Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-05-26

paper money, he parts with merchan-
disc and receives a ticket or counter
containing no merchandise, but pos
sessing the power to cancel debt to the
extent of the value parted with. lie
buys of the grocer, and then he is paid
for his gold, beef, or cloth. The gro
Ger buys of the wholesaler, and the
wholesaler of the iobber, and the joli
Der of the importer, and the importer
pays it to the government as duties or
taxes. 1t may perform any other cir
cult, and each gets his pay when he
parts with his money, instead of when
he receives it. Actual pay would. be
useless except as security. In the end
nothing is repudiated, for each and
every one is paid when he parts with
his money.
1t is claimed that such money be-
comes worthless because it has no in
trinsic value. Its value depends upon
precisely the same principles that gov
ern other values. 1t is a business
maxim that "therc is nothing so GER
tain as death and taxes" This curren-
cy would pay taxes, and would have
utility. Having utility, it would be
desired, and, being limited in supply, it
would be valuable according to limita-
ton.
1t must also be born in mind that
the government is the people-at least
in Il Republic-and our premises will
not conform to the facts, if we con-
slider it an individual outside and indie
pendent of the rest, or an individual
among the rest, whose gain is their loss.
Anything saved to the public treasury
is saved to the whole people, anything
gained by the treasury is gained by the
whole people.
Such is not the case with Il bank,
however. That is individual, and
special in its charter, and operation for
private gain, like any other business.
Any gain to it is not II gain to the bal
lance of the community.
Let us now observe the operation of
Il bank note currency. Up TO this
point, whatever the money received
from the government was "intrinsic'
or not; if A wanted money it cost him
the value represented, and if he bought
or loaned, he could not buy or loan be-
yOnd his money without becoming
borrower. We have seen that substi-
tutcs affect the value of the principal,
and us the government furnishes all
the money and substitutes, it could
control the value Of money Let it
charter Il bank, however, and give A
the right to issue circulating notes, and
it loses its power over the value of
money. 1t may compel \ to convert
his notes into coin on demand, and up
on the theory that "things that ex-
change for each other are of equal val
he" it may keep these circulating notes
at par with coin. This, however, is a
fallacy Cf simple enumeration, for al
though true it does not follow that
both will not change in their value
with regard TO other things. That
they do so will be shown hereafter.
The privilege having been granted
to y TO issue circulating notes, another
step is taken in the direction of the
'hollvJ rnwcr." lie is now enabled,
10 Il great extent, 20 exercise the most
important function of governments with
regard to money, viz: within certain
limits TO regulate its value. lie can
also play Il confidence game" on the
community If b wants C'S cloth,
he goes to A to borrow money, and is |
offered the bank note. 1t being Il new
arrangement, he objects; but seeing the
basis" on hand ready TO be paid and
wanting only cloth, he concludes to
take the note if c will take it as mon
ey and let him have the goods. The
only thing Of value loaned is the cloth, |
and c is the real lender. A and b
have but exchanged notes. a owes
G for the cloth and pays no interest,
while Il gives a his note for the cloth |
borrowed from c, and pays interest to
the wrong man. by this arrangement
G, the real lender, gets no interest,
while a, the real borrower, draws in
tereSt on what he owes to c. The bank
note, although not a legal tender, is
not indorsed by b, and if A does not
pay, c cannot hold B. This is neces-
sary to enable it TO become Il sort of
"psuedO" money.
1t may be objected that a has actual
ly loaned his "basis," and it is merely
1,f Il .1..l