M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1855-05-11
From the Washington UniOn.l ]
Paper Money.

from the sea. But there are greater
rosues than the Hollanders, and one o
these is paper money. Il is the great
est liar in the world, for il is continual
ily making promises il cannot perform II
il would, and would not il ii could
II is. a cheat. for it is perPeiually Prac'
tising imPositions OIL the public; and il
is an impostor, for il everywhere pre-
tends to be whaI il is not. and assumes
d character 10 which il has not the
slightest professions.
These are heavy sharges 10 be brought
against "a gentleman" who according
10 the standard Of indit idual value must
necessarily be highly respectable, since
he is pa;ronized by legislative bodies in
all parts of the United States, and is re-
puted 10 be worth several hundred mil
lions. But let us see whether we can.
not make them good.
Paper money is the greatest Of all IL
ars because il is perpstually promising
what il cannot perform. II promises 10
pay a dollar in specie for every paper
one while at the same moment it sp
pears from the official returns Of the
banks they have not specie in theiI
vaults to redeem one tenth, twelfth, OF
fifteenth part of their paper issues-na!
in mary cases their specie is less than
the proportion Of Falstaff's bread TO his
sack in Dame Quickley's bills. Hence
hen any sudden or unexpected demand
for specie comes they close their doors
without ceremony; The president and
cashier, to avoid all demonstrations o.
public gratitude, remain invisible for q
few DAYS ill the storm blows over; but
being exonersted from all personal res
possibility by an act Of incorporation
retur in good time, again resume thei
station in society, and are ready for 1
new "speuulatiOn."
That paper money is common ant
notorious cheat is equally pal Pable. |,
10 continually playing tricks on public
credu!ity, most especially oil the labor
ing classes. BY defrauding them Of the
fruits Of their labor, and giving them
nothing Of value ia return. The conse
quences OF this system of swindliug-
for in most cases il is no better -insarl'
ably fall on those who are least able to
bear them. Those who are conversaut
with these "speculations" must have
Invariably noticed tina, whenever any
bank is about to fail the community il
flooded with its notes, ami you see
scsrsely any others in circulation, in
stores, in market places, and ir all dai.
y transactions of ordinary life. The
knowing ones frs; scent the putTid car
cass alar off; and by a natural transition
the suspicion descends from the know.
ing 10 the less knowing, who palm the
worthless trash from one TO the other
Until at last i: centers in the hands OF
those who have earned it by the sweat oil
their brow, and who pay the piper with
out being allowed 10 dance to the music.
True, the loss is divided among SO many
and generally in such small sums as
would make no figure in the bankers o.
merchants account OF profit and loss;
but we must be permitted to tell these
ingenious Epologis:s for the frauds Of
per money that there are thousands
aye, millions--of people in the United
States 10 whom the loss of few dollars
involves the loss Of the very necessaries
Jf life for many days, and produces more
real suffering than that Of thousands 10
the wealthy millionaire.
But, says the paper. balloon man, are
not the poor who live from hand to
mouth always exposed to these inevita.
Bile Vicissitudes of life? and were they
not SO before the invention of paper
money? Most certainly; for owing TO
some strange effect of the organiza lion
Of society. or some inscrutable dispeusa.
iion Of Providence, mankind have, in
every nation boastiug Of its civilization
and refinement, exhibited little else
than a contrast between the few who
have more than they want and the ma
ny who want everything. This cannot,
perhaps, be avoided, without changing
the whole structure Uf society from its
base to its summit. and the remedy
nigh! probably be worse than the dis
ease. Still, we maintain that this nigh.
" chasm has been greatly widened BY
the paper money fraud, and that no wise
or patriotic legislature would never aid
in establishinga system which, while it
greatly aggravates these inevitable evils
places almost insuperable obstacles in
the way oftheir mitigation.
That paper money is an arrant impos'
tor no one can deny. 1t is a sheer coun.
terfeit, and, like Lord Peter in Swift's
Tale OF Tub, attempts TO pass off
crus: o. bread for shoulder of mstton
1t aspires to a certain intrinsic value,
but is intrinsically worth nothing, be
cause it costs nothing, and can be made
out of nothing, 1t receives with one
hand that which is the fruit of mans
labor. aud with the other gives him 10
return promise to pay, which is re-
deemed by another promise, and so Oh to
the end OF the chapter, when. like the
firebrand in the play OF Robbins alive,
alive. as bes," it goes out in some
pody's hands, or burns his fingers. In
short, it isl privileged outlaw, who
can practice with perfect impunily all
those frauds, impositions, false preten
ces, and swindlings, for which inGivid.
uals, or combinations not shielded by
an act Of incorporation, are fned or i'm
urisoned,