Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-04-27
TUESDAY.........APRL q, 1886.
A Metallic Currency.

In the May No. Of The Forum Mr'
JOHN F, HUME has q long article IN
landed TO show that there is no need
for gold and silver as currency, paper
currency being better. He believes
firmly in fat money or absolute money.
II tho Government says Q piece OF pa
Der is dollar it is dollar, according
TO Mr.. HUME. He is able to make
this argument only because the puollc
has long been accustomed to real dollars
and therefore knows at least what
the Government means when IT
says that Q certain piece of paper
represents q dollar, or five dollars,
or ten dollars. We oil know that a
dollar is 25 s-l0 grains of gold, or 4l23
grains of silver, beth metals nins-tenths
flns. Therefore, it is possible for pa
per dollar to pass as a dollar. But
suppose the Government should under
take to carry out Mr.. HUME's scheme
of IN irredeemsble paper currency,
and in order to prove that there was no
good reason for redeeming the paper
currency. nor for making it represent
silver or gold, or any other article OF
real value, should call the grecnbacks or
bank notes by new names-as for in
stance, one stsve, two slaves, five
slaves, and so on-who would accept
such money! And how much
more would hundred slaves
be worth than one stave? Manu-
featuring paper notes and calling them
"dollars is one thing, but calling
them by On unknown name is another
thing. Yet if Mr.. HUME's theory is o
sound one, and paper currency needs
no metal basis, then one name would
answer as well as another for his
paper notes. The fact that they would
be absolutely worthless if called by an
unknown name is evidence enough that
though people take greenbacks and
bank notes as currency, it is because,
although they know instinctively or
some other way that there is no real
money except gold and silver, yet these
notes are accepted as the representa-
tives Of real money.
Mr.. HUME utterly discredits himself
and proves that be is q financial or eco
nomical quaek by saying in perfect good
faith that gold has " declined in pur-
chasing power nearly 800 per cent. in
the last five centuries" Since it is ab-
solutely impossible for any article to de-
cline in value more than 100 per cent,
Mr. HUME thoroughly exposes his OWL
ignorance. He means, of course, thai
q certain quantity Of gold will now buy
of certain commodities not named only
one eighth as much as it would have
bought five hundred years ago. lr
other words, gold has lost seven-eighth'
of its value, orS7 per cent. as compared
with those commodities, whereas ii golC
had declined even 100 per cent. in value
1t would have no value at all. If Mr.
HUME had said that certain commodi
ties had increased in value nearly SOC
per cent. during the period mentioned
he would have expressed his meaning
Going up, you may count as many hun
bred per cent. as you need. But Their
can be no decline exceeding 100 pc
cent.
Let Mr.. HUME try to carry thi
theory into-execution without the sit
Of the word " dollars and be will flint
that his absolute or fat money vii
soon decline, according to his method
computation, . thousand per cent; o
let us say q million, for after declining
In value 100 per cent. any article ca
as easily decline one million per cent
Is ono per cent.