The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1903-12-19
Mr.. HASELTINE,S LETTER.

49,
jects written by Hon. S. A. HaSeltinl
Of Springfield. These letters hav
been in the main ~consonant wit
accepted democratic doctrine, bu
here and there have been trace
influences of socialism and populism
The columns of the INTELLIGENCE
are always open to those who have al
idea Of any public interest to present
but 1t is impossible to print Mr.
Haseltine's letter of this week with
out editorial disclaimer of it's senti
ments. His theories are those o.
rank fiatism. They have been tried
and found wanting again and again
They are not even base upon a
jugglery Of logic sufficiently skillful
to attract those who are fascinated by
that sort of thing.
1t isimpossible to accept Mr. Hasel-
tines definition of money made up Of
partial quotations, 1t is not true
that debt paying is the sole function
Of money, or even the principal one
That other assumption of his, growing
out of this, that government confers
the only value which money possesses
is likewise utterly false Every fatist
is intent upon showing that money
has no purchasing power, because
that is the rock upon which he feels
the danger of his theories going to
wreck. When you tell him that
nobody but the creditor can be made
to take his fiat dollar, he glibly
replies that nobody can be made to
take a gold or silver dollar, except
the creditor. And this ia a narrow
and specious sense is true: money has
no compulsory purchasing power.
Nothing has. The writer could not
be made to take a thousand dollars or
a thousand acres Of land for the
pencil with which this article is
written. But he would not be likely
to hold out long against so tempting
an offer, if the money were valuable
or the land good. But be would not
Mr.. Haselti mes fat dollar, be-
cause he has no debts n knows that
be could never contract any in a
currency that would not buy a beef.
The fact is, that what Mr.. Hasel-
tine describes as the one peculiar
property and function of money-lts
legal tender quality-is the one prac-
Superluous and questionable
Thing about it. In spite of the
10 the constitution and In
'pite Of the decision of the supreme
court, to which Mr.. Haseltine refers,
t is yet a question and must ever
remain so whether governments have
he moral right TO declare anything,
'Or any long term Of years at least, a
egal tender. There are three supreme
court decisions on this subject by no
means |cOnsonant II memory is to
trusted for twenty years, the last
II these decisions, the one most
favorable to Mr.. Haseltlue's conten.
ion, was based on the governments
'evenue powers and defended on the
Of a forced loan
The tiatist's theory is too good to
'e true. There should be no further
reed for taxes. The government
,oulo just print its money aud pay its
bills without any revenue officers or
ariff duties. 1t might even 90
urther and pay off all private debts
ince its money would come so cheap.
Neither the spendthrift nor his
'reditor need waste wakeful nights.
Everything would be easy, Mean
While it is difficult to see how gov
rnment, which has no powers not
from the individual, is to
york miracles which the individual
annot work, The individuals
GLENN promise to pay is not accepted
Unless he has something to pay with
nd the governments promise Aofio
'ay could hardly be expected to fare
The superiority Of metal
money consists in that it carries It's
exemption with it, and that IL is not
to the fluctuations incident
o doubtful wars or national bad
lith. But it is Of no use to make
bis argument to a fiatist. He insists
hat the greenback became deprecia- {
ed because Of the exception to its /