362 
DUTTON. 
was issued its value began to diminish rapidly, and at length 
it had no value at all. Cruel and unusual laws were passed 
in the effort to sustain its value, and in the outrageous at¬ 
tempts to enforce them society was brought almost to the verge 
of dissolution. People, however, continued at every bargain 
to place their own value on the money, which value grew 
less and less, and finally vanished. Again, during the war, 
the value of the legal tender notes was implied on their faces 
to be equal to gold money. The people of most of the north¬ 
ern states accepted them as money, but their value declined 
until, at one time, it became only about two-fifths of their 
declared value. In California and Nevada they were not 
accepted as money at all, and the few that were obliged to 
receive them had no resource but to sell them to money 
brokers for what they would fetch, or to the banks, which 
shipped them east as fast as possible. 
On the other hand, a government stamp on money, though 
useful, is in nowise essential. From the close of the revo¬ 
lutionary war to the war of the rebellion, the principal and 
almost universal money of larger denomination than half a 
dollar consisted of the notes of State banks. They were pri¬ 
vately printed by the banks and were not a legal tender. 
The next fallacy which will be discussed is one which is 
very prevalent in our own country, but which has had its 
day in other countries also, and still exists elsewhere. It is 
contained in the widely prevalent belief that more money is 
needed in the total circulation. In some large portions of 
the country there is an apparent scarcity of money; people 
find it difficult to obtain. The local papers and periodicals 
abound with complaints and are urgent in their demands 
for an increase of the circulation and “a relief of the strin¬ 
gency in the money market.” Interest is 10 or 15 per 
cent. Real estate is offered as security, but “ the money ” is 
not forthcoming. Enterprises believed by the people to be 
pregnant with extraordinary profits are projected and 
planned in detail, but “ money ” cannot be had to carry them 
out. Towns and cities are springing up, but while rents are 
