The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-06-26
THE SHAAS OF FIAT MONEY
MIR. Fred Perry Powers Financial
Catechism.
The Malaria of Greenbackism. Fiat
Money and Free Silverism Dis
PEELED. A Few Plain Questions
Plainly Answered. Food
for the Thoughtful.

4 HAS ElCucylSn una Tree SllVofiSm con-
tinually arising from the swanps of ig-
nor&heo and dishonesty That MIR. Fred
Perry Powers has made good use of this
method will be clear to I'LL who read
the following questions and answers
eoneerHing Fiat Honey and Legal Ten
der" taken from his "a Financial Cate
chisn,' published by the Sound Cur
rensy Committee of 90 William street.
New York city
Are paper representatives of merchan-
disc inst as good for monetary use us
merchandise itself?
They are better. because lighter and
moro convenient, il every person is sure
that tho promise on them will be kept
III full and at ell times
Besides merchandise and promises to
pay merchandise is there any other kind
Of money?
Yes. Fat" money, which is a piece of
paper or other thing of'insigniflcaut val
ue on which is stamped y statement chat
is in SO much money
Where doss it get its name?
Trem the fact that "fiat' means "let
there'be. " and is tho expression attrib-
nted to the Creator whom no made the
universe out of nothing
Can any human being or government
create anythingr
1t cannot
Why is not fiat" money successful?
Because, as President lincoln ssid,
you can fool some people all tho time
and all the people somo of the time
bat you can't fool all the people all the
time.
But why shouldn't it succeed?
Because men will not give their labor
or goods for nothing.
Couldn't people be brought TO use
Fiat" money!
Reason and common sense are against
1t, and experience proves that they
won't. Besides, If yeu were asked to fix
yoEr Wages or prices in "rafloels" how
many would you charge?
I don know how much a"rsllodn ia
Well, you know as much about the
value OF "railod" as yoa would about
She value of q dollar if it wers no. n
specific quantity Of something.
Can congress determine how many
yards OF cloth or bushels Of grain nm
ounce Of gold or of silver shsll equal
In values
It cannot
What is to preventative, constitution?
Not the constitution ot the United
States, but the constitution Of man
SohSfess can no more regulate the relo-
i've intensitieS Of human desire than it
Can regulate tbs length OF day or night
II congress can maize 20. s grains of
gold dollar, can it net make a piece of
paper inches by dollar?
Yes, but that kind Of a dollar wonld
not bay anything.
Cannot congress pass legal tender
ECt?
Oh, yes, il man in the past has loan
ed 81, 6oe congress can say that tho debt
or is discharged when he offers l 600
worthless fiat" dollars.
lsh't that making fiat" dollars lust
as good as any other hind of dollars?
NAs 50 far as giving tho deb.or the
81, GOO that he ought to pay his creditor,
ont it does not help'a man to buy food
and cieshos, because the merchant will
raise has prices for awhile and finally
refuse to sell Mt all.
What would the raechantfdo then?
SSoA0 tAil custom
ers who would barter their merchandise
for his.
Are not legal tender acts passed for
the benati. Of TIE common people?
Not much. They are passed. by the
men who issue bad money to try 20 force
1t into circulation. Good money will 20
of itself.
Give an illustration.
When the Russian government was
using marten skins which had value
rs money In its eastern dominions, it got
short of funds, as governments are ant
TO, ana it cut off the scalps of the mar
tens and compelled ghe people whom it
owed for labor or. material to take n
scalp for whole skin.
BY whom have cheap moneys ALWAYS
been introduced?
BY smart financfers and impscunious
kings.
What is the estliest example2
1t was one of the crimes of Diouysius.
fyfant OF Syracuse, about 400 B. @.
that as Aristotle says: When he was
short Of money, he coined some tin, and
having convened an assembly no smoke
much On behalf of the Now coinage. and
they passed a decree, oven against thei,
Will, that each would consider what he
should take of it as silver and NOT IA .
basar metal ,,