The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-09-13
Money What Is It?

Section Of the Constitution Of the
| L. s.. i'm the general powers given
| to congress. authorizes that body TO
coin money-not to charter or create
banks. but to coin money. \ writer
/ in the Industrial Leader Of Dubuque
gives these very correct definitions:
| The dollar j. simply our nalne-unit
! of account. Ii is Il mental concep-
| ton 4 coin Is a material implement
having a certain prescribed form.
Money is II coin or more coins mon
etized.
The dollar is the result of legalizing
a mental conception.
4 coin il the result Of "A mechanical
operation.
Money is the result of a Legislative
action.
\ coin is made of materials by coin
ing the materials. But
Money il made Of coins by none
thing the coins.
To monetize coin Is to declare by
law that ii /. a legal tender for the
sum denoted by its face, In other
words. In the United States. to mon
etize coin il to empower 1t by law
to represent the dollar. some multiple
of the dollar. or some decimal of it.
\ coin made of paper can be none
| tiled. or SO empowered by law. as
easily and n fully a. coin made Of
silver or gold. So. national money Is
a Inonetized coin or IL collection Of
lnonetized coins, that are coined, is
sued and used by the people. the ma
ton. through their government, to
certify and represent that nations
debt to individuals for service or
products received. and TO certify and
represent private credit to the nation
or to the whole people collectively.
The money Of u nation il its peo-
pies own legal tender certificates
and representatives Of its peoples
collective debt 10 thu individual hold
ers Of these Representatives
is the nations certificates.
But the money Of the world is
bills Of exchange. is company or cor
porate certificates and representa-
tives of the credit of individuals ex-
tended to the company or corpora
ton issuing the bills: and it il not
monetized coins of either gold or sill
yer.
Congress shall have power to coin
money" says the Constitution. This
il one Of its sovereign prerogatives,
and one which it is not authorized to
delegate to the National Banks nor to
surrender to corporations upon any
pretext or for any pretence whatever.
Our Supreme Court, the highest au-
thority in the world for deciding and
constituting constitutional questions
in these United States. has decided
the legal tender act constitutional,
whether in war or peace. 1t there
fore follows that when the Constitu-
ton gave Congress the exclusive
right to coin money. that ii does not
necessarily mean metal money. The
Supreme Court gives the words the
broadcast Specification given them by
photographers TO create money. to
bring it into existence. and confines
the power TO use it exclusively where
the people placed tin Congress.
There is no right Of substitution dele
gated by the people to Congress in
coming or creating money. The
power was conferred to be exercised,
not in the interest of corporate mo-
nopolists AS used for the National
banks by the republican party. but
to be used for all the people.
1t follows, then. that as these bank
charters have been unconstitutional
~ granted, there cannot be too much
haste in repeating the laws creating
them.
1t has ever been a cardinal article
of Democratic faith. however false its
practice at times, as promulgated in
its platform from time to time from
the days of Jackson and finally reit-
Grated in 1850:
-. That Congress has no power
| to charter Il National Bank: that we
, believe such an institution one Of
deadly hostility to the best interests
Of the country. dangerous to our re-
publican institutions and the liber-
ties Of the people and calculated to
place the business of the country
within the control Of concentrated
money power and above the laws and
will Of the people. :
8. That the separation of the mon
les OF the government from banking
institutions is indispensable for the
safety of the funds Of the govern.
ment and the rights Of the people"