The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-10-25

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exchanges Of manufactured commodities
for food AMI crude raw materials. IheS
could be conducted just as well as they
are II there were not dollar Of money
fin the world Most Of her transactions
take such roundabout form that the
unskilled eye Is unable to perceive their
real nature. but this does not change H.
For instance. she buys from VS. every
year from two to three hundred millions
Of dollars worth OF commodities mOie
than she sells to w. With only ~ mn
lions Of money, Of course three yeai'
pure bases would break her II she pa
I'm money But she does not pay
! money She pays by orders Oh ~
where we buy coffee, and on emma
! we buy tea. and in every othef qua ''i
| OF the world where we buy any 'hIhs'
| all other quarters owing her ioT "h''
they have bought from her. what an
| tuuetration Of the advantages Oh Tree
| trade hut all the same the transactions
have amounted at bottom 10 no more
| than exchanges Of her manufactured
a,,icIos for our food and crude raw
,.a,.ri,ls Effected through her agents,
tho grazillans. Chinese and others.
tr fgIg
I ,-a,sactions are not managed through
money. They are exchanges or common
tics and the only use that is made CT
money in them is to use it's nomenclature
! IN s,a,e A basis upon which trc commodi-
/ ,ics will be exchanged. Money. then, has
nothing 10 do with what We call the
rrices OF tnese commodities. WE CALL
| A COMMODITY WORTH a DOLLAR
HTSHEL. OR TWO DOLLARS Il
BUSHEL. ACCORDINGLY AS THERE
IS MUCH OR LITTLE OF 1T, and we
only use the word dollar as convenient
form Of stating how many pounds Oh one
commodity are a fair swap for cer'aI"
number of pounds Of another.
Now. what is true Of the intercourse
Of nations Is just as true of the inter-
course Of separated parts Of one nauoh'
If one part Of a country bought only ana
sold nothing, 1t would need to nave d"
inexhaustible gold mine TO draw on OF
it's power 10 purchase would soon come
10 an end. But it sells as well as buys
and thus IL swaps. The southern states
furnish a perfect illustration OF TINS.
They sell cotton, but they buy their pro-
visions to n large extent. II they oIu
no more than buy provisions they "ouIu
soon be broken. But their purchases ana
sales are really and in effect swaps oil
cotton for bacon, the nomenclature OF
money being used 10 state a basis upon
which the swaps will be made, and That
nomenclature being applied TO each com
modify in conformity with the quantity
there is OF each As in the case OF ma
Ia W.
for the most part just as well without
money as with it. 1ney are therefore
wholly Independent Of money, and money
has nothing whatever to do with what we
cali the prices Of them. Its only use IN
them Is to furnish a language in when
we tell Of the quantity Of cotton as com
pared with the quantity of bacon. we
come back, then, to our statement thaI
in the transactions we have mad uhder
consideration money had nothing "haI-
ever 10 do with what we call the prices
of the commodities. What we can the
prices was nothing but the basis upon
which the parties were willing to eN-
change the commodities expressed In the
terms of money, and that basis was de-
termined bv comparing the quantity there
was Of each commodity and the use IHd'
pcople had for each, and without lhe
slightest regard to the quantity Of money
that there was.
We will be asked then If we mean TO
oc,aa. that there is no use for money at
10 We uphcsitaungIy reply that We
,,,,o, IN agree for no such thing. There
l.. lIoss of tranactIous TO which money
is necessary. though n very small guam
49,. = -. will are,var for all the de-
I'D, ~ mar class. Some men have to
,',.. ,,.,, nayc notb,nr to sell. and con-
....,,,o,,tl,, thoir transactions are purchases
,,,,tt,1, money, is necessary. The labor
t..,, ,,,.,, ,,b, has nothing but his labor
-, 'eou must nevertheless buy his shoes
Inc hats his coats. his coolliug-stoycs, and |
everything else that he uses in his daily |
liro The retired capitalist belongs to |
tho same class. These must have money |
with which TO effect their transactions. |
They are what We call the retail trans |
actions of life. Money, then, is necessa- |
~ for retail trade. Yet noEcy has Moth !
ing to do with the price of retail articles. |
When there is money enough i'm a country |
to answer all the demands Of retail trade |
and Eugland's condition shows how lit |
tie is really nccessary-all the additional |
money is only an inducement TO gambling |
speculation If a retailer of goods asks |
more than a fair profit for his goods an
other retailer at once offers them for
less. and the quantity of money that there
is will not affect the matter one way or