Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-09-28

Ex-Secretary Fairchid, in his address
before the Commercial Travellers
Sound Money league on Wednesday
told little story which vividly illu-
mines the absurdity of the Populist
idea that values can be created by the
fiat power of the government. II was
as follows:
In Portland, Ore. few ago q
gentleman attempted to =
from a newsboy. on that
less than five-cent mic
My friend had no nfcN
five one-cent pieces III
10 the boy and asked
paper. 81
The boy said: Il VI
newspaper for thoset
why not?" said m.
They are no good here.
My friend said: THAT is all l ne
The boy said: Then you can't have
the paper"
Now. each of those pennies was a
full legal tender for the sum stamped
upon its face, and if the traveller had
owed debt of five cents to tne boy the
latter would have been compelled to
accept payment in the money thus
offered. But it was an original busi-
ness transaction in which the seller
had the power to nominate the form of
money in which he should be paid for
his property. The legal tender fiat of
the government didn't count with him
He ignored it, scoffed at it and inti-
mated by his manner that the govern
me Mt simply wasn't big enough to com
pei him TO exchange his property for
something he didn't want.
The free silver scheme would simply
place the holder of property, both real
and personal in exactly the position of
the newsboy. The government would
be able to compel the creditor to accept
payment of debt in dollars worth
only half as much as those in use when
the obligation was contracted, but it
could not force the farmer to part with
his wheat or the workngman to sell
his labor for money which was half
metal and half fiat. With our currency
debased by an attempt to create none
tary values out of nothing. business
conditions would become demoralized
Confidence and stability would give
way to uncertainty and distrust, and
the value of q silver dollar would de-
pend not upon the mint mark on it's
face, but upon the Willingness of the
farmer, the grocer and the tailor to ac-
cept it in exchange for their goods. In
competition between a gold coin
which is five dollars, actually
and in itself and five sill
yer coins containing $50 cents
worth of dollar and the same amount
of fiat the latter would inevitably
bring loss to their owner The legal
tender quality would give them a
forced and unnatural power to pay
debts. but it would not compel any
man to receive them in exchange for
property of any sort in case he insisted
upon payment in gold.
Business enterprise would be stified
by any such inequality in the value of
the forms of money. Transactions
would be forced down to q hand-to-
mouth basis, and money itself, instead
of being mere medium of exchange.
as it is today, would become COM
modify of barter and speculation. 1t
is into this crazy chaos of uncertain
finance and business paralysis that the
free silver advocates urge the country
to plunge. They propose revolution
in the business life of the country under
which the energy, enterprise and gen.
ius of the people shall be diverted from
the development of our natural sources
of wealth in farms, mines. plantations
and factories, and concentrated in the
business of the speculator and the
money changer. But under that con-
dition the people would take their
stand beside the Oregon newsboy and
simply declare that no government can
compel a person to exchange some
thing he has for something he doesn't
want.