The independent., 1903-04-02
Money and the Taxing Power
BY w. H. ASHBY.

| are often felt in the country and small
towns, having money term" and
supplied also with "coin," namely,
making the change" There is no
more difficulty in the proposition to
| without loss, for S. worth of pork and
30 worth of -four, than there is iii
| the proposition to exchange without
loss $40 bank bill for a $5 gold coin
and a S. treasury note. The thing
cannot be done.
But they ring the changes upon
these difficulties" and point out on
the first place the difficulty" of fnd-
ing some one needing the clothes.
who has that quantity of pork and
flour which he wishes to exchange fof
| the particular suit offered. Then wher
these difficulties are overcome, the
things are not of an equal quantity
of value. 1t never occurred to them
| that if the tailor preferred the pork
and flour to the suit of clothes, and he
and the other party agreed upon the
/ exchange, that the question of differ
ence in quantity of value which con-
stitutes the difficulty, would be elimi-
| mated. Neither the clothes nor the
pork and flour had any price fixed
and stamped upon them by law a.
which they must be accepted in ex-
change.
But they tell us it would be unfair
to give a suit of clothes of the value
of S25 for food of the value of $40
1t is plain that this is true The man
who owns the clothes should receive
the quantity of value expressed by the
term SIS, in addition to the named
quantity of pork and flour, to make the
quantities of value equal But this as
sumes that these people have means
OF expressing quantity of value, which
begs the whole question.
The Professor here jumps to the
conclusion that "coin" comes in al
this point as the sole solution of the
difficulty, and shows that an eagle and
half eagle would equalize the ex-
change. But why coin? Would a
$40 gold piece help the case? Not in
the least. If the owner Of the food
had a cow which the tailor would
agree to take for the balance, the COW
would perform the function just as
well as the boasted "coin;" for unless
| the tailor will agree to accept the
$l5 difference in the quantity of val
| ue, the exchange must fail in any
case.
Such authorities never perceive tie
| real difficulties that surround the ex-
change Of heterogeneous commodities
for cath other. The real difficulty is
not how to exchange things for each
other, whose quantity of value is ex-
pressed in a money term, and WI lose
price is thus known. The difficulty
IS the e ee d of term which stands
ever as the symbol of fixed guam
tlty OF value, no matter what the COM
modify may be, and which symbol,
aided by the numerals, will always ex-
press the degree of intensity of tie
force Of demand for all commodities
at any given time and place. And the
expression of that degree of demand
is the price
| What is needed to facilitate ex-
changes is means Of setting prices.
| Coin" in such cases is simply an
other commodity, and unless the par
ties concerned happen to have a coin
or coins of the exact quantity of value
required, no exchange, without loss,
can be made either with them or with
out them. Coin can do no more ID
facilitate exchanges between any two
other given commodities, than can any
other third commodity, divided into
the like parcels, and for which there
is an equal quantity of the force of
demand in action.
On the other hand money" does
facilitate all such exchanges; and
money" does so because it is a de-
vice through which We may express
an estimate or appraisal of the guam
tity of the force of demand for each
commodity, and the consequent GUAM
tity of its valuation" which when So
expressed is price" When the guam
tity of value of fixed weight or
measure of any two commodities thus
expressed is identical, their quantity
of value is equal, because their pric'
is equal; and that fixed weight or
measure of the one article is the ex-
change equivalent Of the given weight
or measure of the other article.
CONTINUED Next Weck)