The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-10-31
IuE rllEXAI.ENT MINKOK.

The Times hopes as earnestly as Mr.
A. L.. Garnctt can that MIR. ". A. Jones
will be elected 10 Congress, hut IT must
say that il Is not for the reasons ad-
yanccd by MIR Garnet in his letter pub
Ishcd In Yesterdays Dispatch. Mr.. Gar
nett SAYS in that letter: More than any
other two things, the people need more
money and less taxation" lie thinks Mr..
Jones, as member Of Congress, Will
contribute very greatly TO securing The
people both Of these.
Whenever MIR, Jones casts a vote in Con
gress for securing the pcopl" less taxa
ten" which he has done well and often,
ic will do them a real ana a great ser
vice But whenever he attempts to give
them more money" by his votes he VIII
infict upon them a most serious evil
Money can not be made for 1t people
by acts Of Congress. ana when Mr. Gar
nett talks about money" being the thing
the people want he expresses himself
badly. He does not mean that they want
money he means that they want rcNc-
nue. producing property. The money of
the country might be increased a thou
sand times more than IT is, Dut if MIR.
exchange for It the quantity Of 1t would
be Of no advantage to him. Rcvenue-pro-
duCing property is what each individual
wants. and not "A great addition to the
money that there is in the country
Now. rcvenuc-producng property can be
acquired by successful labor alone. No
acts of Congress can confer that upon any
Individual except by the process of rob
bling some ether individual Of that which
Is his
The idea Is widely prevalent, but it Is
rome the less erroneous, that the pros
perity OF a people depends upon the guam
tity OF money that that people nave M
circulation. Whoever Will think for lit
tie while viii see that the idea is wholly
falIacioua. Business is not done 10y buy
ing and selling commodities for money.
Al business. except retail business. con-
sists Of barter and exchange of com
mCdities The southern planter who sells
his cotton and buys his bacon and hour
and clothes is not really selling one thing
and buying another. He is exchanging
cotton for hour bacon and clothes. The
transactions so through the form Of sales.
but they are not really sales. At bottom
they are exchanges ana would so on
upon the same basis that as, 50 many
rounds OF cotton buying SO many pounds
OF bacon, whether the money In the coun-
try is two thousand millions of dollars
or twenty thousand millions Of dollars
If the quantity Of money in the country
had the effect Of causing cotton to be
called worth twenty cents pound, II
would also cause bacon TO he called worth
the same, SO that cotton and bacon would
exchange on exactly the same terms as
they did when each was worth only six
cents pound. The business of the world,
then. is exchanges OF commodities and
not sales for money. The only aales are
the retail transactions II this is So and
we defy Mr.. Garnett or any one else 10
deny II, how can there be any need for
any more money than what the retail
transactions call for? There cannot he
a need for any more, How much money.
then. do the retail transactions of this
country call for? Very much less. GER
tainly. than the general apprehension OF
the case. Great Britain has only about
seven hundred millions Of dollars fer her
entire circulation. coin and paper. She
has the greatest abundance OF money,
and no one IS ever heard to complain
there OF scarcity OF money. The best evil
dence Of 1t is the fast that money lends
all over the Kingdom at per cent. We
have less than double the population Of
Great Britain, but we have more than
sixteen hundred millions of dollars OF
money more than double theirs. II seven
hundred millions give them all the money
they need. why should not sixteen hum
dred give as all that We need?
Mr.. Garnett and millions OF other peo-
pie nave got the cart before the horse.
~ ~ not money that they need. but some
ming to exchange for money. They can
not expect an act OF Congress 10 cause
people 70 give them q doiisr h,n.hAi Tar