The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-06-17
EDWARD ATKINSON ON SOUND
MONEY.
Editor Representative:

Editor Representatives:
Edward Atkinson is evidently the Math-
ews of the present economic movement.
After the great Adam Smith passed away
some one was sought for to soften down
the rigorous indictment of the upper
classes for causing the misery and distress
occasioned by the unequal distribution OF
wealth; nor did they have to wait long be-
fore Matthews offered them the Use OF his
disgraceful pen. He boldly challenged the
current opinion suggested by Smith, and
set up that there was an over production OF
humanity-that if mankind increased nat
uraliy the population would soou increase
beyond all capacity to feed them, and hence
must starve-as mathematical to geomet-
rcal ratio. The conclusion he reached
was, THAT war, pestilence, famine, licen-
t:ousness and other kindred vices were alb
solutely the enginery OF Providence, to re-
move the surplus population, and then told
the mobiles and aristocracy of England, to
relieve this distress was to fly in the face
OF Providence, and that they might commit
great sin in so dong.
Like Mathews, Atkinson lends his pen
exclusively to the aristocracy, and like that
worthy, declares the money of the constitu-
ton cheat money
This man has spent all his ability in the
Interest OF the piutocratic classes, and has
endeavored to prove that virtuous young
woman may labor hard and Eve sumptuous-
ly every day on five cents.
Such man may pretend to be philoso-
pher, but falls far short Of it, and is worse
cheat than silver money. He has recently
had himself interviewed by the New York
Herald. He then restates the old Ores
ham law as his own, as follows:
Good money and bad money cannot live
together, or be used together in the same
country at the same time. The bad money
which is of full legal tender drives the good
money out OF circulation by force of law.
In international commerce good money
drives bad money out of circulation, there
being no force of law, as legal tender at
fecting international commerce"
What is now styled the Gresham law
plagiarized by Atkinson was first enun-
ciRted to Queen Elizabeth, concerning
crowns, snillings and pence allowed by her
father, King Henry the VIII, OF horrid
memory, and the rascals who ruled for
Edward vi. and Mary. These coins which
were issued as silver were IN fact very
largely lead. Henry and successors made
tuCIu ICul1l0 III UuI ONcI luC
channel were worthless because the smelt-
Wig pot proved them to be a cheat and it
was uncertain whether they were one-tenth
or nine-tenths fine.
Gresham, one of the queens privy coun-
cilors at the time, told his mistress that
this bad money would stay in the kingdom,
and what good money they had would go
abr0ad-what any fool might have told
her, and this is seized upon as great fun
damental law for money, and styled the
Gresham law" which q now stretched to
apply to all standard money that is not
the fact that any money with a fixed and
certain legal tender value in any country
is always good less exchange when away
from home, if its home is on the channels
OF commerce. So false Is Atkinson's appli-
cation, that with Japan and Mexico both
using his "cheat money" as he calls It,
although there is not the slightest possible
brand in either the Mexican dollar or the
Japanese yen, both nations are now increas-
ing their hoard Of gold.
So with our money. Nobody is cheated
Mr.. Atkinson never lost cent by the sill
yer dollar, nor has anybody else in this
country. How can the silver dollar be
"cheat money!"
Mr.. Atkinson claims to be very learned
man, yet he Is laboring to suppress the fact
that copper as we'll as silver and gold was
as much an ultimate standard as gold is
now, before the flfties. Daniel Drew once
forced New York bank to extend note
he had endorsed by rendering $4,000 in cop
per cents obtained at the sub-treasury in
New York-the bank having the alterna-
tive to receive the coppers or extend the
note to suit Mr. Drew's motion.
Atkinson then quotes Cermchi's ordeal
for trying good money:
1.-THE coins which, being melted down
retain the entire value for which they were
legal tender before they were melted down
are good money"
This is an ideal money that in fact never
did exist Coin can only be valuable as
money when it can be circulated from
one person to another without loss of value
That gold coin does not so circulate, l
will quote an extract from senate debate
on coinage had on H. R. 1884, on January
II, 1873, on the following proposed amend
ment. ANY gold coin if reduced in weight
by abrasion not more than one-half of 1
per cent on the eagle and double eagle,
and per cent on the other coins below the
standard weight prescribed by law, shall
be received at their nominal value" This
is plain proposition. When a double
eagle loses ten cents from its standard
weight, or an eagle five cents, if Mr.. Ger
nuschi melted the coin, he would lose that
money although at the treasury he could
get the nominal value; and as gold coins
almost always fall below the standard
weight, according to Cernuschi and Atkin-
son. gold coin can not be good money.
On striking out this amendment, Mr..
Cssserly. of California, spoke as follows:
"The loss by abrasion has to fall some
where, and it certainly ought to fall on
the whole people rather than upon the in
nocent holder. insist it IS the duty of
the government to make it's coins of the
standard value in the first place. and in the
next place to keep them up to the standard
value"
In reply to this very reasonable conclu-
sion, Senator John Sherman urged:
''All nations retain the nominal value
of abraded coin to certain standard, but
when 1t falls below that standard, the loss
falls upon the individual who holds it.
That has been the custom in all countries -
From the above, it will be seen that even
gold ia not good money as defined above;
and this loss by abrasion, on the $3.50, 000,-
900 81 Of gold which Carlisle says is in
the country, can amount to the sum OF
$1,000, 900, which individual holders must
1ote when 1t goes below that point, and
gold Is so easily abraded, that it is sad
TO lose on an average 80 cents on 81 900
d new double eagles shipped from the mint
IN Philadelphia 10 the sub-treasury in New
York.
The main effort Of Atkinson seems to