The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-03-31

ana there they stop, Ihey are no part
of the world of trade. They can, each
within its own territory, rob creditors
by legal tender acts which are false to
the facts and ethics of trade, and so
drive away capital; but they can no
more change the eXchangeable value
or commercial function of the money
OF trade than they can change the eX-
changeable ratios of cotton, hay, iron,
cows, steamships, or any other form of
property in which men deal with each
other according to their needs and
their mutual agreement upon values.
II they could, all they would have to
do to secure eternal commercial tram
guilty would be to enact all forms of
property to be money, all unlimited
legal tender, fix their ratios to each
other once for all, and then let the
world run.
Wherefore, and in view Of the unlim-
tied supply Of silver in the mines, with
in easy reach, and of the new arts by
which it's cost of production is re-
duced and is still further reducible, it
is absolutely certain that no human
device can restore our silver to a par
with gold. They have parted forever
ON thte existing ratio, unless and until
gold in turn becomes correspondingly
abundant. Our silver dollars are ut
terly useless at their face in the mar
kets of the world, and are useless in our
own, except as protected by our gold,
and are therefore a perpetual and
grave menace to our Whole currency
system, which is thus made to carry
$3.50 900, 900 worth of silver at q yalua-
ton of $5oO,00o,0oo.
A Promise is Not Dollar.
A great difficulty in dealing with our
greenback is the false estimation In
which it is held by many as actual
money, instead of being merely an evil
dence of debt and promise to pay
money. And certal mental confusion
is more or less prevalent respecting all
forms of credit currency, due largely to
the fact that they are all as commonly
spoken of as money as are gold and sill
yer. .-.
Let US be clear. A refinement of in
calculable convenience and usefulness
to commerce is the bill of exchange
bank draft, or bank cheque. If l buy
an item of property from you, instead
of carrying my money property around
with me and giving you the proper
quantity in exchange, l deposit it in a
bank and give you writing which
entities you to receive the agreed guam
tity of IT, which you may take possess
sion Of your leisure, either by getting
the actual cash when you want 1t, or
by turning that writing or cheque over
to your own banl, to get the money
and keep it for you until you want to
use it or transfer it to some one else
by like eheoue. And you accept my
cheque because you believe that it is
good and effective title to the actual
property, and furnishes a safe, conven-
lent and cheap way of handling that
property until you want to use it. My
cheque for a dollar is not o dollar; but
If I and my bank are solvent, as you
suppose, 1t is a perfectly good title deed
to the dollar which you have taken in
exchange for your property. and you
| finally get your dollar whenever you
want to use it, through the transfer
operation effected by the cheque. 1t is
the dollar and not the cheque you are
after: and all you value the cheque for
is for the dollar it brings.
But / may not have the dollar, and
yet want your property. And If I am a
man of honor and possessed of property
which can be exchanged for money
| within convenient time, and I am
willing to pay you for waiting, you may
be willing to part with your property
| to me now and take my written prom
! Use of the dollar you exchanged it for, to
be delivered to you later on. But it is
for the dollar promised, and not for
my promise of it, that you have ex-
! changed your property.
The same thing is true of any promise
to pay money. If uttered by a person,
corporation or government, municipal
| or general, of well known solvency that
is, credited with having the money
| promised or the resources that will
| certainly bring it, such promises, es-
| pecially If payable to bearer" are eX~
ceedingly desirable substitute for, and
| exchanged as readily for commodities
| as, the actual property called money,
| because of their greater convenience,
You haven't got to take the money and
| take care Of it until you want it. But
| it is the property to which they fur
nish the title, the property they prom
| Use, that other property is exchanged
| for.
A promise to pay a dollar is not q
| dollar. no matter who utters it or in
what capacity. 1t entities you to re-
ceive dollar; it is a little deed to a
| dollar, like q bank check. But a dollar
is an actual thing; a definite, measur-
able, measured, and certified piece of