Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 2.djvu/497

Rh makes them to pass current universally over all his kingdoms and provinces and territories, and whithersoever his power and sovereignty extends. And nobody, however important he may think himself, dares to refuse them on pain of death.

So you see they understood then the art of making paper money a legal tender!

And, indeed, everybody takes them readily; for wheresoever a person may go throughout the Great Kaan's dominions he shall find these pieces of paper current, and shall be able to transact all sales and purchases of goods by means of them just as well as if they were coins of pure gold. And all the while they are so light, that ten bezants worth does not weigh one golden bezant.

Now he goes on to show how the Kaan is able with this money to buy all precious things, and how his treasury is gradually being filled, and then concludes:

Now you have heard the ways and means whereby the Great Kaan may have, and in fact has, more treasure than all the kings in the world; and you know all about it and the reason why.—Travels of Marco Polo, vol. i., pp. 378, 379.

Yes, we do know the reason why; and know something of it from our own experience. Now, sir, the first issues of paper money, as they are traced in the history of China by the learned editor of this work, are as old as the beginning of the ninth century of this era; something over a thousand years. When the system had prevailed a certain period, it was found that the paper money became more and more worthless; then new issues were made to take up the old ones, and one piece of the new issue was exchanged for five of the old ones; thus making a settlement on the basis of 20 per cent., the people losing 80 per cent. We are informed that such a proceeding was