The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-05-08
COINAGE AND VALUE.

to be accurately ascertained by mere
count of unworn pieces.
COINAGE AND VALUE.
It ought to be mere truism to say
that coinage does not and cannot affect
value that it simply certiies the quail
ity and quantity of certain piece OF
property, for the information and con-
venience of that world of trade whose
use and mutual agreement alone estab.
fishes the value of the property SO
certified. Coinage does not make
copper silver nor silver gold, nor does
it make two grains of one, nor affect
in the least degree the rate of their
exchange for each other in the open
market.
To facilitate the settlement OF con.
tracts and disputes arising from them,
the adjustment of damages and penal
ties, and the avoidance Of litigation,
legal tender laws are passed, by which
creditor is compelled to receive some
specified kind of property in satisfac.
ton of his claim and to discharge his
debtor therefrom. And as all other
property is valued in the terms OF
that property used as money, and all
contracts referring to value sound IN
money, therefore the form of property
used as money is by far the most con-
venient, certainly ascertainable, and
reasonable sort to be used for such g
tender. And to this theory all enlight.
ened legislation confirms.
In these days, when not only there
are not wanting those who question
all the fundamental verities, but those
who build parties on their denial, it is
proper to remind you that legal ten
der laws do not affect value. They
simply provide q kind of property
which, being rendered by debtor in
quantity equal to his ascertained
debt. relieves him of any further liza
bility. If they declare that an ounce
Of copper shall discharge debt due
for an ounce of gold, they do not
make the ounce of copper worth an
ounce of gold; they simply rob the
creditor of an ounce of gold. Each re.
spective ounce will exchange for pre-
cisely the same quantity Of other
goods as before.
Money was not invented to pay
debts with, but to buy other property,
and must, therefore, be property it.
self. Its legal debt-pay1ng function
is q purely artificial and conventional
incident of its original and perpetual
use, and comes late in its history. And
when any form of it has lost in any
degree its purchasing power, the law
cannot compel its use for the payment
of debts except as it robs one man for
the benefit of another.
When the coinage ratio of 16 to l
was adopted, it was as nearly as pos
sible the actual market ratio of silver
to gold. The two metals were thus
treated as nearly alike as possible. In
order to get one thousand silver dol
lars one had to take to the mint $1,000
worth of silver. But with free coinage
at Is to l, with the present marketprice
of silver and unlimited legal ten.
der, can take $500 worth of other
property, go into the market and buy
$500 worth of silver bullion, take it to
the mint, have it coined into one
thousand silver dollar pieces and com.
,1el you to accept them in discharge OF
my previously incurred debt to you
for $1,000 worth of gold or of any
other equally valuable property which
you had let me have in exchange for
an equally valuable amount of prop
erty promised to be delivered to you
at future time. But do not expect
to recoup yourself by taking that
same $500 worth of silver in the one
thousand pieces and going into the
market with it and buying $1,000
worth of other property with it, just
because the law enabled me to compel
you to take it, for the $1,000 worth OF
some sort of property which you had
let me have, on the faith or promise
of getting another $1,000 worth in re-
turn. If 1t be otherwise, if legal
tender act can make fifty cents worth
of silver as valuable in the market as
one hundred cents worth of gold. it
can work the same change in ten
cents worth of silver or a cents worth
of pewter. The value of the bullion,
the property itself, is then no longer
an element in the question of the
value of silver dollar, or any other
dollar and the question of the rela'
tive production and abundance of sill.
yer and gold, or of any other metal, is
wiped out. Let US all get few hun
dred weight of iron, pass law re.
curing only few grains of it in a
dollar of full legal tender quality with
free coinage, and be rich.