The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1892-09-07


sutaoiency Of the stock Of gold and silver
for the general money uses Of the com.
mercial world; that this insuficlsnCy ID
palpable, and generally admitted by the
bulllOnists themselves, who, nevertheless,
persist In affirming that not only is che
highest development Of commerce and
civilization, but even any tOlerable de-
gree Of prosperity, impossible, except with
metallic money; they submit that thus to
insist that such money Is essential TO any
advanced prosperity, and at the same
time 70 admit that It can be obtained by
only few nations, and to the exclusion
OF all the others, is to deny the eternal
fitness Of things, to deny the adaptation
Of material conditions TO human progress,
to deny the harmonies Of nature, and to
deny that an intelligent and beneficent
design Is manifested In creation.
They maintain that a. the most I'm
portant function Of money is to measure
values and to preserve equities in time
transactions, the great bulk OF which are
internal and between citizens Of the same
country, and all Of which are expressed
in the money Of some particular country,
1t follows that any system of money that
Is common to several countries ls a
vicious one, in that 1t subjects the entire
internal business Of each of them to all
the disasters originating In the political
or financial mismAnsgement Of the gov
or In the political disturbances,
follies, misfortuneS, or reckless Bpecula-
tions Of the lnhabitants, of any one or all
Of the others; that money Is simply the
instrument Of commerce and industry,
and not their object; that q sufflclency of
1t Is better than more and infinitely better
than less; that the outflow Of money from
one country to another having money
systems in common, is q double injury.
That 1t is an injury to the country that
receives 1t, and greater injury to the
country that parts with 1t. That 1t tends
in the one instance to produce crises
through imitation, and In the other panlcs
through contraction. And that In addi-
lion to this is an injury to each on aC-
count of the arrangement of the trade OF
The other; that the invention of money ls
but half completed when the necessary
limitations and regulation Of It's quantity,
and consequently Of it's value, are re-
nitted not only to the vlclssltudes and
chances Of mining, but TO the vlclssltudes
n the business and legislation Of foreign
countries; that these facts and consldera-
ions, and many others which might be
Urged, show that metallic money is an
Inaccurate money, that il fills only In q
moderate degree any of the requirements
If q perfect system, while in essential
It so far fails to I'LL them as
o render it unfit for an advanced civil
alton.
They claim, on the other hand, that
very requirement Of a perfect system
;an be met more nearly and more GER
ainly by paper money than by any other
'ver devised. Not paper money based
lpon gold, silver, or any other fluctuat-
ng commodity, whose measure 1t should
70; nor upon a promise Of commodities,
ear or remote, definite or indefinite, Of
governments, or banks; nor like the
'rench asSlgnatS, based upon lands; nor
AStened to gold or silver by chain sure
o snap when the metals are wanted; nor