Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1896-08-07
THE PlOPULIsT ERROR.

N THE P0PULIsT ERROR.
yThc foundation Of the false
reasoning on the money questi on
that accounts for many supporters
5of tie free silver plan IS the claim
chat the stamp or mark OF the
government is what gives value to
the gold and silver currency OF 9
nation. What the governm ent
declares to be a dollar, is dollar;
aud has dollars value. What
the government declares to
be yard measure, is a yard
measure; and what the gov.
eminent declares to be bushe!, is
4 bushel. All those terms are
used in designating the quantity
ofsome commodity. The dollar
indicates about % grains Of gold,
and it is the gold that has the.
value, and the stamp Of the gov.
eminent simply shows that It
" eighs the number Of grains that
our laws term a "dollar. The
stamp Of the United States mint
upon that piece of gold gives it no
more value than would the stamp
Of the king Of some cannibal
island. If the % grains of gold is
there, no nation is great enough
to increase it's value, and no nation
so weak that it's declaration as to
that coin would make 1t of different
value. People everywhere will
exchange their goods and their
labor for gold, and in the exchange
the amount Of gold is considered
and not the name the coin bears.
The United States declares about
% grains to be a dollar, if some
bankrupt and unprosperous little
governments in South America
should make gold coin contain.
ing 23o grains and call it
dollar that last named dollar
would be- worth ten times as much
as the stdollar" of the great United
States. 1T is not then the strength
of the government that gives the
value to ITS gold coin. There is
the all prevailing fact, as old as
the history of mankind, that gold
is precious metal, and that all
people will exchange their goods
and services for it. Governments
recognize this fact, and in order to
provide standard medium of ex.
change for commerce they declare
a certain weight Of gold to be
dollar" sovereign, i OF any
I arbitrary term, and IN order that
the value Of this money may not
be questioned it reserves the ex-
elusive right to stamp the disig-
mated weight OF: gold as .'dollar"
or '"ssoverelgn." 1t is the official
seal Of the government that the
weight Of precious metal is con.
taiued in that coin. The govern.
ment gives it no value, but it
announces its weight-and it's
quantity is the measure upon
which it is traded for other com.
moditles or for services.
Because the above are facts that
are fundamental in all financial
systems, there are men who will
claim that 1t is the government
stamp that gives value to money,
and that is the great error that is
back of every effort to debase cur.
rency, to have the government
make money, and. to have
t'cheaper" dollar.
The government can, to
limited extent, make money Of
other material than gold. It can
use paper, and give for gold it re.
.ceives on deposit, certified state.
,ment that the paper represents so
many gold dollars, and can be
exchanged for them at any time.
If the paper money can be ex.
changed for gold, it, Of course,
passes for the same value as gold.
The good faith Of the government
is relied upon to keep the gold in
readiness for the man who at any
time gets possession Of that
receipt. Such a piece Of paper
money is a gold certificate. The
government can issue due bills,