The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1881-06-02
Lime Springs. MAY %. 1891.

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Lime Springs, May %, 1881.
Editor PLAN DEALER, Dear Sir-As
I promised to continue the subject
started In your paper OF the 18th !
will make an effort to redeem the
promise.
Ny last assertion was that all mon
cy rs such, no matter OF what mute
rial made, was simply and purely
creation of law, depending on legal
enactmcnts for its value az a circ,lla-
ting medium. or medium OF exchange.
Here probably our SO called "honest
money! friends will cxclaim all nom
sense, gold Is money. whether coined
or not. It is worth Just as much be-
fore coined as after, and away back
in Abralam's time 1t was weighed
current money with the merchant.
But we IRE not informed whether
Abraham's gold was coin, dust, or
nuggets, and it is not material. The
value OF gold before coinage Is Its
merchantablc or commodity value.
It can be, and Is bought and sold the
same as other commodities. But 1t
is not q lawful tender for debts and
this legal tender quality Is the es-
scntial and distinguishing qualifica-
ton Of money; is in fact tho quality
that makes money and the supreme
law making power OF this, or any
other country is the only power that
cnn confer it. Although tho Nation
al Bank bills IRE a partial legal ten.
der, their warmest advocates do no,
claim for them that they are money
they tell us the bills are simply 9
substitute; something that calls fol
money and as We all know the cal
Is answered with Grecnbacks. Nov
il the above proposition in regard (
money Is true, and / contend that I
cannot be successfully controverted
in what respect is gold better thar
paper Us a material OF which to make
it. Ir some respects It Is not rs gooe
being more cumbersome to handle
carry or transport from place Il
place. But at this point the advo
Gates OF gold money bring in thu
constitution and claim that it pro
hibits congress implicitly at leas
from making money OF anything cx
cept gold or silver. Well let us lool
40 tho constitution and see what I
does say on this question. In Art |
Section s, among the grants OF pow
or to congress we find the following
ITO coin money, regulate the value
thereof and OF foreign COIN" Thi.
is rather short text but that's al
there Is Of 1t, and 1t is amply sutli
cienr to cover the whole ground
But we look in vain for any prohi
billions combining congress 70 gol,
and silver, or any other material
This gold and silver limitation Is a
Inference, and for purpose. Fur
lthcr on in Section 10 we find this
NO state shall coin money, emf
bills OF credit, make anything blu
gold and silver coin tender in pay
mcnt OF debts" There is the onl,
mention OF gold and silver, and thi
lappears to be designed simply t
take from the several states all pow
Ter over the question OF money an
leave it exclusively with congress
And the whole matter OF money an
finance is by the constitution left I
the discretion of congress withOu
any limitation whatever. In look
ing over the constitutional grants (
power to congress 1t really appear
I to me that congress has just tn
same right to charter companies
declare war, maintain armies an
navies, establish post roads, lev
taxes, make treaties, &C., as 1t has
charter Banks to supply the peopl
) their currency, as each and all
, these powers are vested in the cor
gress and no wiIvre olSa. Anotht
| argument relied on by the gold a,
!. vocates as against legal tender pi
3 per is this; the fiat Of congress cal
. not create value, and money being
measure Of values, must itself col
! tain actual value, and really be wor,
, what it claims to be. And here the
O claim to have the crazy Greer
hackers in o tight place, and II II
position was correct perhaps the
!. would, but I deny its CORRECTNESS
while admitting readily that govern
: mcnt fiat cannot create actuA valu
! (nothing but labor, time. rain an
: Sunshine, can do that.) deny fir
that gold possesses the actual val,
they claim for it, its value beir
s largely fiat; and secondly, that mo-
!, ey OF any kind is measure Of 6
O Ualue Of other things. Money do
: lars are not measures, but repr
;, sentatives OF the value OF 9th
Y things. When we say for instan'
: that a horse which We wart to sell
worth one hundred dollars, We I
mot mean that the money is real
:. worth the horse, but that tn
, amount Of money represents som
thing we want more than the horf
n and the transfers can be made mo
i. readily and easily by using the de
. lars, than without them. So we CT
. see that they are simply mediul
t or tool for changing the 0wnersh
z |of valuable commodities from Il
: possession OF one person, to tina.
another. The dollars themselv
whether gold, silver, or paper, O
q worth but little aside from thu
l. ready exchangeability.
IS Respectfully,
II w. F. DANIELS.