MONEY FALLACIES. 
361 
hind them a brood of younger ones, and sofhe of them bear 
the paternal resemblance so strongly that we are at times 
doubtful whether we have encountered the parent or the 
child. 
The fallacy which I shall discuss first is one which is im¬ 
plied, rather than distinctly stated, in a saying which has 
become frequent of late: “ That it is the government stamp 
that makes the money.” The same fallacy is implied in an 
equivalent saying, “ That money is the creature of the law.” 
There is a sense in which either form of the statement is 
true. It is true that stamping a piece of paper or metal with 
certain images and superscriptions converts them into money, 
or, if you like, makes money; but this statement is so 
obvious that the only interest in it is the query why any¬ 
body should have thought it worth while to state a proposi¬ 
tion so self evident. There is, however, an implication in 
the statement which is not true. People who make it gen¬ 
erally intend to convey the belief that it is the government 
stamp that makes the value of money, or that the value of 
money is the creation of the law. Nothing could be further 
from the truth. The value of money is just what value 
people will consent to give or receive in exchange for it. Its 
value is fixed, according to time, place, and circumstances, 
every time a bargain is made, by an agreement between the 
two parties who trade. 
So long as government action conforms to the real and the 
right practices of the people who use it, the action may be 
useful and beneficial in protecting the honest against the 
dishonest, and in facilitating the payment of obligations and 
in quieting disputes; but any attempt to contravene the 
monetary customs of a people or to force them to adopt 
valuations of money against their will would be wholly in¬ 
effectual. A few illustrations will suffice: The colonies of 
New England, before the revolutionary war, repeatedly 
stamped money and passed laws fixing the values of .the 
various issues. The people, with almost united voice, de¬ 
manded these laws. Almost immediately after the money 
