Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-01-10
LODGE, KANSAS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10. 1900

owns this money, but coins it in free
and unlimited quantities for private
uses. As the government is simply
acting i'll this transaction as the me-
| chanic, as it were, for the bullion
owner, for the purpose of putting lis
bullion into convenient shape for com
mercial uses, it cannot be expected to
| take that back in any later transac-
tlon for more than its bullion value
Yet the government, by virtue of its
sovereign power, gives to this bullion
a legal tender quality in the shape of
it's stamp, thereby compelling the
people to take it when rendered to
them In payment of debts. This
makes metallic money under free
and unlimited coinage, whether of
gold alone as now, or gold and sill
| YER, doubly dishonest.
AS our monetary system stands to-
day the government cannot accept
gold back at its face value, because
| it has not at any time been the own
er of such gold, having simply coined
it free for private speculation At
the same time it must give this coin
its legal tender quality or the sys-
TEN goes to the wall. To-day it does
| accept back silver at its face value
(unless it shows signs of willful mutt
lation) because, since 1873, what sill
yer has been coined has been done by
government for its own profit-that
| is, 1T has gone into the market and
purchased limited quantity of silver
at its commercial value, then coined
1T. Such procedure is ridiculous, for
if the government can put it's fiat on
so cents worth of silver and make it
81 it can do so upon piece of paper,
saving so cents to the people. Our
entire money system to-day is either
criminal or insane. 1t is both. The
only difference between what it is
now and what it would be under BIZ
metallism, is that it would only be 4
little less criminal or a little less in
sane.
Paper money, with the total alb
sence of all metal as basis is the
only possible honest money, not be-
cause the government will reissue it
if burned or destroyed $50 long as it
can decipher the figures upon it). but
simply and wholly because its volume
| would automatically regulate itself
according to the demands of COM
merce and industry, and would there
by maintain general average level
of prices. Instead of being based
upon one or two metals or other
| commodities, it would be based upon
all the industry of the nation. The
general average of prices of commod-
| tiles would be the index to what its
volume should be. If prices should
| fall taxes would also fall and public
| enterprises would be undertaken, put
ting more money into circulation
and so checking the fall. If prices
| should rise taxes would also rise, and
| public enterprise would be checked
| on account of the rise in price OF
| labor and materials, until an equi.
| libriuln should be reached. OF course
these two extremes are only men.
toned to show how automa tically the
volume of money would regulate it.
self. AS a matter Of fact, if our vol
| ume of money was composed only
of paper, thereby destroying it's spec
| ulativA features, the general average
of prices would always remain un-
changed, public interests demanding
money only as needed and always see
| ing to it that enough were at hand
| for use.