Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-04-17
CHEAP MONEY.

change labor for the products
which we at so De time may desire
to use, would he very inconven
lent arrangement, if all exchanges
were 10 ce made IN Kind. 10 avoid
this inc0nvruience, Society has
adopted standards of value. Gov
ernmentS have made a Selection
from The metals best Snl,ed 20 the
purpose tor standards of value by
which dollars WORTH of labor
should be exchangeablr for cOiO
which in value exactly represents
that amount of labor. In making
the selection it was necessary to
select metals the cost of whose
production as we'll as their bulk
would best answer the pIrpOSe. So
long as the money, or standard oil
value, exactly represents what II
was intended To represent, we
have sound. stable currency, one
of which one dollar exactly re-
presents a dollars worth Of labor.
There is but one way to cheaper il
aud that is to get a currency IN
which a dollars worth of labor
would be worth more than one
dollar 10 money. Ne could adnlter.
ate the gold so that ten dollar
gold piece would contain but five
dollars worth of gold, or we could
substitute some other metal III
which the dollar would consist of
City cents worth of metal. We
could double our currency aud
have plenty OF 1t, but does not
every sensible man see stOnce that
while We would have twice as
many dollars, the total value
would be the same and the total
purchasing power would be the
sames
But suppose We would permit
the gold coin to remain the same
and coin only silver dollars 10
which there would only be City
cents worth OF the metal Ia each
dollar. Does any one suppose that
the party having gold would ex
change his gold for silver dollars
worth only half as much? We
would then have an abundance OF
cheap money and it would be only
cheap money that wsuld circulate.
The gold would be hidden away
as 1t was when Confederate cur.
rency was In circulation or become
an article OF merchandise as it did
when greenb4ckS were at dis
count. We wOull have plenty Of
the cheap money walle tbs good
money wOald he driven not Ouly
out Of clIcllstion bat out Of thu
country.
Did any people ever have cheap
money that did not continue to
grow cbeapeIY The standard OF
excbangeable value must not only |
possess market value but 1t must
enjoy the confidence of the public.
Without this tull public confidence
it will depreciate and continue
to depreciate,
TIE history of every effort to
make worthless currency good by |
legislation shows that 1t cannot be
done. The heaviest penalties upon
those who refused to receive tue
French assignats, did not prevent
their continued depreciation nutil
they became worthless. You can
make money legal tender, but il
will only circulate at its face value,
so long as it enjoys public conf.
dence. How many of us remember
when the value Of a legal tender
preenback was but little more than
one third of the value of a gold
dOllali Was it not 10y the most
strenuous efforts ofthe government,
aided by the money power OF Wall
street that Its further depreciation
vas prevented, Just 10 time to save
the governments credit
How Is IL with the silver dollar
today What gives 1t its vslneY
We know that 1t has but fifty cents
worth of silver In it, and Why does
/ psss at It's full valuef Simply
,ecsuas 1t IS backed by the credit
Il the United States government.
That government issues certificates
assd upon silver. and to prevent
heir depreciation, pays them 10 {
,oId. Let the Usitsd States gov
refuse to redeem the ]
liver certificates Ia gold, aud how 2
ong would 1t be before those 4
ertificstes would be worth no more
han the market value of the silver
,ntalned 10 the silver cOinf The '
has been keeping mp !
he parity OF the two metals by