The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-08-19
Wants Information

Mopingf1rd. Va, Aug l.. t,1f
Editor The Times: As a subscriber
and constant reader OF The Times /
desire Information on the money Qucs-
ton. IN your leader II yesterday. 40
more money needed YOU mnde use Of
terms. which. TO nay mind, are unscien-
tihc. and hence Illogical ard misleading.
You speak Of Money as the standard Of
value ar1 base your alignment upon that
idea.
II mistake not. political econo-
mists IRE very particular 20 I'm
press the fact that money IS not a
standard Of value. Its first function.
however, Is 10 measure value. or find
the price Of commodities.
Money IS whatever the Government
puts It's stamp upon and makes receiv-
able for all debts and dues 10 II. and
also legal tender f. payment 81 debts.
These are the necessary qualities or
attributes OF money. II Is creature
Of law and the power to create OF make
II Is a sovereign power The substance
used in making money Is matter OF
convenience, adaptaolity utility. etc. II
may be gold, silver. leather. or trurella.
But gold and silver, on account OF their
superior fitness. have been naturally
selscted" from time immemOrial for that
purpose, but whatever the substance may
be. when once stamped by the Govern
ment and made receivable for debts ana
dues TO If. and also "A LEGAL tender N
the payment OF the debts the people,
II becomes invested with ertain other
attributes or functions. VIZ, lst, mea-
sures value. 2d. 1t Is a vehicle or me
dunn OF exchange %. A tool or com
merce Il Is, In short. the one thing need
ful In business. and fills the place n
the commercial world that letters d. IN
literature.
SO far what | have said applies 10
all money; the money OF all countries.
But We find that different countries use
different materials to make their IN II y
of; give different names 10 their coins,
have different standards OF value TOT
their money unit, etc. These, a ! nave
said, are matters Of convenience. adap-
liability, etc. But looking at the subject
more closely. We find that when a leo-
pie emerge from state OF barbarlsm
and attain 10 the condition Of Organized
society, with Government recognized
and sustained by the people, who wish
to exchange the products u their labor
Of value Is essential to facilitate bust
ness; but before you can have this you
must fix unit OF account ana stan
dard Of value for this unit or money
OF account
The mint act OF April ?. 17g2. drawn by
Mr. Hamilton and adopted by Congress,
settled all these question for MS, and has
remained from that day to this sub
stantIally the law Of the land. Hence W.
have for our monetary system, dollars
cents. and mills. the money II account.
The standard dollar is fixed at 81 IL
grains pure silver. or 4l2 IL grains. cne-
tenth alloy The standard gold dollar s.
% $40 grains, one-tenth alloy. or . 90
pure gold. The ratio between them Is
sixteen 10 one. The two are interehang-
able and each is used indifferently in
measuring the value OF products We
say any article Is worth SO, II silver. they
must be standard dollars. Az l-2 grains
one-tcnth alloy; II gold % s-lD grains,
one-tenth alloy; these are the two stan
dards by which we measure the value Of
all commodities. Hence. It Is unscien-
thc and illogical and misleading e. say
that "money IS the standard" Of value
because gold and silver is not money
except where coined according TO law
and the standard relates TO the number
of grains of each fixed by law to make
the dollar. This dollar is not "A standard
of value. but a measure OF value. just as
the bushei measures quantity, and the
yard distance. The standard If the
bushel Is 2,160.i2 solid inches, or eight
gallons of distilled water. ten pounds to
the gallon. The standard of the yard
is a stick Of ivory kept IN the Tower at
at 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The standard
does not apply TO the quantity. or the dis
lance. but TO the bushel and the yard
BY parity Of reasoning II can be shown
that the market value OF the gold or
silver which enters into a dollar, has no
more to do with the money functions OF
that dollar than the value OF the paper
which enters into the paper dollar; nor