The Waynesburg Republican. [volume] (Waynesburg, Pa.) 1867-18??, 1867-11-13
PAYING WITH PROMISES TO PAY.

press, irrespective OF party influences
| The following article, which we cop,
from the Milmaukee Sentinel, is on
Of the most pertinent and forcible ye
written, exposing the absurd position
d taken by those who would ruin tn,
|, credit of the country by population;
General Butlcr's scheme /
simply this; To pay certain United State
Bonds called 5-g0s Chat is made payable a
any time after five years and within twcnt,
years, at the option Of the government Il
greenbacks. This, he says, the government
has right to do because 1t did not specif,
in the bond that it was to be paid in coin, aut
because 1t had made greenbacks legal ten
der between individual citizens.
''Now let us analyze this legal tender act
Itproyides that if A owes B 800 he shall b,
discharged from that obligation by paying |
! slo0 in greenbacks or legal tender notes
Very well; what is greenback1 1t is simply
n promise of the government topay the bearer
so many dollars. The legal tender act there
fore, does not consider b paid. for 1t provides
that he shall receive from the government Q
promise to pay him and let A go free. Al:
discharged from his obligation to B, but the
government is not Ithas simply taken the
| place of A and assumed his responsibility to b
II B were paid by the transaction the govern
ment would owe him nothing, and the green.
backs would be cancelled, else B would gc
his pay twice. But the legal tender act does
! not once hint that the greenbacks are cancel
led IN the operation, Or that the government i
not still bound to pay the promised dollars
On the contrary, it is on the assumption tha,
the government will pay tIrem that b Ia com
PEELED to take tire notes In lieu of his cam
upon A. II Is understood all around that the
government cannot pay the dollars and take up
the greenbacks ut present But 1t is equally
well understood that the government ia bound
| to do so, and tha, the faith of the nation il
| irrevocably pledged that it will do it rs soon
as it can; otherwise, Treasury notes would
|. not be worth the paper they are printed on,
and the legal tender act would he merely an
arbitrary enactment that oil existing creditors
should go without their pay, The greenbacks
might be worth something until all pre- exist
ing debts were rubbed out by them; thence
forward all credit upon their faith would cease,
and they would be on par with Confederate
notes, payable six months after never.
''B may procure a discharge from like ob
cation to by rendering him the same notes.
but G IL not paid, for the same reason that B
was not when he received them from A. The
government has assumed BIS debt to G, just
as 1t did AS debt to B. b is now paid, be.
cause c has advanced the tangible saluo for
the government and taken its obligation to
pay Thus the greenbacbs may go on through
the whole alphabet no one being paid when
he receives them, but only when he parts with
them for value which the next man advances
for the government. The legal tender act,
then, only enforces a constant shifting of obl-
cations against individuals for Obligations
cgains, the United States.
a"Now let us return aud inquire what IS the
nature Of a five-twcnty bons,9 Iii simply a
promise on the part of the United States to
pay the holder SO many dollars. What is the
meaning Of the word ''dollar" as used In the
bonds? Gen. Butler says that it means
.greenbacks "a legal tender" But what is a
greenback-a legal tender3 We will take
one from our wallet and read Here it Is:
Tho United States will pay the bearer one
dollar at the treasury in New York" That is
the dollar which Gen. Butler says is promised
in the bond-not the dollar In the treasury in
New York. but the bit ofpaper which promises
the dollar, A dolllr, says Gen. Butler, is the
promise Of dollar! And he calls on this
great nation to stand up before the nations of
the earth and say to its creditors: ''That
dollar I promised you was only the promise of
a aollar-ccrtainly- dollar is nothing bu.
the promise ofa dollar; take it and be gone !"
An individual who should attempt such trick
would be called by every one, contemplate
sneak and scoundrci l' .''
III might be expected that the creditor
would ask who is to pay this last promise
According to General Buffers scheme this is
never to be paid 1t does not need to be paid
il 10 itsown payment. The government has
the right 10 fulfil one promise with another of
the same kind which is not to be fulfilled III
the second promise is to be fulfilled, how is II
to be done? Eitis by third promise of the
same kind, what better is that than The first
or second promise3 iii is to be paid in the
thing promised. which means q certain guam
tity ofgold or silver, why is it not as well to
pay h on the first promise as on the third one,
provided the creditor will wait equally long
torit? The question involved in the Butler
scheme isnot as to the time, but as to the
ssaaasr a payment--not whether Il shah be
msde q tlie'end offive years or twenty, but
wsethes itshalibe made in the thing proniis-
II or mi anoaher' promise Of the same thing
Suppose man owes General Butlera dollar
Nd. tho general asks bimlto psyit- He says
"yes Ipremissl to pay 4. ~, He asss him !
Again Again ~ aHsvers 'Yea ] promise 10
pay ityo. " asks lim the Third dine 70 PET
htn shet dollar, Hs ansSsis ths Third tina,
Yss ppuise topay yov that dollar" The