The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-04-29
STRONG POINTS WELL PUT.
e. Gerry Browns Discussion of
Money at a New England
Town Meeting.
A REMARKABLE LITTLE BOOK.
CONTINUED from last week.


CHAPTER VII.
"What is money in legal sense?" here
was asked.
Judge Tiffany's Constitutional Law"
said the editor, written before the war,
says money is the sovereign authority
impressed on that which is capable OF tax
ing and receiving the impression: mat
upon which the stamp is placed is calico
coin'"
(Which shows plainly interrupted the
banker, that money must be metal, Tor
nothing but metal can be coined"
Again you are too hasty," continued
the editor; "for Judge Tiffany says, The
coin may be metal, parchment, or paper
The value is in the stamp, and not in the
metal or material. "
knows full we'll that paper dollar is not
as valuable as a gold dollar" said the
banker.
Let me quote you Judge Tiffany
again." answered the editor; land the le-
gal tender decisions Of the supreme court
of the United States follow Tiffany's ex-
position Tiffany says, there is legally no
such ting as gold or silver money, or
paper money"
1T is commonly said" retorted the
banker, that the law is founded in com
mon sense, but 1 see no common sense In
the decision or exposition"
LET us reason for moment and see II
it COMFORTS with common sense" said the
editor.
May 1 interrupt you a moment?" asked
Coin.
Certainly" answered the editor.
"In my financial school, said Coin, II
teach that, in dealing with money as
science, strictly speaking. nothing alh1 - is Is
been selected to be money. You are teach
ing that legal money is at no time com
modify, but is legal decree-which Is
right?"
II was about to reason with the banker
who apparently has also the idea that
money is a commodity, and that gold is
that commodity" answered the editor
"As you are teaching that money IS,
commodity, will you answer me ques-
tom"
with pleasure, if 1 can do So" replied
Coin.
II would ask you," said the editor 'can
you express the value of gold, silver or
ANY other commodity in money!
why certainly, of course" quickly
answered Coin.
"Then your reasoning facilities con-
vince you that gold, or any other commod-
ity. cannot be money" declared the editor,
firmly:
How is that?" asked Coin.
Because" answered the editor, value
is a relation. The value of a thing is un-
thinka BILE unless some other thing is re-
lated in which it is to be estimated. The
commodity is one thing; and when you ex-
press the value of your commodity IN
money then money is the other thing; or
as Judge Tiffany affirms, and economists
say the same, money legally is something
entirely distinct from gold, silver, or pa
per- There you have it. Money is on
commodity, not in commodity, or OF
commodity, nor the commodity itself,-be
| that commodity gold, silver, nickel, copper
or paper.
This point was quickly appreciated by
the audience. Coin was in thoughtful
attitude. The banker asked: DO you
claim that paper money Is as valuaole as
gold money!"
eff you mean, is the money stamp on
the paper as valuable as the money stamp
on the gold?' 1 answer" said the editor.
| yes if each stamp is the expression OF
| the same law"
Everybody knows to the contrary from
experience during war times" said the
banker, trumphantly. "The stamp on the
greenback-we have got to be exact, you
know, with bow to the editor), the
money in the stamp, you know, with an
| other bow)-the value of the stamp on the
yreenhack fuctuated and deprecated dur
| ing the war; the stamp on gold would
| buy, at one time, $2.34 in greenbacks.
| What DO you say to that?"
"You have got things a little mixed
rejoined the editor. LET me try to
straighten them out. The money stamp
| defines what money work the stamp is
authorized by law to perform. In the case
| you cite you are speaking of stamps which
| had different values. One stamp could DO
what the other stamp could not do. The
| stamp which could do the most work
| was the most valuable. The stamp on
gold was full legal tender-that is, credl-
| tor was compelled to accept 1t in payment
| of his claim against debtor. The other
stamp the stamp on the greenback, plain
| ly declared that it was not available to
pay custom duties to Uncle Sam; and
| bondholder could, refuse it when he called
| for his interest on his bond. The clause
read:
Except for duties on imports
and interest on the public debt"
Here YOU have the value in the stamp
and difference in the value of the stamps,
caused by the money function that each
could perform
| One of the war veterans was here recog-
| nized. and he said, "Mr Banker affirms
| that the greenback fluctuated and depre-
ciated, when the truth is, gold f1uctuated
and appreciated The bankers had cor
nered what little gold there was in the
| country. They owed, that gold to those
who had their notes; but they refused
specie payment. and repudiated their OBJ
| legations in the darkest hour of the re-
| public. Then they tossed the price OF this
gold up and down, Just as they MAKE n,
| football of some stocks in their Wall street
market today. In few days during the
| war. gold rose from $3.50 to $285 in paper,
for one in gold; and then it fell in as short
period to $3.50. 1t was the unpatriotic
| and criminal efforts Of these Wall street
| SPECTATORS to raise the price Of gold re-
| CARELESS of the injury to the country
| We need" said the veteran, another
| Jackson or another Lincoln to teach
| such hounds their place. If you want
| to know the truth, compare the price or
| all other commodities at that time with
| greenbacks, and then compare them with
| gold. 1 have good cause to nave a
vivid remembrance of that period.
| Prices of commodities advances from
| 1860, yet not more than they would nat
| urally pending a war; but gold appre-
| ciated. Creenbaoks remained at their
| normal relative value with commodities,
| and varied only as the volume Of money
| was altered in its relf tions with them. The
| bankers of New York Boston anad Phila-
| delphia combined, and rushed their dele
| gates to Washington, when congress
| created a demand note that would do
| all the money work that gold would do.
| These bankers Influenced congress to
| place the exception clause which the edi-
| tor refers to on all subsequent issues of
| papers Thus they created monopoly
for their gold by giving it special work
| to do-interest on the public debt and
| duties on imports"
When the applause which greeted the
| remarks Of the veteran had subsidized, the
| editor said 81 desire to add in further sup
| port of my claim that the value is in the
| stamp, the value that the first paper is
! sued by the government during thte war,
the old demand notes,-that when full
| legal tender for everything by the act OF
| March II, 1862, and thus empowered to
| do all the work that gold could do. they