Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-02-01
TWELVE PAGES
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY /. 1899.
THE COST OF MONEY.

or course, with a few exceptions
<when they contemn as cranks, theorists
and book worms), bankers. brokers.
capitalists, and money-monGers ana
spectators generally. know nothing
about the real nature of money.-no
more than miners, coiners. minters, en-
gravers and printers of bank-notes,
counterfeiters, u;terers of false DIS
and other manipulators of coin, paper
money and currency do. Why should
they? The gardeners, florists, bouquet
makers and sellers artlnclal-HoWer-
makers. flower painters and other deal
crs and workers in flowers and plants
are rarely botanists. The handlers OF
money do not study it; they gather H.
lend it, speculate in il and accumulate
IT: and if they have time 10 investi-
gate what it really is, they rarely care
TO do so. and still more rarely have the
special ability to do it with success. or
profit.-and profit is what they care for.
Mr.. Gage. Secretary of the Treasury,
is nothing but a Chicago banker. and
is no more fit for the position than AL
ger is for Secretary of War.-not whit
more a country parson. school
teacher. or farmer. would have made
an ADLER and better Secretary OF the
Treasury. especially just now, for
either would hone to the position with
n wider and higher point of view than
any banker could fetch 10 it. with
more liberal mind. not narrowed TO
banking-interesis exclusively. and with
n sympathy for government and peo-
pie not to be expected of a banker drill
ed in the Chicago theory, system and
practice of finance. Nor is a newspa
per,--not even the Richmond Times
final or supreme authority in political
economy, finance. currency and bank
Ing, no matter how assuming its airs
nor how dogmatic its tone; for these
only serve to awe and impose on the
groundlings. while they make the iu-
dicious-laugh.
Occasionally. however. there is a man
born, bred. educated. experienced and
called to the study and exposition of
finance in all its ramiiications and as
pects,-and such one was Henry
Cernuschi. the eminent Italian. Il grad
nate at Pavia in 1912, afterwards an
Ill. D., but who left his county in 1SlS
because of political events there al
that time. and came to Paris, where
he pursued banking on large scale
for % years. retiring from the business
in 1870 but still studying and teaching
the science of money and currency in
which he had become leading master
Always a bimetallist. Mr. Ccrnuschi
was the more convinced OF his views
by close study OF the actual results Of
the characterization OF silver here, in
France and elsewhere: and in 1877, on
invitation. he appeared before the IT,
S. Monetary Commission. ana testified
pretty fully on the subject before that
body. But we do not mean 10 quote
him largely. and only a all on two
points Of which the goldites have made
much use In their fight against silver
One OF these is that y money metal is
valued at The amount Of labor and diff
Guilty required to obtain. ana tina; while
this amount of labor ald difficulty in
obtaining gold bad remained steadily
the same, Ties. ha.. great; decreased
in mining silver, and therefore tie
yalne OF silver had fallen greatly,--too
greatly for 1t to remain money metal;