The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-05-12
ItRSf ARTICLE ON COINS FINAN-
GAL SCHOOL"

In compliance with our announce
ment yesterday We present this morning
the first OF our series Of articles de-
signed to show the errors Of the opin-
ions advocated in "Con's Financial
School"
The foundation error Of the writer of
this book. as Of all the advocates of the
free coinage of silver is in supposing
that great quantities Of money are neces-
sary 10 successful business. This is
fatal mil conception OF the nature OF
trade. and no man viii ever get correct
ideas upon the subject until ne wholly
frees his mind Of that delusion. A great
IDEAL of money. in proportion 10 the
amounts involved. is necessary TO the
transactions of uncivilized and barbarus
people but Just as a people develop IN
civilization and IN command Of the mod
crn methods Of transacting business, the
use of money is dispensed with
In speech delivered in the last Con
grcss 10y AIR Bourke Cochran, he used
an illustration We shall borrow, which
brings out very clearly the exaggerated
nature of the popular idea of the guam
tity Of money needed
\ buys a beefsteak for a dollar. The
butcher buys a knife with the same
dollar. the cutler buys book with the
same dollar. the bookseller buys crayat
with the same dollar. the habcrdashcr
buys a pair Of infants shoes with the
same dollar. the shoemaker buys hyc
pounds OF coffee with the same dollar.
the grocer buys a straw hat with the
same dollar the hat man hires a car
rlago with the same dollar. ana the car
rage driver Guys another bcefsteak in
the evening from the same butcher with
the same dollar. Now here are ten trans
actions effected i'm one day by one dol
lar and ~ could Just as easily ana as
satisfactorily have effected ten times ten
II it had been circulated with sufficient
briskncss. OF course. We are not de-
scrlhlng the actual circulation Of a single
dollar M a single day. but only illustrate
what may be done, and. indeed. what has
substantially actually occurred many
times.
Pray tell us. then, how matters would
have been helped II there had been fifty
dollars for the purposes Of these transac-
lions instead of one? The lesson TO boz
drawn. then. with absolute certainty from
this Illustration is that when a com
munlty has money enough TO effect its
exchanges. more money can be OF no pos
sible service. and that the power Of one
piece OF money 10 effect transaction
after transaction with the utmost rapid
lily enormously reduces tho number Of
pieces required.
Again. What were these transactions at
bottom? Were they really purchases and
sales Of articles for money or were they
exchanges OF articles one for the other?
They went through the forms OF pur-
chase and sale. but they were really ex-
changes Of articles. The butcher had
bcefsteak that he did not need. but he
cid need a knife The cutler had knife
that ne did not need. though he did not
need a bccfstcak. but he ala need
book. though the bookseller had no need
FOR a knife. The butcher took the dollar.
therefore, Tor his steak, because he knew
II was good for a knife, and the cutler
took the dollar for his knife because he
knew st was good for book But the
transaction was at bottom nothing but an
exchange OF steak for knife, enected
through the use OF thing that was
equivalent in value to the steak and the
knife. We want our readers TO keep In
mind the enquiry why this dollar was
o,ual In value of the steak and OF the
knife. The correct answer TO that ques-
ton lies al the bottom Of this whole
ca-e This is not The time or the place
10 answer that question hit We shall