Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1900-07-19
MON NETARY LEGISLATION.
AbSurdity of Party Platforms
on Finance.

upOu Nuls buDJeCti We lOuuu tuht
the origin of money lay in the hu.
man mind, and consisted of an in
stinotfVe desire to haze and o,on.
Following now the same line OF
thought let us assume that the con.
stitution, as far as it relates to the
money of the country, and all the
laws that have been enacted in ref
erence to the subject, have been
abrogated, or repealed.
We made this postulate in order
that we may have the problem
clear of that common fallaoy which
maintains that money is a crea.
ture Of legislation.
And let us further suppose that
we have been called upon to select
the materials which would be the
most suitable for the coinage OF
money, and that to this end we
have placed on exhibition before
us an array of specimens taken
from every variety of substance in
the physical universe-a diamond,
q nugget of silver, and one of gold,
with a slug of iron, a block OF
wood, lump of clay, and so on to
the end Of the vast catalogue. Un-
der these conditions we should
find ourselves in exactly the same
position as the American people
just after they achieved their in.
dependence of Great Britain, and
undertook the setting up of a new
nation on this side Of the Atlantic.
In contriving a specific currency,
there was no law to control their
deliberations, no precedent to CO.
cree their choice as to the sub
stance which they should use; they
followed exclusively the sugges-
tions which their own reason drew
from the nature and condition OF
things around them. Let us, then
follow their example. In select
ing the material out of which to
make our money, there are at least
two considerations which will
naturally control our choice,
namely value and convenience.
But what is value? The value
of thing is the intensity of the
desire Of mankind in general tc
have and to own il. A thing
which no man desires 10 have and
own is regarded as of no value.
Value is Of two kinds, normal and
abnormal. or the former kind is
that which we have just above
described. The latter is made
when a single individual is made,
by the stress of his circumstances
to desire a thing more ardently
than the average of mankind.
( Starvation, for instance, will make
man desire a loaf of bread so
intensely that he will be willing
to give 500 for piece which, in
legitimate market, is worth only
ten cents. The other $1,000 is i'll
gotten gain on the part of the sell
Ter. And here we can not omit to
notice the great crime of commerce
as illustrating our doctrine of val
ne. Every man who has anything
TO sell is anxious that everybody
else shall have a special desire for
his wares; and prompted by a
spirit OF greed he is only too apt
to resort to artificial means (mostly
by cutting off or controlling the
supply to enhance the desire in
in the minds of his customers.
Such is the villainous practice of
trusts, combines, and such like.
The merchant who manipulates
the market is an enemy to society.
His crime has been in general con-
sidered yenial in our civilization,
and so the English language has
never invented a name for it. II
is not theft, nor is it robbery, yet
considered from a moral stand
point it combines within itself the
turpitude Of both of these common
law ofienses.
Not of this kind, however, must
be the value in that material out
OF which we are TO make our
money. IL must be normal, that
is to say 1t must be such as to
make the substance in which il ex-
lists an object Of supremest and, at
the same time, equal desire
througout the community in which
the coin is expected TO circulate.
But a material may be very valu.
able and yet unfit for coinage. The
diamond is said to be more valu.
able than gold; but If il were work.
ed, # not nodded, into coin, the
piece representing the values usu-
ally employed in trade, would be
physically too small for safe and
oonVanienf handling The dia-