[A] _Annals of the Institute._ N^o 1. June, 1894.
[B] If it is not admitted that the term _dh/o_ exactly represents
the account of the conditions of the supply and the demand, it could
be represented in a more general way by a function F (_dho_) of the
elements _d_, _h_, _o_, which are the only ones which ever can,
according to our view, intervene in the fixing, for even admitting that
things could be regulated to the last point, socialized if you will,
these two elements of supply and demand would at least remain always
existing and dominant.
[C] It is by design that we employ the expression _transactional value_
in order to differentiate it from a value such as would result from a
theory of the measure of value based on work stored up in transactional
merchandise, a theory with which we have not here to occupy ourselves.
[D] _Annales de l'Institut_, 1896. N^{os} 1 and 4.
[E] _Annales de l'Institut_, 1896. N^o 5.
[F] We think we ought here to recall (see: _Comptabilism et
Proportionnalisme social_) that every-one who makes transactions
carries about with him not only his account book, but also a marker
or stamp bearing representative figures or signs, identifying his
personality and by aid of which he inscribes or obliterates the
figures significant of the transactions in the account book of his
correspondent.
It is needless to add, that instead of marking,--an operation we have
always put forward the better to show that all account-keeping can be
done by simple inscription or the registration of figures and without
any «exchange» whatsoever, not even of bits of paper--a system could
be adopted, for example, consisting of having on the credit and debit
sides of the account-books, leaves of stamps more or less analogous to
postage stamps, credit-stamps which the buyer would detach from his
account-book, and which would be fastened into that of the seller,
then the seller would detach from his account-book corresponding debit
stamps to be fastened to the debit side of that of the buyer. These
stamps would carry naturally besides their signification the same
figures or representative signs of the personality of the maker of the
transaction as the marker they would be destined to replace.
The comptabilistic system making use of such stamps rather than of
marks would be applied to defered payments as well as to current
payments, it could be thus used in every case.
The principle of the account-book consists naturally in the book
forming a real account with debit and credit--like all accounts in
ordinary book keeping,--in which is inscribed in a way which would be
regarded as valid, having legal force the sums corresponding to the
transactions effected either by being written out at full length, with
the signature, or by marking in figures, and indicating at the same
time the personality of the party making the transaction, or by means
of stamps as we have just seen, or finally by some other way.
Directly we leave the principle above mentioned to look at some
intermediary form of its application, a host of combinations offer
themselves. The use of stamps for example would permit doing away with
the debit side in the account books. The buyer in this case detaches,
from his account-book, which becomes now only a credit account book,
the stamps corresponding to the extent of the transaction, and he
sticks them in the account book of the seller, which is also only a
credit one: the credit of the seller increases, that of the buyer
diminishes, that is all. If the buyer does not stick his stamps in the
account-book of the seller, these stamps can circulate, they would be
analogous to bank notes which have been endorsed by writing upon them
the name of the first party holding them.