New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-24

|
! note or paper money. If the note calls for Sc
many silver dollars, then it can be redeemed
! bv the delivery OF such silver dollars.
II the note calls for certsn number of bush
o,s of wheat it can be redeemed only by the
! delivery of that amount Ok wheat. An offer TO
! deliver the same number Of bushels OF oats
would not be n redemption Of a note which calls
for wheat
If n note called for cotton II must be redeemed
/ in cotton No one would complain because the
holder Of such 4 note refused 10 take the same
number OF pounds of hay in redemption oi such
/ note A note which called for certain num-
Der of pounds of beef could be redeemed only
in beef A man holding such note would be
upheld in refusing its payment by the tender
of the same number OF pounds of "doghsh" or
rams meat
INITIATION AND PRICES.
| There are two assumptions IN the statement
! Of Mr. Danforth, neither OF which is true Ihe
value Of gold and silver does not depend largely
upon legislation. There are host OF other
/ things which go to make up the value or ooth
gold and silver The cost Of production and that
I old law of supply and demand have much more
to do with the value Of articles than mere esls-
ative enactments.
That other statement that the price OF com
modities depends largely upon the number oil
dollars in circulation among the people. know
has been the statement Of many able men VINO
have written upon this subject. have hereto
fore frequently entered my protest against carry
ing this doctrine to the extreme which the
| Populists do There Is grain OF truth In the
assertion That Is there have been instances
where a very large amount Of money In CIR
culation has so cheapened the money itself that
prices have apparently advanced But when
money is all good "a the best the price OF
any given commodity Will depend so largely upon
| other conditions that the amount of good money
in circulation win have only small Influence
in determining the price.
| | know the reply always Is. we do not mean
that the price OF any given article Will be mu'h
affected bv the amount Il money IN circulation
bu: the general prices Of all things. taken az
whole. will vary with Tn, varying amount OF
| money in circulation" That is problem which
| am utterly unable to solve. l have never yet
| met with a pretended solution that was within
| nv comprehension know that fact IS not or
itself necessarily fatal to the proposition. MY
| lack Of comprehension may be entirely owing
to want Of mental power my part. What -
obscure TO me may be clear as sunlight 10 peo-
pie who are blessed with greater powers OF com
prehension than | possess BE that as 1t may /
am responsible only for what am able TO under
stand if make proper effort to solve ques-
tion.
have given time and careful thought 10 this
quantity" argument. and my conclusion is that
the problem is so complicated and requires n
Knowledge Of such an infinite number OF outside
facts and secret influences that no man can
reach conclusion which be relied upon in
the ordinary affairs of life. Some articles will be
very low in price when currency is abundant and
h cn IN prir WI q
scarce The quantity OF money in circulation II
it be the best o. money. has in my judgment lit
tie TO do with the price OF any given article; and
general prices are made up by aggregating the
prices Of specified articles
This whole theory OF curing all the difficulties
Of trade and Of surrounding the natural OBJ
stacles which must be overcome In successful
business by having the Government issue ar
untold amount Of legal-tender paper money is
not only imaginary, but II is financial humoug
which has been several times tried In the past
and always with disgraceful failure. There is no
| royal road to learning. some one has said.
| Neither is there any such easy way Of creating
wealth
TEST THE TWO DOLLARS" BY FIRE.
The giving Of a pronissory note does not pay
debt any more in the case OF nation than IN
that Of an individual. Such device only post
pones the day OF payment. In the end. the note
or bill must be paid in the substance agreed
upon. or else the broken promise will prove loss
to the holder This has been proved over and
over again Paper dollars not actual dollars
they are simply promises to pay actual dollars
They can never be anything else The fact that
ma per dollars are current and can he used readily
I'm the place Of actual dollars does not change
| their properties in the least. They can he so
used only so long the faith In their redemption
remains unimpared. Take away that confidence
and paper money will instantly deprecatc In
value.
No such weakness belongs to gold coin. Paper
money may be absolutely destroyed by fire.
! When the promise disappears in the names i''
/ value disappe also. not so with real money
! 4 bag Of new gold coins containing $4,000 may be
melted into shapeiess mass by the flames. The
unganly nugget will sell for just as much as the
shining COINS This is simply because the value IL
| in the substance ard not in the Government
stamp.
The same could be said OF silver coins. when
| the silver in them worth as much unconed
| as coined. The moment you give TO com a
| token value which does not exist In the metal IL
| self that moment the coin Is deprived OF the es-
sential Quality which should always belong 10 'he
money Of Anal redemption. For that reason ana
| that alone provision has always been maze ior
the redemption Of subsidiary coins when ala not
contain metal enough to make them worth 'her
face.
| The commerce Of the world, when reduced 10
actual transactions. is simply an exchange Oh
commodities An exchange OF commodite" H.
after all. only swapping of days WORKS As a
| general rule, an attempt to exchange an aruc'e
| which costs no labor for one which can De pro-
| duced only by toll s cheat and fraud.
Real money must be the result OF work else II
will not be long used as money. substance
| which can be produced with little or no e"or'
L L. mol 4, nYchaQg0 fOr ATlClcS