina