The Penn's Grove record., 1895-07-12
FIAT MONEY SHAMs.
MR.. FRED PERRY PowEB's flNAN-
GAL c%ATEcHlsM.

and Free SuveTism plsPeieu-A &c"
Plain Questions Plainly Answered-food
For the Thoughtful.
The Socratio method Of exposing hum
bugs and shams is especially adapted to
dispel the malaria Of g~reenpackisn,
| fat moneyism and free silYerism con-
tinuaily arising from the swamps OF ig-
norauce and dishonesty, That Mr. Fred
Perry Powers has made good use Of this
method will be clear to oil who read
the following questions and answers
concerning "Fiat Money and Legal Ten
der" taken from his "a Financial Cate
chism," published by the Sound Cur
rency Committee Of 52 William street,
New York city.
Are paper representatives of merchan-
, disc INST rs good for monetary use as
merchandise itself?
They are better, because lighter and
more convenient, if every person is sure
that the promise on them will be kept
in full and at all times.
Besides merchandise and promises to
pay merchandise is there any other kind
of money?
Yes, "iat'' money, which lisa piece Of
paper or other thing of insignificant val
ne ON which is stamped a statement that
1t Is so much money,
Where does it get its name?
From the fact that fiat" means "let
there be" and is the expression attrib-
uted to the Creator when he made the
univarse out Of nothing.
Can any human being or government
create anything?
1t cannot.
Why is not fiat" money successful
Because, as President Lincoln said,
you can fool some people all the time
and all the people some Of the time,
but you can't fool all the people all the
time.
But why shouldn't it succeed2
Because men will not give their labor
or goods for nothing.
Couldn't people be brought to use
'.iat" money?
Reason and common sense are against
1t, and experience proves that they
won't. Besides, if You were asked to fig
your wages or prices in ''rallods" how
many would you charge?
don't know how much a''rallod" Is.
Well, you know as much about the
value of q ''rallod" as you would about
the value of a dollar if 1t were not a
| specific quantity Of something.
Can congress determine how many
yards Of cloth Or bushels Of grain al
ounce of gold Or Of silver shall equal
In value?
1t cannot.
What is to preventive constitution
Not the constitution Of the United
States, but the constitution of man.
Congress can no more regulate the rela-
tive intensities of human desire than it
car regulate the length of day Or night.
If congress can make 25.6 grains Of
gold a dollar, can it not make piece of
paper 2 inches by 8 O dollar?
Yes, but that kind of a dollar would
not buy anything.
Cannot congress pass a legal tender
act?
Oh, yes, if aman in the past has loan
ed ST. 900 congress can say that the debt
or is discharged when he offers 1000
worthless "fiat" dollars.
Isn't that making fiat" dollars just
rs good as any other kind Of dollars?
1t is so far Is giving the debtor the
81, 900 that he ought topay his creditor,
but it does not help o man to buy food
and clothes, because the merchant will
raise his prices for awhile and finally
refuse to sell at ali.
What would the merchant do them
Keep his goods till he found custom
ers who would barter their merchandise
for his.
Are not legal tender acts passed for
the benefit of the common people?
Not much. They are passed by the
men who issue bad money to try to force
1t into circulation. Good money will &c
Of itself.
Give an illustration.
When the Russian government was
using marten skins, which had q value
as money in its eastern dominions, it got
short of funds, Us governments are apt
to, and it cut off the scalps Of the mar.
tens and compelled the people whom il
owed for labor or material to take a
scalp for a whole skin.
By whom have cheap moneys always
been introduced?
By smart fnanciers and impecunious
kings.
What is the earliest example?
twas one Of the crimes Of Diopysius,
tyrant of Syracuse, about 400 B, O,
that as Aristotle saysi when he was
short Of money, he coined some tin, and
having convened an assembly he spoke
much on behalf of the new coinage, AND
they passed a decree, ever against theil
will, that each would consider what he
should take Of it as silver and not as q
baser metal"
Mention a modern instance.
Emir Abdullah coined @ quantity Of
copper cartridges which the Egyptian
troops left when they evacuated Haral
In 1886 and ordered the brokers to ex'
change them at the rate Of one silver
thaler for 81 coppers-that is, he estab,
lished q mint ratio. With much denun.
citation Of the sin of usury and of the
crimes of the "money power" the emil
commanded the people to receive the
eoppers under penalty of fiogging and
imprisonment.
What was the result2
A German traveller who visited the
town soon after this says the conse-
quence was a tumble in the value of all
property; the Gallas of the n~eighboring
district kept away from the market and
this caused distress and embarrassment.
Did not the cheap money raise prices
and boom business?
On the contrary, silver disappeared
and trade was checked.
If the people thought the government
would not be able to redeem its promis'
sorry notes in gold, would it make any
HENPV pADDED