The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1882-10-05


even the fundamental principles
Of finance IN the very little that he dd say,
we undertook " show couple Of days ago .
In an article oi tho same caption with This /
We are not In the habit Of making state. |
monls or promulgating views that ere not
backed 90 by facts and protected by n re-
serve corps of arguments held for any prob
able opposition made TO our attack. But
as no response has been undertaken by any
of his friends TO that article, wo propose
now 10 elaborate more fully view we then
EXPRESSED viz; that il was folly to talk about
basng the credit government paper upon
anything other than gold or silver or both.
Government paper may or may not be
good in the future. Many things may
transpire to disable the government from
discharging its promise. But gold and sill
yer have ever been, are, and, doubtless Tor
countless generations to come, will be val
liable, and of about uniform value. They
are the product of labor, and hence are
measures or the standard OF other values
like themselves the products of labor
They are as valuable without
the government stamp as they
are with it, for that stamp does
nothing add to the coin than certify to its
weight; its fineness Without any govern
mental agency they would still be used
even as they were in ABRAHAM's time. The
greenbackers' antipathy to these precious
metals is anomalous; we can scarcely con-
ceive of a rational cause for the prejudice.
COLONEL JONES and his adherents would
have the government notes based on the pro-
duce of the country. 1t is astounding that
this idea at this day can be seriously
pressed before any intelligent audience. A
government can neither create nor earn
anything. 1t is voracious consumer.
Taxes, true, it can levy upon Its
peoples productions, and from these
tax collections pay its debts
But let us see how this thing worked once
not many years ago. And in reciting the
story of JOHN LAW, the Scotch enthusiast
banker of that day who bankrupted his
country, we are almost reviewing the cause
Of COLONEL JONES, the dreamer of this
hour 1t is wonderful how often history
repeats itself in these absurdities, although
they nearly always come in new form yet
this greenback craze has not even the
adroltness to clothe itself IN new garments.
But the little stories of LAWS scheme and OF
the assignats will speak for themselves. 1t
is familiar to many but cannot be too
freely presented, like a lighthouse to
| a., ;,o Il olyar "A
theory was-mark the resemblance: ANY
goods that have the qualities necessary in
money may be made money equal to their
value An acre OF land is equal to $40, and
NAV be made money equal that value, for
it has all the qualities necessary in money"
The fallacy is patent to any mind familiar
with finance or that understands what
"yalue" means. Land has not all the
qualities necessary in money 1t may have
purchasing power, but it cannot become a
general zed and current purchasing power,
ana hence cannot be that universal meas
ure of services" that in our former article
we demonstrated money must be. That
fallacy was detected too late for poor
! France. But TO the data. Law
therefore contended that the state
should be a banker and on its public prop
erty, emit bills to be legalized and ordained
into legal tender. His bank became the
Royal bank, issuing paper money sguaran-
teed by the state and resting back upon the
value of all the national property. This
paper money at one time went far beyond
par. II created almost crazein the nation
So much of it being issued, everyone APP
peared TO be getting rich, and peoples
heads were turned. The amount issued
finally reached nearly Sl,OOO,OOO,OOO.
The collapse came The great financial
bubble Of history was pricked, and
fell to pieces after a four years kiting.
! Again, shortly after, the French National
Assembly issued, under the name OF 'as-
| sAgnats," q paper money based on the
value ofland. These assignats were receiva-
BILE in payment for these lands at any.pub-
| lie sale of the same. In little while 40
800 coo 900 francs had been issued! They
! deprecated to 80 for 1, and brought.misery
all over the country in less than SIX years,
and suffering far in ex ess of the sword, the
bayonet, the prison or the guillotine! True,
for a time renewed confiscations OF
the lands kept the estimated value OF
the public domain far in advance
of the par value of the assignats based upon
them. But this had no tendency to pre-
vent their depreciation, because money"
! is a medium OF exchange, and its proper
amount has no relation to the estimated
amount of any commodities at all. When
will people learn these clear and simple
fundamental principles of political econ
omy? When will men, protesting to be
statesmen, comprehend that governmental
operations are merely like an individuals,
or If they know this. cease their en-
deayors to beiuddle the minds OF their
constituents? We are full 10 a surfeit Of
these theoretical errors and practical blum
ders that are eternally mixing up and con-
fusing the sign with the thing signifed, the
media of transactions or exchange with the
pure transactions themselves. When peo-
ple learn that "value" is relative and never
absolute; and that in its last analysis, ser
vice for service, rather than commodity
for commodity. is the great law Of exchange
and the true rule Of value, and that value
concerns persons and not things, then
flood Of light will burst upon them that
will set in shame the financial sophistries
with which 20 many are now befooled.
Does CoIoKEL JoSEs comprehend
As the fight progresses 10 Ohio the en-