Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-06-01
mercial world would theoceforth haYe q


universal currency. The moneyed men--
the men whohando the commerce of sec.
tions--cannot be misIed many years
longer. A universal currency--a universal
standard or measure OF valucs--cannot but
be put before many years into the posses
sion OF mankind.
/ MIR. BLAIR says that one OF the funda-
mental errors which he combats IS the
assumption that the citizen. though adj
mitted TO be better able than the govern
ment to manage his other affairs, Is inca
pable of managing his monetary affairs.
and that therefore the government must
manage them for him." But managing
money is not his own affair. IL Is tho pub
! hes. The fathers OF the republic and the
other trainers Of the Federal Constitution
/ knew that 10 allow even State TO coin
money and regulate i,s value would DO
ruinous policy so they denied that pow
/ er 10 the several States. They would have
secuted the proposition TO allow that
power TO individual persons. Genuine or
/ real money is able TO stand the fire test,
I the transportation test. aud tho weight
/ test. But what sort Of money should we
have if every man had the privilege OF
making his own money? We lot nr. BLAIG
/ speak for himself. II, says:
! "Governmont must wholly associate itsef
/ from coming money. providing and Issuing re-
| personalities or substitutes thoroicr, fegu-
/ lat!ng i,s value and determining rs ratio, and
must leave tho matter 70 the natural ona unrc-
/ stricted plqy OF competing and conflicting in-
/ terests. his means, OF course. tue closing OF
/ every government mint, the abol.shing Of eycry
burenu and onlcial pertaining 20 coinage and
/ currency and leaving every ono rs tree to coin
/ roal and 10 issue representative money as he is
( to mnko and pat upon the marzei all other tools
/ and cOmmodities'
! That Is q proposition 10 return 10 the
/ custom OF barterng one commodity Tor
another. Nobody would have JoHEs's
/ notes nor JoNfGs money OF any sort be-
cause nobody would have any guar
autee that gold dollar contained
q $40 grains Of gold nine tenths
fine or SILVER dollar 412l5 grams Of
silver nine tenths fine. One private one
dollar com might have no more than sixty
or seventy cents IN 1t. Who would know
There would be thousands Of COINS differ
Inc in value and issued by nobody, and from
no place, known TO the pubic. The masses
Of the people would be unable TO perform
for themselves the work now done by the
government, and would be placed entirely
Of the mercy Of the unprincpled classes
Of the community. The country trying
such an experiment would soon lapse into
monetary barbarsm.
We must have coins Of real value to
measure the value Of the bulky and heavy
articles We have for sale. We must have
something that we can carry IN our pock-
Cts. We must have a currency that Will
measure the value of horses, COWS, cotton.
tobacco. wheat. corn. OH, &c, &C., or else
we shall have TO transport those articles at
our own expense t. the place where they
are wanted. A country without lawful
currency would be a country totally de-
void of commerce.
IL is Denied by Mr.. BLAIR that " II IS the
duty Of the government 10 protect the
citizen against bad money!. If even such
men as Mr.. BLAIR wore REQUIRED to perform
this task for themselves the work would be
badly done 1t u an impossiblhty that IL
thus recommended o. q desideratum. In
another place Mr.. BLAIR gives himself
away" 10y admitting that one fourth OF
the human race never see money and an
other fourth have httle if ans practical
acquaintance with it. That half Of the hu-
man race thus conceded TO be totally unfit
TO manage monetary matters would never
theloss be entitled, according TO Dir.
BLAlEs theory, 10 undertake that task.
We have devoted much more space than
we had intended to this little hook. We
are not at all apprehenslye that it will find
favor with persons who hold correct no.
tions on the subjects of which 1t treats,
and We are not at all afraid to commend it
as worthy Of porusal.