People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-04-07
NOT WELL TAKEN.
california Paper Makes Wrong Point
on the Money Question.

Money is a commodity, or the repre-
sentative of a commodity. Whenever
government increases the volume of
currency, it must not only make it full
legal tender, but must receive actual
value for it in commodities or useful
labor. Money in the hands of the pub
lie for which it has given nothing is
practically valueless Counterfeit
money is valueless because it represents
nothing useful
if the government should issue any
amount of money, and give it to the
people, receiving nothing for it it
would have no more value than the
material on which it is stamped even
though declared full legal tender, but
if the government should loan it on i'm
perishable commodities or pay it out
for public improvements, it'would be
worth its face value whether stamped
on paper or coin. Fresno (Cal J Nation
al Spectator
The points attempted to be made in
the foregoing clipping, are not well
taken In the first place, money is not
a commodity, or the representative of a
commodity. Money possesses no COM
modify value, though it is often
stamped upon valuable commodity.
The words ''monetize" and "dem0ne-
tie" prove that the money quality or
value, may be both given to and taken
away from commodity We yet have
the commodity silver, but its partial de-
monetization has deprived it of the
greater part of its money value Mon
eys, or units of account are simply
ideal or imaginary numerals of compar-
tson, possessing no value, by means of
which we differentiate the comparative
value of the several kinds of labor and
its products. 1t is not necessary that
government should receive actual
value for it in commodities or useful
labor" in order to give money value,
because money, as money, possesses no
value. The idea that money must DOS
sess value is the corner stone upon
which is reared the temple of human
serfdom. The essence of legal tender
is promise on the part of the people
TO receive, in payment of all debts,
public and private, and in exchange
for labor and all commodities
Hence money must first exist by
virtue of the fat of the
whole people before any actual
value" can be given for it by individ-
uals. Counterfeit money is valueless"
because it represents a promise made
or fat uttered in the name of the whole
people by individuals without due au-
thority to act If the community, or
people, government should issue to
each and every individual one of its
members the same amount of its CON-
munal credit money as a free gift,
such credit or money, would possess all
the value that any money can possess,
because to each and all would be given
equally. As money it would possess as
much value if stamped on paper as if
stamped upon gold or silver When
money is not issued in equal amounts
to each and all justice to those not re-
ceiving any, or less than others, re-
quires that all who do receive shall be
compelled to return to the community
as great an amount as they receive.
Hence the necessity of the people, as a
community, when issuing their com.
munal credit to themselves as individu-
ais, either paying it out for services
Qabor) performed for the community,
in which case the community has value
received" or loaning it upon absolute
security, so that either the credit
money or the equivalent may be re-
ceived back by the community.
GEORGE C. WARD.