Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1894-02-24
THE FUNCTIONS OF MONEY.

the function of facilitating the ex-
change of the property of one man
for the property of another, was the
most important use Of money. But
at the present time, the measure
ment of time contracts, SO as to do
equity between debtor and creditor,
is the paramount consideration.
When, by custom, agreement, or
law, ii common representative Of
things useful has been selected, such
common representative may be ex-
changed for any property; because,
by such custom, agreement or law.
it is made representative of all
property. The representation of all
property may, or may not, be COM
posed of material useful in itself,
without regard to the function of
representing other useful things;
but it cannot be money, unless it is
made an order for all things for
sale, by some law, custom or under
standing, which the people observe,
/ either voluntarily, or by force Of
sovereign authority. 1t must be an
unquestioned order or warrant of
attorney, in the hands of its owner,
for everything offered for sale, and
for the discharge OF all obligations
payable in money.
The power conferred by this war
rant of attorney, in modern times,
is called legal tender; because the
law requires creditors to receive it
in payment for debts. The use of
the precious metals as money, and
the use, at the same time, of stamped
paper of no appreciate value, have
led to much confusion. The fact
that the precious metals have uses,
other than those incident to the
representative value conferred by
the money function, tends to COM
plicate the subject, and leads many
to suppose that it is the material in
these metals, and not the money
function, which makes them valua-
BILE as money.
Neither gold nor silver can be
used as a commodity, and at the
same time in its representative
character, as an order for all things
for sale, and legal tender for the
payment of debts. Anything which
is clothed with the money function
of dollar, will pay debt, amount
ing to a dollar, and buy a dollars
worth of property-no more and no
less-no matter of what material
it may be made. 1t is the money
function which makes it dollar,
not the paper, the gold or the silver.
If there were no law, custom or I'M
derstanding, by which the money
function could be conferred upon
anything, but gold and silver, and
gold aud silver could only be con-
verted into money without loss or
charge, the amount of gold required
to make dollar, would be worth a
dollar, and the amount of silver
necessary to make dollar, would
also be worth a dollar. And if the
money function could only be con-
ferred upon certain kind of yellow
paper, and another certain kind of
white paper, and all such paper,
both the yellow and the white, could
be converted into money without
loss or charge, the amount of yellow
paper required to make a dollar,
would be worth dollar; and the
amount of white paper required to
make the same amount of money,
would also be worth dollar.
Rude nature, never has, and there
is no probability that she ever will,
yield from the mines too much of
either gold or silver, or both, for use
as money; Consequently, it has al
ways been, and still is, safe and ex-
pedient to confer the money function
upon all the precious metals, offered
for that purpose by coming them
into money. WIN. M. STEWART.
THE Trans Mississippi CONNER