The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-08-22
FIAT MONEY.
All Money is Fiat-It is the Gov
eminent Stamp that Makes Money.
Richard P. Bland, in New York Journal.


the fat of the Government of the United
States; that the fat of Europe is all right,
and that the fat of Uncle Sam is weak.
Let us examine into the question.
After all what is fat money? Is there
any money in this country that is not fiat
money? People BY common consent may
accept bank note or other forms of cur
rency. but such currency is not money in
any true sense. There is not a dollar in
existence in the United States of real
money that is not fat money. All the
gbld of the world would not pay single
debt but for the fiat of the Federal Gov
eminent, nor would all the silver of the
world pay dollar of debt except by the
fiat of our Government This is made
too plain for argument.
Should suit be instituted in court to
collect debt, should that debt be one
hundred dollars, yet if the debtor rendered
in court thousand dollars worth OF gold
bullion or of silver bullion, the creditor
would not be compelled to take it, for the
bullion thus offered would not be legal
tender. And this is so with regard to all
foreign coins, whether such coins be gold
or silver. The laws of our country by the
fiat of our Government declare what shall
be a legal tender. This is the fiat Of the
Government, and without this fiat there is
no money. \ judgment calling for one
thousand dollars cannot be paid by tender
ing all the gold coins and all the silver coins
in the word outside of this country. Moth
inc can satisfy and discharge that iudg-
ment except the fiat of our own Govern
ment. Our laws declare what shall be ie-
gal tenders, and the money issued under
this fiat, and having this legal fiat behind
it. is the only money with which debtor
can discharge his debt; therefore. there is
no money except fiat money,
The gold coinage Of the United State,
and the standard silver dollar of our eoun-
try. and our paper legal tender notes are
the only moneys that have the fiat OF the
Government behind them. and. conse-
auently. are the only moneys that debtor
can compel his creditor to receive in the
discharge of his debt The gold dollar Is
as much fiat dollar as the silver OF pa
Der dollar, for none of them are money
without this fiat. \ distinction may here
be drawn between the paper fiat money
and the precious metals. Paper money
NAV be issued without limit whatever.
There is no limit to the manufacture OF
paper
The piece of paper on which one dollar
is issued may be used with equal proprlety
and facility to print on it one billion OF
dollars. Paper may be and can be issued
10 such an extent as to depreciate the
money to the value Of the paper on which
it is written. Paper money may also be
made as valuable as gold or silver by linn
iting the quantity of the issue The diff
ference between paper money and metallic
money. or rather a system based upon pa
per issues alone and system based upon
the use of gold and silver is quite apparent
in this connection.
In all the history of the world neither
gold or silver has been produced in excess
of the necessary demands of the world
for money. Silver and gold cannot be
manufactured. Their volume cannot pos
sibly be increased or inflated or contracted
at the mere within of the Legislature un-
less by demonetizing one or both of the
metals or by debasing them. When a
government establishes ratio-that is to
say, when it declares, as we propose, that
sixteen ounces of silver can be coined into
money of the same value as one ounce of
gold; that sixteen ounces of silver shall
pay as much debt as one ounce of gold
and open the minis TO the unlimited coin
age of both metals at this ratio, it means
that nature shall do the rest and the laws
of trade and commerce shall regulate the
volume.
Nature has set its seal of limitation
upon the product of silver and of gold.
1t requires the science of the geologist,
the genius of the machinist and all the APP
pliances of scientific chemistry, as well as
the ingenuity of the man, to extract these
metals and separate them from the baser
composition with which they are found.
1t is said, and truly said, that it requires
gold mine to work a silver mine. The
cost of producing the precious metals, on
the average, is probably greater than the
value of the metals after their production
The supply being thus limited, and the
cost of production being practically fixed,
it is impossible to overproduee the precious
metals or unduly initiate the currency un-
der the free coinage of both.
This has been the argument in all ages
and is today, why precious metals shoulc
be used as the basis for our money instead
of paper. So that the fiat of Uncle Sam
under the bimetallic law, will give de
mand for money coming from the mine
of silver that will maintain its value as tn,
equal of gold. 1t will give the OppOrtu
nifty for the industrial people of this coun
try to use silver as well as gold.
And should the owners of gold corne
that metal, as they now have done, AM
create an enormous demand for it as
now the case, owing to the demonetizatiol
Of silver; should, as now, the owners o
gold insist that all their bonds and mort
cages be paid in gold-under the FIRE
coinage system the people would have an
other source of supply; competitor wit
the owners of gold would be upon tn
scene. The silver miner and owners o
silver would at once come in competitio
with the miners and owners of gold, an
thus open up a new avenue of escape 70
the oppressed debtor and for the peopl
who must have money. Thus the silve
of the world, as supply for money, woul
come in connection with the gold supply
and should gold be boarded or exported t
other countries, then the silver would tax
its place and our demand for gold woul
Immediately cease and be transferred to
demand for silver.
The great demand of 20, 900, 600 o
people in our country, with SIC. 900, 900,
900 of wealth to be exchanged for silver
with some twelve or fifteen million wort
of commodities produced annually to b
exchanged for silver: in other words, tn
great demand for the people Of the Unitet