in the
world as paper money; that the only real money in the world is
standard gold and silver; that paper can be used in the place of
money only when it represents the real gold or silver in which it
can at any time be redeemed; that even gold and silver can be used
together as standard money only under the real intrinsic values as
recognized by all the world; that any attempt to force either gold
or silver into unlimited circulation, under any arbitrary ratio
different from their real ratio, is not honest; and that dishonesty
is the worst of all financial policies, as well as the most unworthy
of a civilized people.

The laws of finance, like the laws of military strategy, were never
invented by anybody, any more than the law of gravitation or the
law of electrical attraction and repulsion. They have all been
learned by the experience and study of mankind since the dawn of
civilization. All alike are parts of the great laws of nature.
They should be carefully and diligently studied and taught in all
the schools, until the rising generation understand that all the
affairs of mankind are governed by the uniform laws established by
the great Creator and Ruler of the universe; and that self-appointed
"leaders of the people" who would entice them to follow their own
inventions cannot save them from the penalties which naturally
follow the violation of any of the laws of the universe. In short,
education,--wisely directed education,--both in science and in
morals, is the one indispensable foundation of good popular
government. The relative importance to be attached to the many
branches of popular education demands the careful consideration of
all educators, and still more the _purity_ of the doctrines taught
in all the schools. There is good reason for believe that this
last duty has been much neglected, especially in respect to financial
theories.

A VICIOUS CLAUSE IN THE CONSTITUTION

In this connection, it is worthy of serious consideration whether
one of the teachings of a corrupt age has not found its way into
that almost sacred writing, the Constitution of the United States.
What right has Congress, or any other department of government, or
any government on earth, to "regulate the value" of money, any more
than that of wheat or corn? Is not the real value of money, like
that of everything else, regulated by the general law of supply
and demand throughout the world?