Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1896-05-28

/ LII UnS OpluipH VI sOIlc eACoAleut
| Judges the address Of Colonel Jacob l..
| Greene, before the Hartford board Of
! trade ON March 2S, is one Of the clear
est statements OF tho true functions OF
money ever made. Colonel Greene Is
president Of the Connecticut Mutual
Life Insurance company, said to be the
largest moneyed institution In New Eng
land. We quote below n part Of this
most excellent speech:
Trade exists before money. Money Is
born OF the necessities Of trade, and Is
simply its instrument. And trade, no
matter how complex its forms, how
narrow or how wide its field, what tho
range Of its objects or the number or
character of its instrumentalities and
Incidents, is nothing else but the free,
willing exchange Of one man 3 property
for that Of another. Tho fundamental
fact, and the everlasting moral element
in such exchanges, il this: No man will
ingly exchanges his own valuable com
modify, his property, except for another
commodity, another piece Of property OF
ut lcnst equal vnluo to him
The whole principle and motive OF
honest trade and the absolute condition
Of permanently prosperous trade arc
property for property, substance for sub
stance, equal value for agreed equal
value. Anything else no matter how
phrascd, is robbery Of ono or other of
tho parties, nnd in Immediately dcstruc-
two OF real commerce, for it cxhausts
the purity who il made to get less than
he il made to give.
But the direct exchange or barter OF
scattered commodities by their rcspcc
two owners is II slow, lnborious, costly
and inconvcnicnt process. Tho problem
Of trade IL to bring the scattered own
crs Of needed commodities and the sent
tered Consumers Of them effectively to-
gethcr M scnsonably, quickly and
cheaply M possible All the manifold
Observation-Disclosures Of commerce arc
merely devices to that ono end. And
the first necessity to that end is some
form and kind of property so useful and
desirable to MI men, no matter for what
special reason, and SO uniformly and
universally acceptable by them that they
will everywhere among these producers
and consumers readily exchange for it
any item Of property they wish to cx-
change, knowing that it will, willingly
and without loss be taken in exchange
for any other item Of property they may
happen to want and whenever they may
happen to want it, That kind Of prop.
crty for which all other kinds can he
exchanged, which can buy and sell all
others, men call money 10 servo this
1t must possess in the highest attain
nblo degree certain qualities. 1t must
have value, real usefulness in itself, for
men do not willingly trado valuable for
valuolcss things. 1t must keep its value,
for men will not trade Value for u value
value They must have the present sub
stance and not the nero tradition Of
value Ii must be ns inyariuhle in value
ns possihlv---that, while II is kept ON
hand awaiting other exchanges, it may
lose Na littln ny possible of its power to
nearly impcrishnhlo and mdcstructiblo
MS possible 1t must have M small bulk
ns possible consistent with sufficient
abundance, both for convenience OF
handling and for safety and chcnpncss
of carriage il must he of II sort Of
equally valuable equally desirable,
equally acceptable wherever men trade,
oso its purchasing power IL not every
Mhcrc equal, and its function SO far
fails.
Wherever mon have advanced beyond
savagcry, they have 10y custom and COM
form of property, possessing moro or
less of these qualities, rs the medium
of thoir exchanges. so long us, for amy
reason, that form has had recognized
Value and acccptnhility rs wide ms the
range of trade If that time. it has
served its purpose, even if impcrfectly.
When it's acccptahility has ceased, or
has ceased 10 he commensurate with tho
field of trade, it has dropped out of usc
History il full Of instances Of diSuS"d
and abandoned moneys.
Whenever n particular form of prop
crty has served ms II medium Of OK
| change, il has necessarily become n
measure of tho value Of every tenn Of
property exchanged by its intervention.
| When cowrirs wcrc tho medium, cv-
crything else was valued III cowrics 1t
was the same way with sheep, cows
cloths, hides, lunches of shingles, etc.
Sc that intermediate kind or form of
property, by first exchanging for which
all other kinds Of property are exchanged
for cnch other. is for the time being both
u medium of exchange and II measure
of value of the things exchanged
Whenever II money has been kind
of property which existed i'll natural
units, like cowries, Mrowhcads, shcol
or other like sort, the conventional unit
of exchange has boon tho natural unit
by which tho count vi quantity would
be- made. But when tho extension of the
field of trade and tho changed wants OF
men have compelled such roiinements il
tho quality, bulk and convenience OF tn,
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