The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-12
MONEY AS A sToREsHousE.

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MONEY AS sTOREEE0UsE.
We have had all the standard defini-
tons of money, its nature, source and
uses IN making the exchanges Of trade
To the mind of average intelligence
these convey little meaning. They seem
like distractions, well enough for lit
erary fellows, but not suited to the
consumption OF plain people. Lei rs
see II 1t cannot be presented from a
point OF view out of the usual and one
with which everyone is made familiar
by his daily experiences. If men con-
sumed everything they produced there
would be no need of money. That
comes in when they make more than
they need to eat or wear. They also
then need some other things. If one
is farmer heA..rfeust have barns a.d
granarles to store his surplus and
stables to keep the cattle which he
mas produced in excess Of his warts
and those of his family. Tie shoe
maker and the tailor must have a SAFE
place to keep the goods they have mo
for sale. The nlaIsufa cturer r,17et l,.,va.
his warehouses, Each producer pro-
vldes some place to store the conmod-
tiles he has made, -
But no man raises or noa,,as ,,,ora
than he needs to sustain hin, aud 4t,a.o
uepeHoeht on him if he can make no.
use OF the excess. He only does II when
ne can exchange the surplus that he
does not need with some one who
wants 1t, for things the other has 7,a do
ana winch he or his family need. He
may not be able to find such a nerson
HIS product is bulky, or. as with cot
Tie, may cost more to keep than anv
excess of value will comnensate ~
as with other products. loss NAV cor,a
through deterioration if kept long.
mere comes IN the use Of money. He
exchanges his commodities for II. sells
them and gets money The money is
IN his estimation the exact ieonifvaiant
OF the things ne has produced II is
equal to and stands for them Prac-
tlca1ly they are in the money. IT then
becomes storehouse, answering to tba
granary and the warehouse. with tba
advantage of carrying a large oman
tity of commodities in a very er,.,,
space so"
II IL is really money, thing of value
or representing and readily converted
INTO thing of value, it has the adj
vantage over the commodities If sto,.a.
Oh being able to be kept not only
without expense, but, if loaned, with
prof1t. 1t is a permanent storehousa
not liable to be diminished in vsl,,a
ana ready for conversion at anv ti,,a
into commodities for use or consun,n-
'ioh. FOR the man who merely aids in
producing the things others want. and
receives for his assistance a fixed nrica
or wage. the money he gets is b,t a
storehouse into which he has converted
MS labor. He has turned food info an
ergy and, through the mechanism of
brain and muscle sold it, The money
TO him, is just so much stored IN enerov
able to command as much of tba
products of the energy of Others as he
expended in getting it, sometimes
more, sometimes less, oftener as much
whenever he wishes to put it to that
use So for all men who work and
make, money is mainly storehouse for
what they have made.
1t follows that the storebouse should
sure that the roof Of the granary does
not leak, and that rats cannot get IN
and eat his grain. He would he &c
teemed a very foolish man If he did
not, and candidate for the asv,un,
should ne cut holes in the roof The
manufacturer who, after making his
costly wares, should put them into q
warehouse that did not keep them IN
as good condition as when made
would soon be in the insolvency court
Ana the wage Garner, most Of all,
wants the storehouse of his energy to
be proof against any loss He wants
to be able to get out just as much az
ne put in when the time comes that
ne would exchange his stored energy
for what he may need. He wants it
to command just as much of what the
energy of others has produced as It
did the day he put, it there That is,
every man, i'm sensible, wants the
money he has earned,to be good money.
the best money, and money that will
increase in its power to buy rather
than to lose. Applying this definition
OF money to the present discussions
about money may help some one to get
out of the fog in which he may be wan
dering. :,