The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-01
Honest and Dishonest Money.

To the editor of the indianapolis Journal:
In several of your late issues you have
something to say about honest dollar
imputing that for the United States to pay
its obligations in silver would be to pay in
dishonest dollar, because of the fact that
the bullion in silver dollar is not worth
as much as that in a gold dollar. Money
has two uses or functions. First, it serves
as a medium of exchange All forms of
money, primary and credit have this func-
ton. Perhaps good a definition as can
be given of money, viewed as having this
function, is that of Francis A. Walker. as
follows: Money is that which passes
freely from hand to hand throughout the
community in final discharge of debts and
full payment for commodities, being ac-
cepted equally without reference to the
character or credit of the person who Of
fers it, and without the intention. of the
it or apply it to any other use than in turn
to tender it to others in discharge of debts
or payment for commodities.
1t Will be seen that this definition has
reference to the use of money as me-
dunn of exchange. But money has an
other. function equally important as the
one just given. it serves as measure of
values. 1t measures the value OF every
nommod n.y. III In this sense only that HAMS IS
of ultimate redemption. In this sense gold
alone at present is money. Pre e4d to the
silver both served to measure values. You
speak of an honest dollar and a dis
measured? There can be but one way of
doing so. and that is by what it will buy.
CT Of fhe w wo pIy today as 1T did
in 1873 it is just as valuable, and is not
dishonest dollar. The coinage value of an
Report of the Director of the Mint for 1888
the average price of ounce of hne silver
for the year 1888 is given at 7S cents Then
a
fraction over go cents. In 1873 the price OF
Mhea per Was I s an he price,
of cotton was IS $40 cents per pound. In
1893 the prices of these same commodities
6S cents per bushel; cotton, cents per
pound. These figures are taken from
take other commodities they all tell the
same story. An ounce of silver Will Duy as
5day as # ever did + bs pay oo oey
that will buy much OF the worlds COM
modities as would the money. which they
loaned the government at the time the
loan was made. If this would not be pay
ing in honest dollars, why not?
The reason that a gold dollar is worth
double what it was in 1873 is that the de-
mand for gold has been so greatly increased
by. reason of making it the only~ money of
piled up large sums with which to redeem
their credit money, and this increased de-
price, and hence the same amount of gold
will buy twice the amount or commodities
that it would in 1875 in other words, we
are paying twice as much to our bondhold-
ers as we agreed to pay.
In reply to your argument that free
coinage will practically reduce the pensions
of our veterans, l would say that if we
find that their pensions will not support
ps hsy s and a
easily than we 90 at present .,uy,cp
Freeport, Ind, March 80
The writer assumes that silver money
was abundant in 1873, when, as matter
of fact, the prices in this country were
in deprecated paper money which fiuc-
tuated that year from S21a to 81 cents in
gold, and a few cents less in silver No
silver or gold was in circulation. If that
was the .honest dollar then. let the print
ing presses be set at work. If Mr.. Chad
wick wants 50 wheat, let him demand the
issue of unredeemable paper
money and in four years it will be worth
500 a bushel. but the $40 would purchase |
81 now purchases. Supply and demand
have nearly all to do with price. During
SAC to $19O a pound because the supply |
was not equal to the demand and the price |
from sae to sa4s measured By gold ne
wheat which was $1.31 a bushel in 1873 was |
by an S1-cent dollar. The lS-cent
tuating paper dollar. There was no silver |
money in circulation in this country and the
$102 Again, as to bondholders, all of the |
bonds now outstanding were issued since
the passage of the act of 1873, and at a
rate of 4 per cent. against per cent.
But these bondholders are eff no account
with the millions of dollars of |
which are ,redeemabie in gold |
whatever may be the legal tender money.
And how can the pensions be paid in silver
more easily than now? The money with
which pensions are paid is raised by tariff
duties and internal revenue taxes. Will
there be more of these in the aggregate
than now, when the most Of these taxes are
paid in silver? This is absurd. Mr.. Chad
wick and like intelligent men should not
permit themselves to be duped by the silver
mine owners but join the element which
favors international bimetallism-Editor
Journal