The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1893-09-30
Hayseed PhiIOsO ply.
Editor Meridionai -

have sufficient education and intelli
gence to understand the money cues
ton, and who have investigated it.,
and already understand it, because
they need no light On the question.
1t is also useless to write tor another
class Of the community, who from
lack of education and intelligence do
not comprehend an argument when
it is presented to them, and conse-
quently do not and never will under.
stand the question. It is only for
that class who have sufficient educa-
ton and intelligence to comprehend
an argument when it is presented to
them, but who have not we'll con-
sidered the money question, and
have not arrived at any fixed con.
clusion on the subject, that l write.
From this standpoint it is not neces
sary to make any reply whatever, to
mere twaddIe and nonsense when
published. The people for whom
l write will never be misle8 nv
such stuff as that published in the
Star under the head of That
Nickel. The mar who can publish
in print over his signature, the de.
claration, that gold has no intrinsic
0atae," might as well say the sun
does not shine, there in no such thing
as money, the Universe does not ex-
list. With such a person, argument
is an impossibility. On a par with
this assertion is the statement that,
fat money consists solely of paper on
which the government has stamped,
tits is a dollar" for other denomi-
nation) All government paper is
fiat money if issued to circulate as
money. And the idea that a piece of
paper stamped, "This as a dollar" by
the government, is of value, because
the government has said SO is sufi~
GENTLY absurd. Another piece of
paper stamped, "this is a barrel OF
-four" or this is a bushel of wheat,
or a bale of cotton, would just as
soon become such -four, wheat or
cotton, as the other would become a
dollar. Congress can no more make
a piece Of paper, a dollar by simply
declaring it to be a dollar, than it
can make a barrel of -four, out of q
scrap OF paper, by the same process.
There must be no promise to pay
anything, by anybody. at any time.
only has is a dollar, that makes it Of
value at once according to Brother
Ell. The farmer wants no such
money.
And that measure of value idea
that money is a measure Of value only,
and need have no value in itself!
Some crank from Iowa has published
the same idea, in the Lake Side Re.
view. Like his brother Hardesty
he says the dollar is the standard of
value, and represents 100 cents as
the yard stick represents 36 inches.
But let US see about this. Suppose
a merchant had two yardsticks one
So inches lo6g, and the other one
Is inches long. How would you
like that kind of measure? Now if
an l8 inch yard stick is no good,
how is it that a SO cen dollar is any
better, both are standards of meas,
ure.
Measure consists of comparing
one quantity with another-as a foot
rule, with a plank. a quart cup, with
a quantity of water, etc., now if the
standard of comparison contains no
quantity, there can be no measure, the
yard stick must have length, certain
and definite. The quart must CON
tain a certain quantity of liquid, the
the measure of value must contain
certain value within itself.
You can't measure distance with a
rule, that has no length, nor water
with a gallon that contains nothing,
nor weigh a bale of cotton with a
that weighs nothing, nor the
value of the bale of cotton with a
dollar that has no value. The
The pound must have intrinsic weight
itself, the yard must
contain distance, the gallon measure
must have capacity, and so the dol-
lar must have value, solid, Intrinsic
10 itself. 1t will assuredly be
\ cold day for the farmer, when he
his cotton on a scale that