Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-08-23
"Financial HcrcsicS."

The Times" after saying that Judge
Robert w. Hughes, Senator John w.
Daniel aud The Richmond DrsrArcH,
have a greater share OF responsibility
for the heresies concerning silver and
fat money. into which the people OF
Virginia have been led. than all other
agencies whatever. proceeds to lay
down the following propositions:
,,But ,here IL another principle upon which
the Governments nat can make thing money
which il not money. 10 n limited oKtcnt We
use ibe word "nat" for convenience and because
II is The word 10 common uso though IL does not
express the idea wo arc about 10 deal with. IL
tho Government stamps thing rs having q
cartan value when it does not really possess
,bat value hut il the Government never
theloss procinirns that II will receive ths thing
ns OF thst value In the payment Of all dues 20
e. then the thing Will pass curront as OF tAe
canned value. 10 long as the government Is
Wiling and able 20 receive II "a OF that value.
For. why should you hesitate 10 take thing ~
n dollar although Il is not dollar when yo1
loow that your neigbbor Who owes the Govern
r,en< dollar. viii gladly sell YOU a roal dollars
80. IN for the thing?
10y reason Of the fact thon that the Govern
mont UilItqkea thing "a a dollar which II has
etamred az a dollar, tina; thing will pass all
around through that country as q dollar, al
though IL is not ono. But It is p ain that its pass
rns a dollar ar-ses ont Of tho fact that the
Government VIII take IT ne a dollar, AMI It is
pam that It would have nothing but its own in
lcecnt value # the Government refused TO take
H "a ai1lln-.'
Vow we have to say that the "Times "
has sad not one word in the above eX-
tract vhich We have not said over and
over again.
Time and time again We have told that
paper in these words that "things which
are equal to the same thing are equal TO
one another. What thatp paper says above
nav al be summed up in the statement
that the fact that the government re-
ceives 412l grains of silver as equal to
- 10graius of gold. "imparts value "
to silver which it would not otherwise
have.
As we read its article, the "Timos' y
surrenders its Financial heresies" AMI de-
clares what il has so often denied, or
what we understood il as denying-that
the government fiat is worth nothing.
We have said on occasion that nobody
could tell how much the government
fiat was worth, but that it was certainly
worth something We hope the "Iimes
will file away the above extract, and read
it over whenever it feels inclined to
charge us with Financial heresies'"
We are not authorized to speak for
Nessrs. Hughes and Daniel, but we take
it for granted that they, too, believe IN
the teachings of the above extracts.
Why not. "Why should they hest
tate to take thing as a dollar, al
though it is not dollar when they
know that their neighbor, who owes the
government a dollar, will gladly sell
them real dollars worth for the thing?
We have endorsed all that the "Iimes u
SAYS in the above quoted paragraphs,
but we are not sure that we can go as
far as that paper goes in its statement OF
its belief or theory.
Here's text for the Peoples party
plank for them to put into their tinan-
cial platform:
If the Government stamps thing as
having certain value WHEN II DOES
NOT REALLY POSSESS THAT VA
LUE, but if the Government neverthe-
less maintains that it will receive the
thing as of that value in the payment OF
all dues to it. then the thing will psss
current as of the standard value so
LONG AS THE GOVERNMENT is
WILLING AND ABLE TO RECEIVE
1T AS OF THAT VALUE"