The Prescott daily news., 1910-03-17
.GU|NEAS AND POUNDS
More Than the Mere Shhlinq Dii-
 ference Between Them.
MONEY CASTE IN ENGLAND.

Funny thing" said the writer. who had just received a check for f2 2s from London. ''how the editor over in England paid me in guineas. not in English pounds. In fact, it would be an insult if the editor had simply paid me f2
 They've two kinds of money over there. One kind is straight business money. An even f2 would have meant in effect that I had performed a rou- tine job of some kind. such as compil- ing table of statistics for the editor, and that was being paid for mechan- ical labor.
 But the editor adds an extra shil- ling to every pound he pays me. This means that 1 am not supposed to have performed any labor at all, but to have created a work of art and submitted this work of art-otherwise literature flor arts sake
 My check is written Two guineas.' and the envelope in which 1t is sent me is addressed John Smith. Esq This in effect is a second recognition that I have submitted a piece of liter ary art. Yet the figures on the check are f2 2s.' to prevent errors in book keeping.
 If I'd been on the staff of the pe- riodical my salary would be paid me in pounds sterling. for then I'd be supposed to be working for pay and, according to English ideas no longer a gentleman.
 These two kinds of money. guineas and pounds, show up in many curious ways. All professional men are paid ill guineas. If you are running a big private school you make charge in guineas, for tuition. and parents of your pupils pay you in guineas be- cause you're supposed to be merely engaging in an altruistic, philanthropic project of building brawn and brain for Britain But you pay the teachers in your school in pounds sterling, for they're supposed to be working for pay. not for love.
 If you're doctor you make your bills for professional services out in guineas. Barristers are paid in guin- eas. Horse race prizes are given in | guineas for all gentlemens races. 'The most curious mixture of all is the clergyman's pay. This is a queer mixture of commercial and profession al ideas. The charge of parish is known as q living and is paid in pounds sterling but if wedding or a christening takes place in the parish the clergyman receives a personal fee. always guineas instead of pounds.
 Artists are paid in guineas. The late James MacNeill Whistler. who had a delightful habit of turning keen wit on friends and making enemies thereby, was once paid for work of art in pounds sterling, delicate i'm plication that Whistler was a dauber and a tyro.
 Two trades are paid in guineas for goods purchased. but other tfal&6 are paid in pounds sterling. These trades are the interior decorator and the jew eler. The jewellers goods are suppos- ed to be works of art, and such com mercial articles as watch chains and watches are priced in guineas. Ger tain swell and exclusive London tai lors. to whom you have to be intro duced. by the way. charge you in guineas for the coats and trousers they consent to make for you.
 Directors of companies were for merly paid in guineas for their attend ance. They are now paid in pounds sterling, but when a pound sterling Is fin minted gold it isn't pound sterling any more. but sovereign.
 The idea is that directors of com panies are always feed in gold, and as sovereigns only are coined now they are paid in sovereigns. The on'v cE- ception is the directorate of the ak of England The members of the board are paid in golden guineas. part of small store kept in the bank and dated in the early years of the last century.
 "A gentleman wagers with his friends in guineas. He buys hunter or a pony polo from a friend in guin- eas, but In pounds from horse trad CT. But if he is buying work horse from friend and equal he pays in pounds sterling
 "If a gentleman wagers with book maker at race track he posts his bet in pounds. If he tries to break the bank at Monte Carlo he puts up his wagers on the roulette wheel in gold twenty franc pieces and speaks of his winnings or losses in pounds sterling. while he mentions his winnings or losses at bridge. paid in gold. in guin- eas.