Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1896-10-09
WHAT rs MOnHY?
THE POWER TO CREATE VESTED
IN CONGRESS ALONE.
The Value 81 Money Is Legal and Not
MateriaI--Iron and steel IntrlnsIcally
Worth More Than silver or Gold
Some Sound Reasoning.

lt-are talking about money and dis
cussing the money question, especially
gold and silver money, 1t might be
well for them, in order to better in
form themselves, to stop and ask
themselves the sober question in the
above caption-'What Is Money!"
The child will tell you that it is what
you buy candy with. Some men,
VINO pass for great statesmen. will tell
you that it is gold and silver and
bank paper based on gold and silver.
with nickel and copper for currency.
ms is true. But these metals have
not always been money. neither are
they necessarily the only substance
out OF which money may be made
money IS creation of law. The
constitution of the United States saws
that congress shall have power to
coin money and regulate the value
thereof; and it does not specify any
particular substance out of which
such money shall be coined. At diff
Ierent periods in the worlds history
nearly everything has been used as
money Probably the earliest money
IN general use to any great extent
were sheep and cattle. In ancient
Britain slaves were used as money
and We're called living money" In
sparta. during the reign of Lycur-
gus, IRON was the medium of ex-
change. Rome first used gold for
money about two centuries before the
christian era. Carthage used leather
bearing the stamp of government.
Cathay used as money the inner bark
oil certain tree, cut into circle and
bearing the imprint of the king. 1t
was full legal tender, and to coun-
terfeit it or depreciate it or attempt
TO depreciate it by refusing to accent
1t In payment for debts was death.
GLASS coin was at one time the cur
rency of Arabia, and Goldfish was
used as money in Newfoundland. At
one time in Massachusetts musket
balls were used as money. In 1892
tobacco was legal tender in Mary
land, and nails were used for small
change in Scotland as late as 1776
george w. Childs stated in his paper,
the Ledger, that turnips circulated in
Philadelphia in the place of copper
cents as late as 1866. A hundred
other instances could be mentioned
Money is a representative of value.
simply medium of exchange, and a
creature of law. We will quote a little
from high authority:
Money is a value created by law
Its value is legal and not material It
IS, perhaps, not easy to convince one
that the value of metallic money is
created by law. It is, however, a
fact Henri Cernunchi.
10 coin money and regulate its
value as an act of sovereignty in
wolves the right to determine what
snail be taken and received as money;
at what measure or price it shall be
taken and what shall be its effect
when passed or rendered in payment
or satisfaction of legal obligations,
Government can give to it's stamp
upon leather the same money value
as if put upon gold or silver, or any
other material. Judge Tiffany, in
Constitution Law page 221.
Metallic money, while acting as
coin, is identical with paper money in
respect to its being destitute of in
;rinsie value. NORTH British Re
view
Money is medium of exchange
Whatever performs this function
does the work, is money, no matter
what it is made Of Walkers Po-
litical Economy
Gold and silver are not intrinsicaIlv
of the equal value of iron. No meth
DDS have been hitherto formed 10 cs-
tablish medium of trade equal in all
advantages to its bills of credit made
legal tender. Benjamin Franklin
The first legal tender established nv
Massachusetts was the beads of the
Indians, and though insufficient in
quantity, it answered the purpose az
money quite as we'll as English gold
or Spanish silver. Later the infant
colony issued paper to pay soldiers
sent on an expedition against Canada
The issue was for five thousand
pounds in notes from five shillings 10
live pounds, and was redeemable in
taxes. This money was not made q
legal tender. 1t was not stamped as
money by which private debts could
be paid: but in 1892 it was ordered that
they should be received at the treas
ury at five per cent over metal money
This fiat" brought them at once to
par with gold. and they stayed AT mar
with that metal for twenty years nm
til taken up in the revenues of tbe
colony.
In 1915 Virginia put out her Doteg
to sustain the war of that period and
guaranteed their redemption in
specific tax To make their success
doubly sure. these notes bore interest
at six per cent. Thomas Jefferson af-
terward wrote in his history of thc
colonial money: Not a bill of tbis
emission was found in circulation. II
was locked up in the chests of exeeu-
tors, guardians widows. farmers -
Why2 Because it was good money
1t would not have been boarded if II
was not Jefferson further says. I'VE
then issued bills bottomed on a re-
deeming tax, but bearing no interest
These were received. and never de-
preciated single farthing.s
This is populist money. The money
that the men who are ridiculed and |
abused and called eranks advocate.