The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-09-29
DR.. BEDL0E'S
COIN SCHOOL.
Our Former Consul at Annoy De-
fines Sound Money.
SIMPLY A MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE.

Gold the Only Accepted International
Moncy-siIvcr, Like All Fiat Money. Is
Only u Promise to Pay--A Clear Exposi-
tion OF the Money Question by a Well
Known Diplomat.
1t is not necessary to consult the po-
litical economist TO know that money
is the medium Of exchange. Whether it
be the penny or the nickel, the dime or
the dollar, the gold certificate or the
eagle, it merely serves to interchange
something you have for something you
want.
Money is Of all sorts and kinds-in
Africa a string Of beads or roll Of wire,
in Siam little pieces Of stamped porce-
lain and queer little balls Of silver
called "ticals," among savage Indians
strings Of wampum. and among civil
lized nations gold coins.
Postage stamps are money in some
communities where change is deficient.
In the island of Formosa postage stamps
were used as currency for several years.
OF all the kinds Of money few are Of
any use outside the land to which they
belong. These few we call Sound mon
ey." Sound money, therefore, is mere
ly that medium Of exchange which pass
es current at its face or stamped value
not only in the country where it is is
sued, but in every country Of the world.
Any money which has not this power is
local money or national money, but is
not sound money.
Sound money means actual value,
actual payment All other money is q
promise to give value or a promise to
pay. The one is something done, the
other something to be done. One is q
fact, the other fiction.
Everybody knows, or ought TO know,
that it does not make the slightest diff
ference in tho value of gold whether it
has been coined or not The only ad-
vantage Of coming is that we know
thereby the exact fneness of the metal.
1t is very simple matter to determine
the fineness Of a gold coin. A pair Of
fine balances and jar of water will en-
able any person to obtain its exact spe-
cifio gravity, and from this any school
boy can figure out its fineness. We are
saved the trouble of this experiment by
the stamp Of the government.
Each government employs its own al.
10y or particular fineness, so that when
we receive coin we know exactly how
many grains of gold il contains. Pure
gold itself is too soft to use for coming
and is only used by savage or semicivi-
lized communities. The miner uses gold
dust and sometimes nuggets, and the
savage king and chiefs of Asia employ
coins Of pure gold, which rubs away in
a short time. The moment men learned
the nature of metal they alloyed their
gold, so as to preserve its color and
beauty and at tho same time to make it
hard, sonorous and durable.
Thus the Uniyed States uses one alloy
and Spain another, but the difference in
value is small. scarcely more than per
cent at the most. This difference is in
dicated by the coin itself. Thus it is we
accept the Spanish coin at its exact
value, not on account Of any regard for
Spain, but merely because the coin con-
tains so many grains of gold. So, on the
other hand, the people of Spain accept
our eagle, not because they respect US in
any regard, but merely because our
eagle. contains the gold whose value
they accept
II the gold be melted, the coin has
vanished, but the metal has still the
same value. This element of value is
not the only one which marks the yel-
low metal. In the East river at New
York not many years ago there was re-
covered some gold coin that went down
in the British frigate Hussar in the last
century The coins were still in very
good condition The salt water in the
meantime had eaten up the iron, had
dissolved the copper, had corroded the
brass, had attacked and destroyed the
silver, but the gold remained.
In ancient times goo governments
coined money. We know the coins they
struck off and the materials they EN-.
ployed. In our museums we have near
ly every gold coin represented. The sill
yer, brass and copper coins were a hun
dred times as numerous in those past
ages, but today hardly one survives as
a reminder. In Egypt have seen COL
lections of gold coins which were made
by Pharaohs and Ptolemies, by Greeks
and Romans, by Ph9nicians, Tyrians
and Sardonians, by Turks and Sara