In all that I have said my only purpose has been to endeavor to arrive at a proper understanding of the most important feature of governmental justice and uniform equity among all the people. All past systems have failed to secure this. The world has constantly witnessed the proceeds of the labors of the millions aggregated in the hands of the few. This advantage which one class has possessed over another cannot long exist under the rapid spread of intelligence, which marks the present generation; and it behooves this people to give due consideration to any scheme which proposes to lessen this advantage. And most especially does it become the duty of the people, if there be such a thing as principles of finance, to find them out and cause them to be practically applied.
In fine, and to resume, the idea of money must first be separated from that of the intrinsic value of gold, or any other commodity, and confined to the mere capacity of representing all commodities, and so of facilitating the exchanges of wealth. This, it has been abundantly demonstrated, can be as well, and for various reasons, better done by strips of paper, properly stamped and signed, than by gold or any other metal.
In the next place, these strips of paper, signed by the Government, with the credit and wealth of the whole country, are better than individual promises; though the issuance of individual promises should not and need not be prohibited, as we do not now prohibit anybody from making or receiving private notes, drafts and checks.
Again, the Government Money need not be redeemable, but only convertible into new strips of paper when the old ones are worn out, and into commodities when they are used in trade, and into other Government Securities bearing interest, as I have pointed out.
Still again, money has also been held to be a correct measure of values. This it ought to be, indeed, but has never been so, because it has never been measured itself. Of what use would yard-sticks be, used for measuring cloth, but which had never themselves been measured by anything? The system which I have stated for measuring money itself is believed to be perfect. It is not the individual dollar, relatively to the half dollar or the hundred dollars, that has failed to be measured or fixed; but the rate of increase relatively to other values, of all the Government currency afloat. By the convertibility of any excess of issue sinking its value below a certain standard into interest-paying bonds, any over-issue is immediately absorbed, while a deficiency of issue will be revealed by the fact that absolutely no bonds will be sold. In this manner the whole operation will be self-adjusting from day to day; the value of the aggregate of Government money will be accurately measured and kept uniform; and any interest or temptation which the Government might have to an over-issue would be immediately neutralized by the absorption of such surplus into bonds, upon which the Government itself would be paying interest; or, in other words, assuming an unnecessary and useless burden, in the face of the people and of its own economies. Can anything more perfect be devised? If so, let us have it by all means; if not, let this device be adopted. A self-adjusting, self-regulating admeasurement of the value of money would make it a true measure of other values, and is a suggestion which, if it can be secured, is of unequaled importance.
Another somewhat similar idea was glanced at in passing—that of a definite method of determining scientifically the equitable rate of interest. This I cannot stop now to explain. It will, however, only be when we come quite down to that basis, that the full value of this financial system will be experienced.
Finally, in its basis, this system of Government money is money issued at the mere cost of printing and circulating; but by adjoining with it the idea of a complete, simple and exceedingly economical means of raising the revenue of the country, the three or four per cent. is paid to the treasury; that is to say, by the people individually to the same people in their collective capacity. Under this system all the various revenue officials and tax assessors and gatherers would be dispensed with, and a vast system of economy inaugurated, which, in a few years, would transpose us from a borrowing to a loaning nation, making us the financial example for all the world. This it also seems to me is another invaluable feature of the system, all of which I, however, respectfully submit to the decision of the people.
The interests of humanity which are involved in this question are greater than are the interests of those who have assumed to rule the world, and who are endeavoring to fasten upon the people despotism, to escape from which would require the shedding of whole rivers of human blood and the destruction of the best evidences of our civilization, for which we have a perfect right to feel the greatest admiration.
A timely understanding of the money question would guarantee precisely the reverse of all this, and cause humanity to take still greater and more rapid strides toward that perfect enlightenment which can alone thoroughly recognize the common brotherhood of the human race, toward which end all reform should be directed.