The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1896-06-17

Five PfOpOAltions lna1 cHouiu Ae eAeaEAJ
Understood by AIl-Are Easy OF Com
prehension-What Free Coinage Means.
An Appeal to Workingmen.
The following is from the excellent
address of c. Stuart Patterson, delivered
at Lehigh university about May /. Mr..
Patterson is chairman Of the executive
committee of the Sound Money League
Of Pennsylvania:
At the outset Of the discussion put
before you certain propositions which,
SO far as they may require explanation
or enforcement, shall support by argu-
ment.
The first proposition is that, no mat
ter how great country may be, and no
matter how absolute may be the power
of its government, its laws can have no
extra territorial force and cannot compel
other countries to sell to its citizens
either the natural or manufactured prod
ucts Of such countries save upon pay
ment in other commodities or in coin at
the market value Of those commodities
or coin.
The second proposition is that. while
government can, within its own terri
tory, define and declare that which shall
constitute legal tender in satisfaction
of past contract, it cannot by legisla-
ton fix the purchasing value Of its mon
ey, for the money is o commodity. and
its value Is determined in the markets
of the world under the laws Of trade,
and the laws Of trade, like the laws Of
nature, are stronger and more far reach
ing than any constitutions or statutes.
The third proposition is that money
has two principal functions, (1) as q
medium Of exchange and (2) as stand
ard of value. AS medium of exchange
it takes the place of barter. If work
ingman has labor to sell and wants to
buy food, he sells his labor fer money,
and with the money he buys food, and
to him the essential quality Of the mon
ey is its purchasing power. That money
is best to him for which he will obtain
the greatest quantity Of food, and the
maximum Of purchasing power will be
found in that money which will free y
circulate, not only in tho country where
no lives, but also MI over tbs world.
The second function Of money is to serve
as O standard of value. If working
man contracts today to work for a year
at given re OF wages, to be- paid him
daily or weekly during the year, it is ct
the first Importance to him that the
money which he is to receive for his last
day work shall have as much purchas-
ing power as the money which he is to
receive for tcday's work.
The fourth proposition is that you can
no more have two different standards Of
value in one country at one time than
you can have two different standards Of
weight or two standards CT measure. If
any man gees into the market, the law
being that yard shall be either or 5
feet in length. and buys carpets by the
yard at fixed price, there will be de-
livered to him carpets measured i'll yards
of feet in length. If he goes to the ale
of capacity under the law being either q
pint or quart, and he buys by that
standard of measure at a fixed price, he
will have delivered to him o pint. In
the same way if the standard of value Of
money be either gold coins or silver
coins worth iutrinsically only half Of
their nominal value, and not convertible
at par into gold coins, the payment will
be made in tho money of least value
That is principle Of human nature
which 1t is utterly impossible to get
away from.
1t is the teaching of history that
wherever the attempt has been made to
circulate side by side coins Of full value
and coins of less than full value the coin
of full value is boarded Or exported and
the coin of less than full value becomes
the only coin i'll circulation.
The fifth proposition is that Of the
two functions Of money. Its function as
u standard Of value is in modern times
of more importance than it's function as
medium of exchange, for the standard
of value enters into every transaction,
present or future and is Of great i'm
portance also as effecting the owners
valuation of every possible description
Of property, while nearly all transac-
tions Of exchange can be, and in point
Of fact are, made by representatives form
of money, such Us notes, checks, bank
credits and clearing house credits.
Free coinage means, using the figures
offered when the average market price
quoted at the mint was 81 cents, that
anybody could take 81 cents worth of
silver to the mint aud obtain therefore
the money of the United States to the
amount of $1.29. thereby making on
each ounce Of silver profit Of 81
cents
The whole agitation is inspired by
gentlemen who are tho owners Of silver
bullion worth 511a cents in the dollar,
which they propose to sell to the gov
ernment of the United States for double
its market value. Has not the govern
ment done enough ut your expense for
the owners Of silver. and is there any
reason why the owner of silver should
be better treated than the owner of iron
or Of farm products2
Let me test the honesty of the propo-
sition of the silver men. Will they
agree that silver shall be admitted to
free coinage at the minis of the United
States, but that the silver shall have
no LEGAL fender md shall naSa only by