Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-07-25
FALSE IDEAS or MONEY.

For thousands of years the nations
of the earth were guided in their com
mercial dealings with each other, by
the false notion, that money, in the
form of the precious metals, was the
most important and desirable of all
objects of wealth. Acting on this be
lief, each tried to get as much, and
part with as little of it rs possible. To
effect this purpose, legislative expe.
dents were adopted, intended to pro-
mote expectation and discourage inn
portation, SO as to make the exports
exceed the imports, leaving a balance
to be paid in coin. The same old
erroneous ideas of the nature and
function of money still controls the
commercial relations of many nations
While this belief is no longer explicitly
avowed, the prevailing character of
the trade restrictions, in their adapta-
ton to this end, and the Importance
they attach 10 what they denominate
favorable balance Of trade, shows us
that the old beliefs are still active fact
ors in shaping national commercial
policies.
To illustrate the absurdity of this
prevalent notion, and to show the
manner in which prohibitory duties
affect the wealth of nations,-l us
further expand one branch of the
argument employed in our last,
carrying out the idea of protec-
ton to its ultimate consequences
let us assume that import duties
are made to afford the highest
possible degree of protection; i. e.,
perfect protection. If the object
of protective duties is to protect
home producers, by excluding foreign
products, then manifestly, such duties
as fail in any degree to exclude such
products, fails in that precise degree,
to afford protection to the home man
ufacturer, or producer. If it is right
or expedient to protect our home pro
ducers from the mischltvous competing
foreigners, it must be just and wise
to extend to them complete protection.
Then let us make our import duties
absolutely prohibitory, and observe the
results that will inevitably follow.
Very few of the commercial nations of
the world are producers of gold and
silver on any large scale. For this
reason, they will nc, willingly, con-
tinue to pay large annual balances in
coin. To do SO, would cause steady
appreciation of the precious metals,
and consequent arrangement of do
nestle industry. 1t would constantly
rob the debtor class, by forcing it to
pay its debts in more valuable me-
dunn; forcing every debtor to return
more than he agreed to pay. or hon
eStly owes, 20 the great disturbance
of all productive enterprises. For
these reasons other nations would
promptly restrict their purchases from
us to such things as were indispen-
Sible to them, and not to be obtained
elSwhere on other terms; and would
stop buying entirely, rs soon as other
adequate sources of supply We're de-
Seloped. And thus, through the oper-
alton of memorable laws, our commerce
must rapidly decline to extinction
Then, no matter to what extent ma
ture had favored us with superb
bun5ance of any object of wealth, or
any natural advantage or facility for
the production of special commodities:
these advantages would be useless to
us; for the excess above our own re-
quirements could not be converted
into any other commodity; we could
not dispose of it abro ad; because, ae-
cording to the hypothesis, foreigners
could not pay for it except in coin;
and this they would not consent to do.