The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-01-07
FINANCIAL TnEoKIEs.

In an interview published in a friendly
paper Senator Stanford IS reported as
saying:
The only object l can see Of using gold or sill
yer az all as a standard of measurement Is that
as commercial commodities they ar, less liable
10 huctua,e in value than anything else. But
you have 40 take into consideration the preju-
dices OF the Z eople OF The world aud 1t viii be
long time before you eradicate the idea from the
minds of Tie majority of The people that gold is
money and silver is money when &c is not in fact.
Ii viii doubtless be a long time before the
idea IS eTaGIcated from the minds of any
considerable number Of people that gold
and silver are money. Coins Of these
metals are declared money by all law
making badies in the civilized world. and
are accepted as such by financial authorities
every where and in practical business. Debts
can be paid IN such coin and in nothing else.
The paper which passes from hand 10 hand
Is accepted only as a promise to pay gold or
silver. When there is doubt about the
promise being kept the paper depreciateS.
When Ii becomes certain that the pr mise
viii not be kept the paper loses all value
whatever. But why gold or silver? Why
Is nothing else considered money in The
fun sense of the word? Because under the
operation of the law of demand auj supply
the value Is in the coin of these metals.
They have been made money because they
best combine the essential qualities Of
money. Money must have value or it would
become too common. \ piece or steel of the
weight OF a gold dollar stamped dollar
would not be a dollar for the reason that
il would possess no considerable CONNER
cial value. The metal IS So cheaply obtained
that TO declare il money would upset exist
Ing values. The gold d0la. casts a dollar
IN tine, labor and general expense to get
the gold that is in il. 1t Is a metal that can
be divided and delivered When a debt is
paid with gold il is paid; when a debt is
paid with paper il is only paid when the
gold can be obtained on demand by the
holder Of the paper. If any man doubts
this let him try to pay a debt with a check
on a bauk where ne has neither money nor
credit. What is credit? 1t is simply
a belief on the part Of the bank cash
ier that tie check can be converted into
gold Checks are often cashed when the
signer has no money in the bank he draws
upon, but never when there is any reasona-
BILE doubt Of his ability to meet payment
when requested to do So
Mr. Stanford SAYS in another part of the
interview: Now the one trouble about
paper money IS that people generally thIlk
it ought to be redeemed in some other
money" Certainly they do. II paper was
not redeemab,e what limit could there be
placed upon the Issue? Il costs nothing; il
is worth nothing; it is a confusion OF words
10 cali papeT-eijher in the form of bank
notes, clecEsOT dIafts-m0ney. Paper Is not
money; at best II is a convenient form Of
currency. Money lies idle in bank vaults
While paper does its work. which it can do
only so long as there Is confidence that
money can be had for the paper when
wanted. Again Mr.. Stanford is reported as
saying:
Now, 70 use a thing that is worth a dollar. 20
stamp the value OF a dollar on a. when a thing
that is worth say only half MIL would make
as good money for the purpose OF exchange.
seems TO me folly.
Possibly. But there are many men wiser
than Stanford to whom it does not seem
fGily