The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1879-10-16
Col. Ingerson ON Money

Nothing ever haa been money, from the
most barbarous 70 the most civilized. un-
Iess it waa a product of nature, and a
something to which the people among
whom il passed as money attached GER
tain value, value not dependent upon
law, not dependent upon FIAT" in any de-
| gree.
Nothing ha- ever been considered mon
ey that man could produce.
Shades Of Moses AMI his errors!
j. the chunk of quartz blasted from tn e
rocks Of the Sierras, money?
After it is Crushed and placed in the
crueible. is it money?
After the metal containing several alloys
is precipitated. Is it money?
After the pure gold has been cast into a
bar, is it money?
Shave of 25.8 grains, nine tenths fre, il
that money?
Pass it through the mint, and behold.
an Eagle! Now ia it money. But who
created and named it, and bresthed into its
form the soul of money-legal tender?
Again:
You cannot live upon the promises of
| your government any more than you
could live upon the notes Of your hired
maa-.ny more shan ron could five upon
bond issued BY the occupants of the
county poor house.
Neither can you live upon gold any
more than you can upon the gravel that
covers the dead body of the pauper.
And right here wish to ask one ques-
tion, and would like to have it answered
some time: If the government can make
money, Nit can create money, if by put
ting its sovereignty upon a piece of paper
it can create absolute money, why should
the government collect taxes?
Because, not only the constitution but
the public good enjoin upon congress- tn e
duty of regulating the value of money, and
its value can only be regulated by regulas-
ing its volume. A constant increase of
money to the extent required to meet the
public expenditures, would depreoiate its
value to the injury of creditors and con.
tracing parties. When the volume is am
pie, its value can be kept uniform only BY
defraying the public expenses out of the
existing volume.
| But here is something Noteworthy of
the critic of Moses and Jehovah:
Another thing: If the government can
create money simply by stamping what
they are pleased to call it's sovereignty up
on q piece Of paper, why should il waste
that sovereignty on a one dollar bill; why
not create ten dollar bill, hundred, a
thousand, a milliop2 Why should we
stop?
| Solomon tells US to answer q fool accord
ing to his folly. So we reply by asking
other questions equally as foolish:
IfGod created all things by the fiat OF
His infinite sovereignty, why did He waste
His er ergies and powers on fieas, lics gnats
and other infinItesmal organisms?
Why did He make millions of suns and
billions Of worlds? Why did He not melt
all the suns into one grand orb and the
myriads of planets into one monstrouf
world, and inhabit with giants ten miles
high and eight miles around the waist?
Why not fill the sea with few mon.
strous whales. instead of fooling away time
on chubs and minnows?
And here is another extract:
The other day ! had conversation with
one Of the principal gentlemen upon tha
side, and told him: Whenever you car
successfully palm Of on man a bill of
fare for dinner 1 shall believe in your
doctrine; and when / can satisfy the pang
Of hunger, by reading cook book, shall
: join your party
Il A man can make about as square a mea
of greenbacks rs he can of gold. Neithe
would digest well, but one will exchang
for good dinner as readily as the other
and always would
Col. Ingersoll is no doubt in favor of tn
, soldiers petition, for if their pay and rati
ons consisted only of the "bill of fare" tn
government is in duty bound to suppl.
them yet with the real "shoddy" and char
tack" which it promised.
In speaking of the hard times, Col. In
gersoll denies that there is or ever has bee
any q ffering or loss for the want of NOR
: money. He says: AZ
We have plenty Of money but not eDoug
business. The reason We have not enong
business is, we have not enough con6denc'
and the reason we have not confidence i
Q because the market is slowly falling, an
the rerson it is slowly falling isthat thing
have not quite resumed, that we have nc
quite touched the absolute bed rock {
valuation. Another reason is, those VIII
left the cultivation OF the soil have nc
~ yet all returned, and they are living som
upon their wits, some upon their relative
some upon charity and some upon crime
In short, times are hard because produ'
ers still get trihe too much for the
products. Prices are falling, and whe
they get down to bed rock, business wi
boom, confidence will be restored, and v
shall be happy. The farmers are sufferir
because those who left the cultivation
the soil during the war have not yet a
st returned to compete with them.
Too high prices makes too little bus
ness.
Too high prices destroys confidence
production.
h. Too high prices makes hard times, al
h prosperity will never return until hard p'
10 10 reached, and, of course. ito insure pc
'' manent prosperity, lower prices even tha
ID now must be maintained, He conclude
Imitation means going into..debt; contra
tion means the payment of the debt.
That solves the problem. As 'debts c
be paid only in money. and as nothing b
gold and silver are money. the short 70
,g to pay our vast indebted meas is to contfl