The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-06-18
RuimedOr Not :?

"Gold is 100, and the property of the
country will be destroyed, 'says Mr.. Faint.
heart.
"Gold is going to 200, and shall be bro
ken" says Mr.. Weakness.
II am ruined My bank balance is worth
only fifty-five cents ON the dollar" says
Mr.. Neverthink.
Let us stop moment, gentlemen, says
the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, and
look into this matter. Facts are better
than fears, and principle is better than
prejudice. You are suffering, yes, suffer
9mg, there is no other word for thunder
the delusion that the amount of gold and
silver coin in the country is equivalent to
its wealth. Now do you know that the
highest financial authorities havenever esq
timated this amount at two hundred and
fifty millions, and it is probably much less
even in times OF peace. But suppose that
we admit that it is three hundred millions
and now do you know that according to
the United States census OF 1860, the wealth
ofthe cOuntry-its real and personal prop
erty-was estimated (rather too low than
too high at fifteen thousand millions II
you will just take your pencil and cypher
out the proportion that three hundred mil
lions in specie bears to fifteen thousand
millions OF property, you will discover that
it was-what? fifty per cent? No! Twen-
ty-five per cent? No! But exactly t,Uo per
cert.-that is, the whole amount of specie
in the country never was two per cent. or
a tiftieth part Of the specie va ne Of the
property; and if at any one time the whole
property of the country had been forced to
sale for the specie in the country, it would
not have brought two cents on the dollar
OF its actual specie value.
Specie, or the currency that may stand
Tor 1t is onlythe convenient and recognized
medium for making an exchange Of pro-
N 70 &
ket, property in transit, bnt never the fixed
property Of nation. Money is the ,ubri-
Gator. II don't make values it simply lu-
brlcates the machinery, and keeps the
wheels Of commerce RAINING smoothly
When too abundant, the wheels run TOO
fast and when scarce, there is too much
friction.
And now, Mr.. Faintheart, can YOU pick
flaw in our statement? Is is not abso-
lutte truth? But what shall we say to Mr..
Weakness. WHO is afraid Of bankruptcy,
and Mr.. Neverthink, who is only afraid OF
his bank-balance. II Mr.. Weakness is in
debt, it is now easy to get out. Pay up
while money is plenty, and be happy.
II mortgage on your land viii be due
next year or any year, provide for it now,
While you are getting high prices for eve
~ thing You sell. But Mr.. Never:hink,
you have-sav, a note balance Of $50, Co.,
You are afraid the gold is going up CT pa
per going down about out Of sight, and
you wish TO invest this balance in some
productive property. VIII you buy ahouse
worth only $4,000 in specie, and pay for it
SIS, 600 in currency? Suppose you wish to
sell that house after the resumption Of spe-
Gle payments, it will bring only $40, Oo0, and
you will have lost exactly $500. Will
that be shrewd operation? We think we
can ''put you up 10 something better
something by which you can make your
bank balance or currency not only worth
its face III gold, bnt premium besides
Inves. in Government bonds. Buy the
lO-40's. After the war is over, they will be
worth pari gold and something overland
they pay liberal gold interest from the
beginning. II they are not safe, then no
property is safe. The same spirit Of anar-
chy that would repudiate your property in
the national debt would repudiate it in your
house. Ii the law will not protect you in
one description Of your property, it will
not in another. and your greatest safety, as
well as profit, is in maintaining and
strengthening the Government that main
tains and supports the law.