It cannot, like coin, be removed, concealed, or carried out of the country.
Lysander Spooner
The Public Record
Lysander Spooner was an American abolitionist, entrepreneur, lawyer, essayist, natural rights legal theorist, pamphleteer, political philosopher, and writer often associated with the Boston anarchist tradition.
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It is the best, because it is visible, immovable, and indestructible.
The bankers, therefore, have no motive for issuing more of them than will remain long enough in circulation, to earn so much interest as will make it an object to issue them; the only motive for issuing them being to draw interest on them…
And this value is a just one, because the notes are in the nature of a lien, or mortgage, upon so much property of the bankers as is necessary to pay the notes, and as can be taken by law, and sold, and the proceeds applied to their…
Theoretically, I repeat, all the material property in the country, that can be taken by law, and applied to the payment of debt can be used as banking capital; and be represented by promissory notes, made payable in coin on demand.
Now, we know--because experience has taught us--that solvent promissory notes, made payable in coin on demand, are the best money that mankind have ever had; (although probably not the best they ever will have).
But taking all this material property at only half its actual value, it is still capable of supplying the twenty-five thousand millions of dollars--or one thousand dollars each--which these laborers need.
Theoretically, every dollar's worth of material property, that is capable of being taken by law, and applied to the payment of the owner's debts, is capable of being represented by a promissory note, that shall circulate as money.
But this needed capital your lawmakers arbitrarily forbid them to have; and for no other reason than to reduce them to the condition of servants; and subject them to all such extortions as their employers--the holders of the privileged…
And these others choose to pay only such prices as are far below what the laborers could produce, if they themselves had the necessary capital to work with.
A very large portion of them, to save themselves from starvation, have no alternative but to sell their labor to others, at just such prices these others choose to pay.
Unless they can get this capital, they must all either work at a disadvantage, or not work at all.