Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-10-16

tcEOsS us luCe. n yaiu 10 NuIu, thcy
ay, pound is pound, because the gov
,rnment has so enacted, and why may not ;
. dollar be dollar by government enact
nentP And sure enough, why not? The
analogy is good enough, but the trouble
with it is, that it does not prove what it is
Used to prove. A yard consists of given
number of units of linear measure, a
pound consists Of given number of units
Of weight. As was said by some of the
ndges of The supreme court, in the legal
tender decisions, yard without length or
n pound without weight would be Il con-
tradiction in terms. Is it not equally
plain that what is called dollar must
be q unit of some value? One cannot
measure length by something that has no
length, nor weight by something that has
no weight,-and how measure value by
something that has no value? With paper,
nothing, how can the units of
value be ascerlainedp Shall II dollar be |
piece of paper seven inches by thre e
inches. half dollar one-half as large, one |
cent a piece of paper one-hundredth the
size of the dollar, ten dollars Il piece of
paper ten times the size? How else can
the analogy with the yard stick be kept
up? Or would the Messenger change the
system of weights and measures, and
stamp one weight "a pound" and another
weight of the same size "A ton? And
does it think that government fiat of the
most vigorous kind known to the modern
financiers, would make two such weights
of any different capacity by stamping on
one This is pound" and on the other,
" This is q TOM" Or can the govern
ment change the length of II three feet
rule by stamping on one This is yard"
and on another. "This is a mile!" The
Messenger says very justly that branding
our wheat and beef ~. S." does mol
make it more valuable-and if not, what
virtue is there in paper by which brand
ing that ~ S." makes it more valuable?
1t is strange enough that intelligent
men seem to have been misled by this
analogy of the yard stick. Gen. Butler
having gold dollar than in having gold
yard stick, and the government might AS
well redeem all the yard sticks as to re-
deem the greenbacks. Now piece Of
wood has length, piece Of metal has
weight, and the government stamp gives
neither of them any leng h or any weight
which it did not have before. but merely
gives name to length and weight already
in existence. The length is the same
whether the yard stick is made of gold or
of paper, the weight is the same whether
the pound is copper or silver But value
is something that inheres in the material
itself A yard of velvet and yard of
calico, although they have the same dimen-
sions, have not the same value; pound of
gold and pound of chalk have the same
weight, but not the same worth. Value
is something more than n name; it is n
quality, and can it be measured by some
thing that has no value? or can something
be measured by nothing?
Tho Messenger objects to gold and silver
as basis for paper money, not only be-
cause they tluctuate in value, but because
the banks never have them when they are
really wanted, and thus panics and fail.
ures ensue, and the conclusion reached by
the Messenger seems to be, that because
gold and silver are not a perfect basis
therefore there should be no basis at all
OF, in other words, because it sometimes
happens when creditor calls for his
money, that the debtor has none to give
him, it is better that the debtor should
never be called upon to pay his debt, OF
that he be allowed to settle by giving an
other paper promise exactly like the first
one. Panics, suspension of specie pay.
men,s and failures come because of ex
banded credits, and not because gold and
silver are money. 1t may be admitted
that remedy for this may be found by
providing by law that debtors shall not bC
obliged to pay their debts, but probably
no other remedy will be found while thu
credit system lasts When the last panic
; occurred, seven hundred millions of papel
money were available to pay debts; thu
> trouble was the men who owed debts hat
nothing to exchange even for paper mon
ey, and their notes accordingly went tc
: protest. Even fiat money would not say,
such men from failure, unless the govern
ment would give it to them in quantities t,
suit their convenience.
The Messenger thus eulogizes its fla
money:
But who that loves and believes in hi
| country is going to say that non com
! modify curl ency, issued by it and made al
{ secure as the constitution ITSELF is not safe
1t will be beyond the tinkering of con
gress; it will be the same, whichever par
ty is in power; it will be an unvaryins
measure whether crops are scant or abun
dant. mines productive or poor, the worlt
peaceful or warlike and foreign nations
wise or unwise. 1t can be changed onl,
by the supreme voice Of the people, ex
pressed through all the safe guards of con
gress and the states. 1t will be recev
able for all dues, public and private
therefore it will buy goods. foreign or do
nestle. and pay taxes and duties as vel
as gold-in fact better, for 1t will AWAY.
be of equal worth and will be counted in
stead of weighed. 1t will have behind h
the whole power Of the government to tn,
and the whole resources of the country
TO respond. In other words, it will be
good If the government is good. Whoever
says it would fall distrusts the government
itself. Whoever dstrusts government goes
back to first principles and state of bar
barism."
This praise of fiat money is puzzling.
To distrust it, 1t Is said, is to distrust the
government, But there does not seem to