People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 October 1896 — Money Created by Law. [ARTICLE]

Money Created by Law.

The Record in its issue of Sept. 5 questioned the correctness of Mr. Bryan’s statement that money is a creation of law. M. Cernushi, in giving his evidence before our monetary commission in February, 1877, said (page 7, “Nomisma”): “I will give you my definition of money: Money is a value created by law to be a scale of valuation and a valid tender for payment.” On page 11 he says: “Mr. Chairman, the doctrine that money is a value created by law was promulgated twenty-two centuries ago. It was edvocated by Aristotle, the great philosopher, so pratical and so positive that I would dare call him an American philosopher. I quote from his writings: “Money (nomisma in Greek) by itself is but a frivolity, a futility, a trifle, and has value only by law (nomos in Greek), so that a change of convention between those who use it is sufficient to deprive it of all its value and power to satisfy our wants (politics). In virtue of a voluntary convention money has become the medium of exchange. We say nomisma because it is not so by nature, but by law (nomos), and because it is in our power to change it and render it useless.” The phrase “legal tender” means that the thing tendered is made so by law. If we wish to know what the money of any country is, we must examine the laws of that country. In this country the subject is free from any doubt whatever, for our constitution says: “Congress shall have power to coin money and regulate the value thereof and of foreign coins.” In executing this power congress by act of April 2, 1792, establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States, in section 11 provided: “And be it further enacted that the proportional value of gold to silver in all coins which shall by law be current as money within the United States shall be as 15 to 1, according to quality and weight of pure gold or pure silver; that is to say, every fifteen pounds weight of pure silver shall be of equal value in all payments with one pound’s weight ot pure gold, and so in less proportion as to any greater or less quantities of the respective metals.” And by section 16 of the act it is provided “that all the gold and silver coins which had been struck at and issued from said mint shall be a lawful tender in all payments whatsoever.” It should be borne in mind that the coins of a country are not money beyond the jurisdiction of the country to determine for itself what its money shall be, what shall be its quality, and what its quantity. Henry G. Miller. Chicago, Oct. 9.

One hundred and twelve years ago William Pitt, while discussing the money question, on the floor of the British Parliment, said: “Let the American people adopt the British funding system and their boasted liberties wili be a mere phantom.” The United States has been under the British funding system since 1873; where are our once boasted liberties? McKinley and the gold atandard means the British funding system; Bryan and free coinage stand for the American money system. * * * “You can buy two Mexican dollars with one American dollar,” said a gold bug to a farmer the other day. “That don’t bother me so much as the fact that you can buy two bushels of my wheat with an American dollar,” said the farmer, The gold bug turned a&.ay sorrowfully. * * * Nine tenths of the people say yes! and a majority of these people will not allow themselves deceived the second time while the minority are of that class referred to by Lincoln, as they who “can befooled all the time.”