The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-09-06
WEDNESDAY EVENING. stPTtMBtR 8. 1898
MONETARY PRINCIPLES.

ial thing upon winch tie InhctiUh 81
money legal tender has been confer
red Money means, therefore, what
ever is appointed by law TO redeem all
currencies and pay all debts
2. iii the United States, BY the "
ganic law. the functioa q primary re
demption money has been conferred
upon coins Of silver and gold only
8. Whatever circulates AS money Il
commonly termed currency and may
consist Of coin Or paper, and the paper
may be legal tender, as greenbaeks or
Bank Of England notes, or may con
sist Of forms Of credit or promises %
pay money which circulate because Of
the confidence Of the people that, up
on demand. they will be redeemed n
lawful money. National bank notes
are one form Of credit money.
ii is customary TO refer to the whole
volume Of outstanding money andcur-
rency together as the currency ormon-
ey in circulation.
4 The quantity Of credit currency
which may supplement basic money,
81 contribute to the volume asa whole,
or the proportion which may exist be
tween such currency and primary
money, varies with varying conditions;
but there ii limit Of safety beyond
which, II credit is carried, confidence
is undermined and The system breaks
down, which conditions always attend
ed with panic and followed BY money
stringency, failures and business stag
nation
5. The purchasing power Of money,
or its value stated in commodity price,
depends upon the quantity IF money
in circulation as compared with trans.
actions that have to be paid in money,
6. If the purchasing power Of money
is to remain reasonably uniform in its
relation to commodity prices, and with
tho increase in population and the ex.
tension OF commerce, these conditions
must be attended BY an equivalent in
crease of the money volume,
T. Since the decentralization Of silver
in 1873 money of ultimate pasment or
standard money has been more and
more restricted TO gold alone, and as
the supply Of standard money controls
the entire volume that may be based
upon it. other forms of currency have
necessarily been more restricted than
they would have been with both gold
and silver as standard money In the
meantime population and commercial
transactions have increased far more
rapidly than the supply Of gold, con
sequently the purchasing power Of gold
has largely increased, which is eqniva-
lent to the fact that since 1873, the
prices Of commodities generally have
continually fallen.
s. Indeed, il is generally conceded
that the purchasing power Of gold, has
risen more than 50per cent since 1873;
that il is still rising, and under PRES.
ent conditions must continue to rise at
an accelerated rate that prices have
fallen; that they are sitting falling,
and must continue to fall as gold rises.
9, To put ont more credit currency
redeemable IN gold, as some propose,
will prove no remedy, but, on the 9th
or hand would aggrayate the evil
Nothing Will cure thisg disorder but
more gold, or restore the function Of
primary money to silver s il existed
before 1878. More gold We cannot
nave It does not exist but, on the
other hand, IS continually becoming
scarcer What the world nov requifes
therefore is more standard money 10
redeem with, and not more promises %
be redeemed il gold,
10. If bimetallism were re-establish.
ed by comforting free and unlimited
coinage again Ga silver, as il is On
gold, the Volume If money woald be
increased IN q proportion much neare,
TO the increase Of population and com,
merciaI transactions than there IL any
possibility of attaining vllile tile money
function i confined to goid aloue
II. By again including silver there
would result such an decrease ID Id,
volume Of money NJ would atSonce ept
the continued fail ii the prices IF com
modieswhichhas taken place since 1878
Y weuld prevent any other fall III gen
eral prices, arising from the gold stan
dard, bnt woald not interfere with III
cheapen:ng of goods, brought about i,
inventions reducing the cost Of pro
dnction.
~ This arrest Of tile fall Of price
would again produce stable condition
under which merchants, 1nanufactui
ers, farmers and traders may count 3
certain profits, which would lead /
larger business Industry would /