The representative., 1901-02-28

shillings and sixpense to the dollar.
A pound in South Carolina, of $5.2S, or
four shillings and eight pence to the
dollar
But there were never any coins cor
responding ever coined. Those people
estimated values In pounds, shillings
and pence, but paid in Spanish ~millsd
dollars, or the value thereof ip gold or
silver. There has never been a coin to
represent pence. or mills.
/ once had a friend who had sailed
several times around tho world. He
told me his experience on one of the
Islands In the ocean. His captain sent
him on the island to buy goat. The
| natives of the island could not talk
much English, but he met one at the
wharf who could understand him, and
he told the native what he was going
after, and the native told him where
to go to get the goat. The sailor started
as directed. The first place he came
to he found just the goat he wanted.
The natives price was two biceroon,
| o. some such name. The sailor did not
| understand. so he offered the native five
dollars. The native said no. He offer
ed ten; native said no. He then offered
the native $50; native said no. Sailor
| asked what he would take; native ans
| Wered" Two biceroon. sir"
The sailor went to several places with
| no better success. He then started for
his ship. He met the first native at the
| wharf and told him how unsuccessful
| he had been. The native laughed and
said the natives had expressed value in
biceroons for hundreds Of years and
those islanders did not know anything
| about computing values in dollars Then
| he said: "You 60 back to the man whose
goat you like and ask what he will
take. If he says two biceroons, give
him IS and he will put rope on the
| goat and you can lead it off,"
! The sailor followed his instructions
and succeeded. The native was pleased
was just delighted to get the beast for
the price. The native could not under
| stand what the word dollar in our Lam
guage expressed, but when handed to
+; him he knew from experience it was
equal to what he asked for his goat.
| l will cite one more instance, to show
| that the value of money does not con-
sist in the value of the commodity out
Of which it is coined; that the value is
IN the stamp and use as money. and not
| at all in valuable material, as most
people claim. This to illustrate:
; A bank president of Western Penn
! sylvania was driven to his residence
| by his coachman, and in getting out of
! his coach he scratched his finger on a
| tack or nail and he held it up near his
| face, to get better view of the wound
j and when his eyes rested on the ground
| he saw roll of paper, the material re-
! sembling a treasury note. He stopped
| and picked it up, and in doing SO got
| a blot of blood from his wounded finger
| on the corner of the note, and when full
| ly unfOlded was, sure enough, a ten dol
lar treasury note. He then took a pen
and ink and put a private mark in the
edge of the blood spot Soon his wife
came in and reported the butcher had
brought to the kitchen bill for meat,
which amounted to $40. The banker,
| not having any other money with him,
gave the note that he had just found
to the butcher, taking his receipt. The
butcher gave it to farmer for stock;
the farmer gave it to we'll digger for
work; the well digger gave it to his
| groceryman, which paid his bill; the
grOceryman gave it to a farmer in pay
! ment for potatoes; the farmer gave it to
the doctor for his bill, taking his re-
ceipt; the doctor gave it to the druggist,
paying a bill for drugs; the druggist
gave it to his grOceryman, and the
groceryman paid it to a truck gardener
for vegetables; the gardener gave it to
a carpenter who owed a bank note; the
carpenter presented this note with
others, in payment of his note, and the
cashier threw this note out, saying it
was counterfeit. The banks president
came up, recognized the bill he had
marked and paid the butcher, and
caused the carpenter to get credit on
his note of $40, and who had returned
the counterfeit bill which he had put
in circulation. Now, when this bill had
been traced, it was found that it had
passed through ten mems hands, had
satisfied and paid $1OO of debts and prob
ably added more wealth to each of those
men whose hands it had passed through.
And yet the note was not legally or
commercially worth one farthing; nor
did anyone who handled the note lose
one cent by it. Now, if it had been a
true treasury note, full legal tender,
instead of a counterfeit, it would have
gone on doing good to the end of time.
Now l think l have made clear in this
and preceding articles what money is
and that 1t is not at all necessary that it
possess a commercial value; that the
laws of nations make money and that