The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-08-07

the Pioneer Press a few fundamental
populistic principles on the money ques-
tion and thereby has run himself into a
hole. The way the Pioneer Press man
gets back at him in its issue OF the 4th
inst. is truly refreshing because OF the
simplicity of the argument and the ut
Ter righteousness of the populists po-
aition. Bro Loucks starts out with the
assertion:
4 THE peoples party do not mean that
i the government can make money out OF
nothing. What we do claim is that our
4 government alone can create or make
i money, which is the same thing" and
/ again he says: snow, what makes
money!" and answers it himself as fol-
lows: The sovereign power impressed
upon something capable Of taking and
retaining the impression. The stamp
alone, without that sovereign power (act
OF congress) would not do it. The two
/ must go together" He then refers to
the Trade dollar and the "Dollar Of the
Daddies" as an illustration OF THE
sovereign power OF the government
stamp; and also to the greenback with
the exception clause" as compared to
she gold dollar during the war. He set
out to prove that "money is the
sovereign authority impressed upon coin
or paper"
/ He quoted some crank's definition OF
money to this effect, says the Press, and
now to chncn it with a high confirma-
tory authority he triumphantly quotes
i Blackstone, who says that "the coming
Of money in all states 10 an act OF the
sovereign authority" But what has
that got to do with the proposition that
i money is ''the sovereign authority inn
pressed on the coin or paper?" The
making OF ships OF war is an act OF the
sovereign authority. Does the sovereign
authority which caused it to be made
constitute the ship Of war? Armies can
only be levied by act OF congress. Is an
army an act of congress? What is the
use Of wasting arguments on man who
fancies that TO say ''The coming Of
money ID an act Of sovereign authority"
is the same thing as saying that the
sovereign authority exercised in coming
money 10 the money itself? After that
there can be NO doubt of Mr.. Loucks'
qualifications to be populist leader.
We can't undertake tostraighten out all
his twists of mental peiyersity. The
Pioneer Press did not say that the silver
dollars are directly redeemable in gold
dollars. What it did say was, that
under the obligation imposed By law on
the government to maintain the parity OF
gold and silver 10 would be compelled
when all other means failed 20 .fioat eil-
yer dollars at paS, to redeem them in
gold, winch makes them substantially
and ultimately tedsemabis ia gold. Itis
true that silver bullion, under the Sher
man law, was paid for directly in treas
ury notes, but these treasury notes were
made redeemable In either gold or silver
coin. In fact, the treasury was obliged
Ito toredeem them In gold il order 20 pre-
vent the depreciation OF silver, which
was substantially the same thing as
paying for the bullion in gold.
/ Another instance of defective reason
ing is his extraordinary inference from
the fact that "the s6O. O.0O0, 900 demand
notes remained at par with gold from
the day the secretary OF the treasury
authorized their acceptance for customs
dues" The notes of Dir. Loucks would
go to par with gold il the government
would accept limited amount of them
IN npayment OF duties. But how does that
support the theory that unlimited issues
of irredeemable paper money '.author-
lied to perform the functions OF gold,"I
will remain at par with gold? The
government cannot authorize them TO
perform any OF the functions of gold,
except to be legal tender for the pay
ment OF debts not contracted TO be paid
in other money. One function OF gold
lsto pass everywhere at its metal value,
irrespective Of the authority Of the gov
eminent. That is a function which ir-
rsdeemable paper could not peform,
however much it might be authorized to
perform il. When it had exhausted the
purpose for which the populists chiefly
desire it 10 be issued, that is, used 40 an
instrument for therepudiation of their
debts; whenlit had wrought all the i'm
measurable calamities upon the COM
munity, and especially upon the poorer
classes, which all such issues of lrre-
deemable paper have wrought whenever
tried in the course Of history, they would
end whore they have all ended in such
depreciation that bushel basket full oi
them would not buy q breakfast for d
canary bird, much less dollar OF that
gold, whose functions it was authorized
to perform.
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