Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-07-08
CHEAP MONEY DEVIL.

 ALWAYS ON HAND TO ENCOURAGE
 FIAT SCHEMES WITH SOPHlSTRY
 AND GLOWING PROMISES.
 Ages-His Method Explained In Goethe's
 "Faust.-Had a Hand Tn the John Law
 Bubble-The French Assignats-Ameri-
 can Greenbacks = Now Busy Pushing
 Along the Sixteen to One Scheme.
 In 8 recent interview Governor Alt geld of Illinois told how many hundred years gold and silver were maintained in circulation at fixed ratio by the fiat of government. It is not disputed that whenever the legal ratio has coincided with the market value of the two metals they have circulated together without any need of legislative fiat, but when ever the legal ratio did not coincide with the commercial value of the two metals, having equal privileges at the mint, the coinage that was undervalued dropped from circulation by law more potent than the decree of government.
 Of course depreciated currency can be kept ill circulation so long as govern ment may be willing and able to keep the promise to redeem 1t i'll standard money, as is the case with the silver dollar of the United States and the franc piece of France. The enormous cost and embarrassment of a fiat cur rency to the government of the United States are witnessed in the frequent borrowings of gold to provide for it's re- demption.
 To Governor Altgeld 1t is matter of indifference, as he says, whether the legal ratio for the free coinage of silver be IS to or 8 to 1 with gold, since the fiat of the government would be as om- nipotent i'll the one case as in the other. But i'll giving the history of fiat cur rency for the instruction of Illinois edi- tors and speakers he might have men, toned i'll the course of his narrative the royal coin clippers who knavishly de- based tho money of their realms and mean1y defrauded their subjects, just as the silyerites propose to do with the monetary standard of the United States. The governor, however, does not go back quite far enough in tracing the origin of fiat money. We have the high authority of Goethe, who deeply pene trated the nature of things, that the devil-Mephisto the invent or of this kind of currency (for which see the second part of .tFaust")
 Far back ill the middle ages we read that the affairs of the Germanic empire were i'll the greatest disorder. The treas ury was empty and utterly unable to re- deem its obligations The army was ready to mutiny because of the long ar rearages of pay. The eeurtiers in the imperial palace complained of the dep- rivation of the luxuries to which they had been accustomed. Discontent and distress prevailed throughout the em- pire.
 At this junctyue Mephistopheles ap- peared on the scene, as he always does on such occasions He proceeded at once to issue fiat currency under the author ity of his imperial majesty. At first the emperor was shocked at the monstrous fraud, and indignantly asked who had dared to forge the imperial name, threatening at the same time that such crime should not so unpunished But the imperial scruples were soon removed by the arguments of Mephistopheles and the brilliant success of the scheme. The treasury was quickly replenished. The army, having received its pay, was eag- CT to re-enlist In the imperial palace the courtiers and even the pages, had money to burn," and prosperity again dawned upon the empire. In his aston ishment tho emperor asked: And does this pass for good gold with my people? Is it accepted for full pay by the army and the court? Much us l wonder, must let it go.
 But the court fool could not quite un- derstand this magic paper, of which he had received 5, 1000 crowns, and he asked Mephistopheles if this was good moneys worth
 Mephisto-You can have first what ever your gullet and belly may desire.
 Fool-And can l buy with it fields and house and cattle?
 Mephisto-Of coursei Demand only that, and it shall not be wanting to you.
 Fool-And castle, with forest and deer park and fish pond?
 Mephisto-Truly 1 would like to see you worshipful lord
 Fool-This very evening will rock myself in landed estate.
 Mephisto (alone)-Who now doubts the wisdom of our fool?
 The other fools held on to their magic money until it withered to nothingness in their hands When the inevitable crash came Mephistopheles had business somewhere else in his vast domain. The same parsonage again made his appear ance 10 lure the French people to finan- cial ruin when John Law acted as his fiat money agent in the Mississippi