Page:Coin's Financial School.djvu/114

 96 "All writers on political economy admit the quantitative theory of money. Common sense confirms it.

"To be correct this theory should always be applied to the quantity of redemption money.

"The issuing of wheat certificates against the wheat in your elevators, does not increase the value of the wheat; and the credit money issued against the redemption money, does not increase the value of property. It facilitates business based thereon. It enlarges business not values.

"The exchange value of primary money, for the property of the world, and vice versa, fixes the comparative value of the two.

"So if the quantity of money is large, the total value of the property of the world will be correspondingly large as expressed in dollars or money units. If the quantity of money is small, the total value of the property of the world will be correspondingly reduced.

"Property measures its value in money, and money measures its value in property. Money may increase in value by reason of its scarcity. When this is the case it buys more property—property buys less money.

"The same law of supply and demand applies to it as applies to any specific class of property. You are of all men most familiar with that law of trade.

"If a certain number of bushels of wheat, is a normal supply for the World's use, and only half that quantity of wheat is produced, what is the result? Wheat is worth about twice as much per bushel as if the normal amount had been raised. A bushel of wheat will buy twice as much money as it would have bought if there had been a normal quantity.

"This rule applies to money. If there is a normal quantity, it measures its value in property at a certain