The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-06-18
FRIENDS OF THE WHITE METAL.
GREAT GATHERING IN MssIpHls.


Two Thousand Delegates Organized
the Bi-metaI1ic COnyeatfcn-Sena
tor Turpie's Silver Speech.
The bi-metallic convention OF tbs
Southern and Western States whiSf
convened In Memphis on the 18th inSt
was largely attended by representa-
tives from almost every quarter, the
strongest delegations coming from
Tennessee and Mississippi. Senator
David Turpie, of Indiana, was made
permanent chairman, and addressed
the convention as follows:
President and Gentlemen of the
Convention: The coined money of the
government In full meaning stands
four square to all commercial transac-
tiOns OF the people. 1t has four func-
tions or uses. It IL o medium or ex-
change 1t is measure of values; 1t Is
a'means for reduction of its paper
proxies, and 1t is a legal tender for
the payment OF all debt. There are
many things besides coined money
which have some Of those powers and
uses-it has all. OF these functions
two are created by law-those of legal
tender and redemption those are ar
tifcial. The other two-of exchange
and value measurement-are natural
There is no doubt that coined money
existed and was used to effect ex-
change OF commodities and to denote
the values long before legislation con-
cerning debt or redemption.
But, although the natural functions
OF coined money are older much older
than Its artificial fnnctions--yet both
these classes OF functions are very
ancient-almost coeval with the COM
merce of civilization. The natural
functions OF such money used in de-
signaling the prices and effecting the
transfer of commodities do not depend
wholly upon law, have never SO de-
pended, but depend also upon usage
and agreement, they have no natural
or necessary existence. The artificial
functions depend wholly upon law.
When an article Is sold and delivered
and the price paid and received, this
IL finality. 1t is what we call q cash
deal. But when only note is given,
whether 1t be u public or q private
note, this Is not tinaity, but creates the
need that some measure shall be en-
acted by public law providing for the
payment OF the private notes for the
redemption of the public note in coin
ed money of the country.
This need is not a natural one. 1t
Is altogether artificial, and it Is caIis-
ed by that thing which is called cred
1t. Credit-that creature OF legisla-
tion-that product of the statutes.
Credit the PROMISE of today, the cash
of tomorrow, looking to the power Of
tho government for the collection and
enforcement of its obligations, cannot
gainsay the right of the same-power
to enact what sort and what quantity
of coined money shall be paid and
shall be- received in discharge and
liquidation of the same. Such is the
legal tender quality, and though it is
highly artificial, yet it IL doubtless
one of the most valuable functions of
coined money.
He who would deprive one sort of
coin of this quality, and leave it only
been used before from time immemo-
rial-from the very origin OF the
credit system, is guilty of gross injus-
tice. And that equivalent policy-an-
other way of doing the same thing,
which would permit only the making
and use of one sort of coined money,
and which would prevent the free and
further making and use Of the other,
where both had been coined ant: used
as money of final liquidation, parpetu-
ates and maintains system Of bond
age.
Those great artificial functions Of
coined money were not the cause of its
primary worth and use, although they
have added very largely to it in both
these respects. Coined money has
always been and yet is in itself thing
of value and this value is of two kinds
"a general value derived from the
material out of which it is mipted, q
specific or particular vGlue determi-
nate by law. The first Is called the
metallic or bullion value the second
Is known as the monetary worth or
legal tender value. The latter is
always matter of law; the bullion
value Is one of estimation and opinion.
Neither of the two coin metals of the
world has the best or highest elements
are used in the arts, but If the use to
which thing is put Is to be solo mea-
sure of the value, iron, with its neces-
sary product, steel, IL the most valua-
BILE, as it 10 ethe most useful OF all
metals. But the vast abundance of
this useful metal, denoting q supply
unlimited, has deprived it of monetary
functions.
Silver and gold in this order, have
been from the earliest times, and yet
remain, the principle coin metals
among mankind. Silver and gold
have been deemed and called the
precious metals. Inc WOru precious
inlicates their money use and origin.
It leads directly to price; 1T IL very
closely related to and concerned with
price. Price is the name of that sum
of money in coin which we pay in
exchange for what we wish to pur-
chase, and it must have always been
in itself d thing of value-a material
capable OF easy carriage, of other
qualities suitable for coinage-and it
must have always had, relative to other
commodities, the quality of scarcity, or
scantness In tho supply.
For four thousand years silver and
gold have been mined, coined, and
used as money. Daring all that time
those two precious metals have been
furnished, both as TO quality and as to
the cost of production, in such manner
and amount as not to be- compared with
any other commodities, as to admit of no
comparison save with each other. 1t
has already been said that the bullion
value OF the coin metals was largely
II matter of opinion and estimation.
Tho bullion value of silver and gold,
here and elsewhere, has always rested,
and rests today, upon the conception,
upon one opinion, upon one single and
simple item Of belief; 1t is an old
belief universally credited, based upon
the actual experience of 100 genera
tions Of the human race. 1t Is this