The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-06-02
What Is Money =?

IL y
Is on parity with gold or silver. The
obvious answer to this fantastic con-
ception Of the functions Of money Is,
If that be so, why does not the govern
ment create as much money as the
people want? Why not by this simple
eXpedient get rid Of the deplorable eX-
cess of human misery, the necessity
OF borrowing, and at one and the same
time obviate the stress Of poverty and
the expediency of working. No gov
ernment could resist the prospective
popularity which universal idleness
and the indefinite increase of the
amount of money to be put in CirCu-
lation per capita would bring to it. 1t
Is not in human nature, and especially
human nature working out its destiny
through politics, to do so. If money
as the Times declares is a mere token
with government stamp, and that it
is a matter of Indifference to the
holder whether it consists of paper or
gold or silver or wood, what is the
reason that all civilized countries have
established mints for the coinage of
the precious metals when a printing
press and an indefinite supply of paper
is all that Is required? Can it be pos
slble that there has been co-exst-
ence of mental observation running
through mankind since it's history be-
gan to be written which has thus dis
torted the true conception Of money.
until at the close of the nineteenth
century Mr.. Bryan and Populist lead
ers discovered it? We cannot believe
it. Why should the government be at
such momentous pains to hoard re-
serves of gold and silver in the treas
ury when, according to our cOntem-
pOrary, its simple tat is all that is
necessary to give us wat money we
want? Why this insensate rush to the
KlOndike in oar own day or to the
California gold diggings a half of a
century ago, if gold was no more value
paper? Why not a rush to the woods
to tear down trees, convert them into
pulp, then into paper, and the paper
by government fiat into money?
The answer to all these categorical
and hypothetical questions is that
money, that is the precious metals, is
essentially of an intrinsic nature in it's
value, as we'll as the most convenient
and universally acceptable measure of
wealth or value. We cannot measure
value by what is not valuable in itself,
no more than we can fly a kite with
out wind, or weigh matter without a
balance of some kind. Paper money
is not money in the literal sense of the
word. 1t is simply and solely the
tangible recognition of an obligation
to be fulfilled at some future time. It
depends upon the nature of the instru-
ment when this obligation Is to be full
filed If 1t is in the nature Of a paper
dollar it may remain outstanding in
definitely and pass from hand to hand
and perform all the functions of real
money; if it is a draft on a bank the
obligation may be redeemed immedi-
ately; but the government stamp and
the bankers signature do not, and cam
not, convert paper money into real
money; what is real in it is the gold
=,
and that can be drawn upon out of the
government treasury or the bankers
cellar upon the presentation of the
paper certificate.
The definition and functions of money
Is question presenting so many diff
Culties and complications out of an
abuse of the term and ambiguity as
There is nothing with which we are all
so familiar as money in one shape or
another. In whatever form it is it
affords ready means of estimating
| the different value of different COM
| modities, or the product of labor.
| This function of money operates
| everywhere in the same manner. In
| this the most useful and at the same
| time the lowest that is the least intri-
cate, form Of money, it is not of much
| consequence what form the currency
| takes, whether it be paper money or
coined money, so long as the standard
| by which these tokens or subsidiary
| coinage are ultimately measured is of
| the highest value, the recognized
medium of universal exchange. This
| is gold by the Independent consenrus
| of nations. We need not say that
party politics has noting TO do with
| the discussion of these financial prob
! lens with which we are called upon
| now and again to deal. We cannot
realize upon any national hypothesis
| the contention Of our contemporary that
| the government can upon the accep-
| tance Of the public issue any fiat money
| it wishes. We do not say that so
long as the power is vested in the gov
! ernment that it may not carry out
| what it determines on theoretically,
| or actually, as during the French
! revolution, But the ultimate power is
vested in the people in the long run,
and if the history of finance and finan-
cial panics teach us anything it is
that the people have a true but latent
and effectively confused conception
of the currency of their country. We
witness today in Spain, where the
rush in the banks to convert paper
| into silver is battling the efforts of the
! government, the same recurring
phenomena which it has been the
recurrent misfortune or every country
in turn to suffer through a falacious
and pernlcious acceptation of none
tary theories. The emperor Of Russia
it will be conceded, is the most auto
cratic ruler in the world. The pro-
mitigation Of his edict is law. Even
the czar of all the Russias goes out
of his way to go into an alliance