The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-05-15
LIVE ISSUES.
To Regulate the Value of Money.


ment "shall coin money and regu
late the value thereof and of for
eign coins 2" The full meaning
contained in this declaration can
not be embraced in the fact that
the government shall put certain
number of grains of gold or silver
into coins and determine the
"value" of money other than the
relative value existing between gold
and silver metals. This commercial
relation between metals had been
determined by other governments
long established. The value of
foreign voins could not be regulated
by ascertaining the number of
grains of pure metal the coins con-
tanned and publishing the fact so
that the people might know the
value commercially of the coins by
being informed of the amount of
metal in each. These respective
relative values had already been
established by other governments.
This cannot express the whole
meaning contained in that clause
of the Constitution.
Were the government to stop
with the assay, weight and stamp
ing of coins, it would fall far short
of it's duty assigned in the Consti-
tuition. The less money the gov
eminent coins or makes the more
value that money will acquire.
Value is relative term and in
creases or diminishes with supply
and demand. When by any means
money becomes scarce its value is
proportionally increased. In order
to regulate the "value" of money,
the government must control, as
well as coin the money. To control
the value of money in it's true and
honest sense is to keep it as near
the purchasing and debt paying
power, without fluctuation as pos
ssible, and in order to do this the
volume must conform to the num-
Der of the population and volume
of business. These fluctuate to
some extent, and in this country
there is steady natural increase.
In order to regulate the value of
money, a duty the Constitution i'm
poses on the government, the gov
eminent must retain complete con-
troll of the circulating medium, a
duty it has neglected and trans
ferred to private hands, and these
favored parties have made use Of
that important trust to exploit the
people to an unlimited extent. They
have abused the privilege in every
way possible to serve the purpose
of constituencies greed. They have
through this great and almost linn
itless power over the people and
business, usurped the powers of leg
islation by corruptiug by direct
brides and existing business pres
sure ON them, to force on the statute
books Of the states and nation, par
tial and class laws, by which great
and unjust privileges are enjoyed
by the money-controlling class,
detrimental to the public well being.
The abuse of power conferred on
a favored class, to control and reg
ulate' the value of money, has be-
come intolerable to the people, and
should be abated as a nuisance.
This battle of the many against the
few, the latter entrenched behind
old customs and public abuse, must
compass the ousting of this class
from the prerogative of controlling
the money and regulating the value
thereof. In the new American
financial system for which the bat
tie is now raging, with the first line
of the enemy's works, the remone-
tization of silver to be carried, the
prerogative conferred upon bankers
to control and regulate the value of
money, must be reclaimed and eX-
ercised in the interest of the great
Industrial producing class. There
can be no truely Independent and
prosperous condition for the people
while their money is allowed to be
controlled and exploited by class
who have made the commerce in
money their sole business and
object. All this exploiting class
can wiring from the hand of indus
try is gain to them without any