Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-10-31
About Money.

! Springfield Record, Ht
Some weeks ago we took occasion
to explain briefly the nature and
uses of money. 1t is simply
measure of value, and consists of
coined gold and silver-two metals
which have been selected and agreed
upon by the nations Of the world for
thousands of years. Nothing else is
money. For convenience paper
promises to pay money has been
substituted as the representative of
money, and we call the paper promi>
ses to pay by the name of money.
We have called them dollars and
cents, and use them for local pur-
poses as currency. But this dose
not make money of them. Those
who consider them money are in
error, since they can be nothing
more than a substitute for gold and
silver coin. And herein the advo-
Gates of fiat money make fatal
mistake. sl iur
The experience of every power that
has tried it has shown that the sole
value of paper money" is based on
its convertibility into coin on de-
mand at the place of issue. If there
is no coin behind it TO sustain and
give it value it has and can have no
value. In every single instance in
the financial history of the world
where the attempt has been made to
create fiat mOney-to make money
out Of bits of printed paper, unsup-
ported by gold and silver coin-has
proved not only failure but disas-
trous failure. Being in its very ma
. ture without such support an inn
position and fraud, it has involved
in bankruptcy and financial ruin the
innocent multitudes who were i'm
posed upon and accepted it as mon
ey. enu .,nt ,e n,f
A marked illustration of the truth
2 of this is found in our own Revolu-
tionary history. When the Congress
of the Confederation, without dol.
larof coin, undertook to create money
!. by its fiat, the noble and patriotic
!, spirit Of the self sacrificing people
); was insufficient TO invest ID with any.
thing like permanent value. In
spite of all that could be done to up
:; hold it, it sank so low that it requr
. ed, it is stated, one hundred and
n eighty thousand dollars of this "Con
(; tinental Money" to buy pair o.
boots, and seventy five thousand tC
> procure dinner. 1t became a by
|. word throughout the world; anC
:, even to this day, when it is desired t.
express the utter worthlessness O
any object the most forcible way t
do so Is to say that lit is not worth {
:; continental" Ad'
1t has been attempted to make fla
money recently in one Of the SOutl
r; American republics by substituting
: land for gold and silver as a basis Il
sustain it. This was also a disastrous
l. failure, not only bringing ruin to tn,
. misguided people of the Argentin,
Confederation, but involving il
T. bankruptcy one of the oldest, strong
a est and most reputable banking
firms in England, and Indirect!
r. producing in this country none
u tary crisis but little short of finan
cial panic and crash.
: These futile efforts to make none,
out of nothing but printers ink ant
d bank note paper serve no good end
= but uniformly result in confusion
a disaster and wide spread havoc
d That the government Of the Unite,
D. States should, &C this late day, b
> seriously urged to enter upon a syS
n tenn 50 mischievous, so wild, so III
r substantial, so absolutely cruel,
not wicked, passes the comprehen
L. sion of sober reason.