New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-16
"FIATn OR REAL MONEY.
EXTREME GREENBACK VIEW BOLDLY SET
FORTH
A DIRECT AND EMPHATIC REPLY BY ROSWELL
G. HoRR-MoNEY MUST HAVE, on REP:
RESENT, ACTUAL VALUE.
Tribune.

the Ed ltOr lie u III C
Sir The Weekly Tribune of the 14th of october con-
tanned an article by Mr.. lor In regard TO my inquiries
addressed to him January 90 1891. had never
thought there could be.any question as to my meaning
of the word fat" applied TO our gold and silver
coins l regard the law OF a Nation in general, state
or other political division. rs its fiat Let there
be light Is held by many to be the fat OF God
The Act Of April .. 1902, reads "The money OF ac-
count of the United states shall be expressed in dollars
or units dimes tenths hundredts mills or
thcusandths; dime being the tenth part Of dollar,
cent the hundredth part of dollar mill the thou
snndth part OF dollar and all accounts In the public
Offices and all the proceedings in the courts of the
limited states shall be had and kept in conformity
this regulation" This is the fat establishing the
nomenclature Of money of account, or. the SUI
preme Court expresses it. the /" ideal money
now quote from the act OF January Is, 1887, which
will better cypress meaning to the fat of Gov
eminent In regard 10 gold coins:
sec o. And that for all sums whatever the eagle
shall be legal tender of payment for ten dollars, the
half eagle five dollars and the quarter eagle for two
and n half dollars
From the act OF February 81, 1883:
sec 30 The silver coins issued in conformity with
the above section shall be legal tender in payment OF
s.sts for all sums not exceeding FIVE dollars.
have tried 10 make clear my meaning as TO the
fats attached 10 gold and silver coins that Mr..
Borr con give the public his opinion by answering my
questions.
claimed by some writer's tnat tne laws making
these coins legal tender not that all that
the Government needs TO do is to make coins OF known
standard value Il. e. weight and 6neness); and that
these metals being the natural measures Of value Or
daned BY God for that purpose have need OF legal
ensetnents to bolster them up Such people can con
ssenty sheer at fat papermoney,' but do not sec
how ANYBODY else For IL 1t is necessary to main
tain gold BY fat" 1t would likely that fat
applied to paper money would have just as good a
result
gladly comply with Mr.. Hons invitation to an
swer his questions and hope he will in fairness print
the answer which shall make as clear as possible.
do not believe in gold and silver as money nor any
amer thing whose market value is equal to its rep
r,sentative value any moro than believe in the use
Of herosyphs as an expression OF ideas. These are
generally used BY savages but when people become
civilized they employ arbitrary characters 10 represent
the vocal sounds in the language previously used
These letters have no natural connection with the
IDEAS expressed. All is purely arbitrary. Paper
money is not adapted to the Of our Indians, who
could not tell dollar bill from ten. They must have
that kind Of money that tells its value by It's SIZE
weight and general appearance in short they must
have barter cannot see that il is any more natural
gold and silver money than is to use hides,
skins shells ivory cattle, ETC. People naturally adopt
q medium Of exchange suited 10 their circumstances
Money In civilized countries, is an acknowledgment
bv government q. e., AL the leoplel Of service
rendered by the individual 1t is kept good by taxation
and In. leCatenGer laws Our Government considers
il service equal to dollar 10 furnish .4s grains
standard gold and it gives representative of the
INIT Of value for it, made legal tender by "hat' OF
Government.
believe that the only proper way for person to
get a dollar from the Government is to do dollars
service TO the Government borrow 1t and secure its
payment. II laboier borrows ii TO facilitate produc-
ton and repays il the community Is the gamer from the
greater production Of wealth. We have read Green
backsm differently. IL Mr. Horn understands the
claim that Government, by
issuing money creates wealth. Wealth, beyond the
limited amount furnished by nature is evolved only by
labor. But believe that the person who serves the
Government and receives paper money In return mas
wrapped up in ii" Just much human labor as
he had received gold silver coins. And when ne
wishes to resume possession of the wealth he has
earned be viii get possession of as many Of the good
things of life though he had held possession for
tine the gold silver coins, and more, because ne
bears this share Of the loss end abrasion pertaining to
the system.
want more than a simple statement upon its face
that this is legaltender from the Government and be-
tween citizens. l want all taxes collected in it,
want ii treated after it is issued just as gold and
silver coins demonetiEed. but commodity contracts
see acts January Ia, 1870, and February Is, 1879
paid in that kind of commodity.
am not sure that understand Mr.. Horn, when ne
tays that Government has the simple power to NIX the
number Of grains Of gold and silver which shaH be
called q dollar !. he that this is all the
pouey that the Government has the premises then
nv inference is correct that he would have the fiat
power $50 l call III removed from the coinage II
this is all the power, them the Government has ex-
eeeded its powers, inasmuch as it has, by It's fat,
made those coins only the full legaltender money OF
The country; aud of Mr.. Horr, as an honest
nan and patriot would have his country correct It's
wrong doings. If this is not his meaning, / cannot
understand it. viii he please explains
an glad to comply with Mr. Horr's request to out
line the form Of such money as should desire 10
have adopted by Congress.
UNITED STATES STOCK"
"ONE DOLLAR"
Signed By the proper officers, embelshed as banknoes'
Teasury notes, certificates, ETC., are usually EN-
belished l might suggest that after the death OF
General Butler his portrait should be placed upon one
denomination in honor Of his declaration that gold ana
silver are the money OF barbarsm. on the back
side 1t might read "Ths stock is the only legal
tender money AT its value, for debts and dues
TO and from Government and between all persons
under the Jurisdiction thereof, except for the payment
u public and private debts where commodities nave
been specified as the means Of payment
remember the Octagonal pieces OF gold WHICH ou
CaiiOrnians brought home from the Occident Ihls Is
not surprising, for Government had, by Tree anu
unlimited coinage established price OF goa III
money at the mint, below which it could not iaii'
90 not think Just for the Nation to set price upon
one two commodities products of TOLD 10 the eX-
eiaslon Of all other products. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
system Of money would all classes OF producers
shhe II our civil laws, including the cOlhase laws
are The fat OF the Government then all the money
issued IN accordance herewith is fat" any money
can be called. little reflection does not MI
Hon himself think sol
NY Websers Unabridged, published in 1873, ana
oVtaned through The Tribune Company, does not
uenne fat money! The definition that Mr.. Holt
quotes from the International without the word paper
S2ud express nv idea of lat money" exactly, thus
HieSeemable currency, not resting on specie basis,
Oat deriving It's purchasing power from the laws ana
customs Of the Government issuing IT,
strongly suspect that the international Dlcuonar9