The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-12-01
VARNUM REPLIES TO FLOSS.

ing reply: you're another, and twice
as bad!" Since arriving at manhood's
estate, have seemed to notice not
uncommon. tendency among preachers,
politicians and some proletarians, to
answer a demand of their opponent to
be shown the fallacy in line of rea-
soning to retort with the sweeping
assertion ex cathedra, that it is "all
fallacy" that in sin did the mother
of lne unfortunate victim conceive him
and in the words of the service, There
is no soundness in him."
1t is such a predicament | find my
self in attempting to comment on the
structures of Mr.. Floss. Being merely
"nonsensica1 sorehead," little will
be expected from me. l shall try and
confine myself to the use of arguments,
instead of epithets in my remarks.
When l asked my friend to point
out the fly in my pot of alleged logical
ointment, in defense of the validity
of the proposed Service Certificates"
he glibly, if not flippantly, asserts
that it is all fly, and that the mother
fly" is the certificates themselves!
This is certainly most charming way
| of begging the question at issue,
though not very conclusive. Pardon
me, my dear Alphonse, if I am some
what chary of accepting your ipse dixt
at it's face value when accompanied
only by your delicate insinuation that
1 belong mentally to those whom you
generously admit to be "haIf-witted
sOreheads!"
| If the good brother will take the
! trouble to consult the dictionary, he
will discover that money or currency
! is a representation" of wealth-of
value. Now, by the conditions of is
suance of the Service Certificates"
each is an evidence of wealth created
and provision is made for their certain
redemption. The cleared land is the
wealth produced and it's productive ca
pacity, and the community's mortgage
thereon is the evidence that they will
be redeemed by the owner. They are
| as certain of ultimate redemption as
National Bank Notes, and would prob
ably be taken up and retired long be-
fore the latter. AS with clearing house
checks, they may be safely used tc
cancel debts so long as there is no
possibility of their being dishonored
by the one in whose interest they
were first issued.
Mr.. Floss fires broadside of ques.
tons at me, which he evidently con-
siders to be posers. l can assure him
that my answer to not one of them
would harmonic with what is clearly
expected.
/ No currency necessarily passes at
par outside of the jurisdiction of the
Power that issues it. Much less than
one-half the money in the United
States is not legal tender. These
Service Certificates" would require
special legislation before the United
States would be compelled to receive
them, though it could not lose even if
it did as we humbly accepted the
wildcat" currency issued illegally by
the banks year ago, while trembling
| ly hoping for the best and fearing the
worst.
l am not quite sure what is meant
| by the lawful income down in Pan
ama," and shall pass it up. I have al
ready given as my opinion that a prom
Use of the United States to be accept
ed in payment of taxes will pass at
par in the purchase of goods wher-
| ever the flag is known; and 1 can
| back it up with historical evidence, If
| demanded.
I am of the opinion that Mr.. Floss
| is slightly hazy in his thought about
| the term real value" When land is
cleared, real value" is produced
ated; and the certificates merely af.
| ford tangible evidence of that fact.
For the service rendered, the owner
must raise crops equal in value to the
| la hOr nynQndnd In CLEARING tho land
land owner and the community to see
that he renders an equivalent for the
labor expended in removing the stumps
and logs.