The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-05-12
WHAT IS MONEY! AND B. ]. N.
ACKNOWLEDGED.

tiOns to THE PROGRESSIVE FARMERS
definition of money, deserves by it a
passing notice The only difference
between US can be expressed in a few
words. 1t affrms that money is
persistent value" We deny, and
affirm that money is only the repre-
sentatiOn of a comparative persistent
value. We also gather some encOur-
agement from the fact that Henry
Clay, Thomas Jefferson, and John G.
Calhoun agree with me. Not only
| these powerful. minds SO decided when
a question akin to this was up for
national discussion, but also every wO-
man and man in the United States call
that which is authorized by the gov
ernment to represent value, money,
to day; let it be paper bills, coppers,
silver or gold. If this discussion had
been only about a name, we would
have remained silent; but we saw THE
PROGRESSIVE FARMER making straight
headway on this subject towards the
camp of plutocracy, as we thought,
nadVefGenGly.
Ancient Rome, which adopted its
theory (as is said), was owned by 1900
individuals at it's disruption and down
fall, but Venice, adopting our view,
from a small nest Of islands in the
Mediterranean, became mistress of the
sea and of commerce, and remained so
for five centuries. money is a per-
sistent value, is the plutocra5ic idea.
Money is the representation of com
paratiyely persistent value" is the
democratic idea, and the idea of the
foremost civilized nations. ThatmOney
is value in itself, much less q persist
ent value, is barbarian idea of the
middle ages very well suited to the
OppressOrs of the human race in all
countries. 1t is old, gray and messy,
and bespattered with the tears and
| blood of ages
Let lis draw some deducti, ms from
THE FARMERS idea of money being a
persistent value The first thing it
will do, it will force you to ignore all
paper bills as money. The next step
to be taken, and which you will be
forced to take is to ignore all the
metals in use as money, which have not
a persistent value. First, we will dis
card copper; second, we will ignore
nickel; and third, we will ignore sill
yer, for that fuctuated last year 26
per cent. What then? You will be
driven into the company Of the gold
bugs, and become a complete worship
per of the gold itself. You then "will
note with pleasure that Mr.. Cleveland
thinks the country needs more money.
If he shall thus be sOundly con-
verted Ito free silver we shall under
stand that he represents many things
which the farmers and laborers of this
country are demanding, and so may
expect to be not unacceptable to them.
We care not whether money is called
the medium of exchange, the measure
of values, or the measure of the power
to buy. Neither of these definitions
cover the whole ground, if we exact
logical correctness; but they may have
their uses for explaining particular
functions of money.
We have taken the suggestions of
The FARMER kindly, and have pro
ceeded to consult the dictionaries and
to study money, but we fear with some
fatality to his cause First, we find
the word value as evanescent in it's
meaning as the hues of the rainbow,
as variable as the wants and fancies
of man, as shimeFing as the sunshine
on glass of water. What The FARMER
terms stable or persistent, is persist
ent, and constant never. Dives would
give world for drop of water, and
Richard III. a kingdom for a horse.
Therefore, when we talk of values, we
can only say they are comparatively
persistent, for every individual has his
own estimation concerning the value
of anything, and even this estimation
is made changeable by circumstances,
time and place.
Money is the standard of comparison
of these values, nothing more and
nothing less. The most persistent
value in this world is land; but this
value is immovable and not transport
able; but the government can stamp
paper bills representing that value,
and by authority of the government
perform all the needs of money. The |
value of gold is all the eye;" it is
mostly matter of human fancy. You
can't eat it; you can't drink it; you