The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-07-19


idea OF the nature OF money as he has
OF It's uses. instead OF being the precep-
tor Of doctrines that are perfectly aD-
surd and most poisonous. he might make
himself useful to society. But he has
got In his head the utterly false Idea
that puzzles so many men in regard to
the subject, that money is In some way
"A creation OF government. He added TO
the above the following
The men OF to-day do not understand
its relation TO property and TO socie-
ty; IL they did we would not be ergageu
in this discussion. Under this last neau
comes the question whether all money
should be issued by the Government OF
all or part OF it should be issued by
private parties and corporations The
necessity for money, the fact that II
is the organic fluid Of society. should
make IL solely creation OF the Govern
ment. We regulate interstate commerce
by laws. because IL is a matter affecting
society. Nothing is so intimately con-
nected with the organization OF society
as money, and yet we have a school OF
financiers who advocate that II should
be the creation Of private parties ana
corporations, and be regulated by them.
1t should become a fixed principle with
us that the issuing of money Is an act
OF sovereignty. our monetary system
should be fixed upon scientific principles
by which every dollar IS as good as every
other dollar.
There is the rock which sends all the
Populists and free coiners 10 the bot
tom. They all think that money issues
out of government-that it IS created by
nothing, neither moLey nor anything else.
Government can enact statutory laws
that will seriously embarass money In
performing its functions Of circulatory
medium of exchange, but it cannot Gre
ate It, Money is dug out of the earth by
labor, and its value depends upon the de-
sire men have for the metal and the
labor required TO dig it out Of the earth,
refine IT. and put it into convenient
shapes and forms. When men exchange
their property for money-for the thing
we call dollars-it is not a thing called
dollars that they are in quest of, as dis
tinguished from the metal TO which the
word is attached. 1t is the number OF
grains of metal represented by the word
dollars that they are in quest of.
They would exchange their property for
that number Of grains of metal just as
willingly If the pieces were called quoits
instead of dollars They exchange the
property for the dollars because the metal
in the dollars is very much desired
by men at large, and because 1t took
i . Lob, cat
pieces Of metal out of the earth as it
took to put their property into the form
it then holds. They would exchange
their property for the same weight of
metal just as readily by weight as by
the name of dollars if arrangements had
been made for putting such traffic into
practice They exchange for the dol
lar" because the statute laws Of the
country have notified them that the
word dollar" is a term adopted to in
form people that a piece OF metal having
that word stamped on it by the Govern
ment contains a certain weight of the
metal 1t is the weight OF metal that
they are after. then. and not the name
Of the thing. That weight Of metal
would be just as acceptable TO them I'M
Ger any other name as under the name
dollar"
Now, It is found in practical life that
giving a given weight OF metal a given
name, will make the people accept that
metal readily as containing given
weight. The government therefore names
. $40 grains Of gold dollar" to indi-
cate that when we see a piece Of that
metal stamped by the government as
dollar" az contains p $40 grains Of
gold.
The connection of the government with
the subject, then is 10 fashion the crude
metal into pieces containing each ? $40
grains. and to stamp these pieces IDOL
lars" 1t thus certhes to the people that
each piece they see contains that much
metal. and the people accept it as contain
ing that much metal on the faith OF
the governments stamp. But the stamp
is only valuable as containing the certi-
fcate OF weight and not as imparting
any sort of value to the metal This
IS government JUNCTION III cOHh'ctoh
with money. and its whole function. Mr..
Harvey's idea (and it is the idea of all
the free coiners and Populists), that
money is created by and issues out of
| Government as light issued out OF the
Almighty when He said. Let there be
light" is one of the most preposterous
| ideas in the world. Nothing is created,
except by the Almighty. Money depends
for its value upon labor, and al that
government can 90 is to regulate its
use, as by certifying that given piece
contains a certain weight OF the metal.
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HOW Gould SICH 4 THING HIVE