The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-10-08
GIVE Us HONEST MONEY.
f. The New York Sun, speaking Of the
recent Convention Of Bankers in Saratoga,

I s. The New York Sun, speaking of the
recent Convention Of Bankers in Saratoga,
ssys:
Col. w. L. Trenholm of Charleston
made an address to the convention, in
which he seriously argued that if our
currency depreciates so that it will take
$5S4instead:o :ol S4S5 to buy s1OO draft
.5on England, and the price of imported
goods rises in consequences, the American
producer uill still sell his productions
(, for the same price he had got before !!
He did not see that wheat, corn, pork
and beef sold in Liverpool for sterling
money would, atathe higher rate OF
exchange, bring more to the seller, and
that home manufactures would rise in
price to.the level of imported goods.
The rate. of exchange is a matter of
very little consequence in financial trans
actions, SO long as it remains fixed and
uniform. A nation fixes its standard OF
value tosuitits own onvenience and neces-
stiles for exchange, and as long as that
standard of value remains the same its
people can conduct their commercial
affairs with certainiy between themselves.
For instance, in the days of the Spartan
lawgiver, Lycurgus, iron was the none.
tary medium of the government. At
that time the supply of iron was limited,
and the Spartans measured their ex.
changes by it. As the quantity of iron
increased its exchangeable value became
less, until it was too cumbrous for cur.
rency, and gave way to dearer metal,
which. by reason sof its scarcity, had a
value. that rendered it convenient as q
standard of exchange.
If from iron as the standard Of value
thegoyernment had changed to diamonds,
the other extreme would have been found
equally as inconvenient, for the limited
supply Of diamonds would not have fur
nished enough of them to afford medi.
um of exchange, and condition Of
things would have been inaugurated
similar to tnat which succeeded the late
war, before United States currency be.
gan to circulate inSthe South. A few
people had little gold, but as it was not
possessed by many persons, the exchanges
of the country had to be conducted in
kind-,hat is, G man who had barrel of
flour to sell could not get money for it,
but he could exchange it to his neighbor,
who had corn to sell and wanted some
flour, for its value in corn.
This exchange of articles ia kind is
the real basis of all commerce. Money
is merely symbol intended to represent
q unit of value To- facilitate exchange.
For Instance, a community composed of
"A, B, G and D have certain surpluses
and certain wants.. a has more cloth
than he needs, but wants meat. B has
more meat than he wants but needs -four.
@ has more -four than he wants, but
needs corn. D has more corn than he
wants but needs sugar, coffee, salt and
similar articles. These men could not
exchange with each other, because no
two of them have an excess of what each
of them wants. There are other COM
munities similarly situated. Government
comes IN and fixes upon gold as its me.
dunn of exchange, and says arbitrarily
we will make the gold which is acquired
BY q days labor the unit Of value, and
call it one dollar. Then to facilitate the
needs of its citizens, it puts the currency
it has established into circulation. 1t
pays its officers, it lets contracts to erect
its public buildings, it purchases a navy
and builds public roads. It's officers buy
cloth Of A, meat Of B, Aonr of @ and
corn of D. Some OF these parties take
contracts for public work, and get money
for it. Then, as each man has money,
be buys what he wants. ID finds that he
can make equal to two bushels Of corn
by days labor, therefore he fixes the
price of bis corn at fifty cents per bushel;