The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-02-01

i FOR t14600 In gresn5acks. This, added /,
i the eafeings, makes total Of efe ,294. HI
! valus6qnhe farm at $4,000. Deducting thi
\ from Dasen. value, with proceeds added
leaves = net gain In five years 38 ,294, equa
10 eighfy three Der cent, or IN sverage year
incf<ks Of sixteen and one-half per cent
X The ferning Of his bends has paid him twt
and 4 &nlf times as much a. farming biz
lands He was formerly regarded 40 plain
Il pfAetIod man. but now be is "patriotis
tcapH4tS who came forward and gener.
G16J 1sd the Gosernment In its extremity
4 tssinv tinR in her bonds and this is the
testimQ1y Of an honest bond holder. Thil
actual use illustratcs the whole subject, and
elbows tbw unjustis the claim Of the boad-
hof6ag hat be sheuld -hs paid in gold fou
the bod1s which cost him only fifty cent.
On . dpllar. And this unreasonable and
unjust claim fuds able advocates in this
house, Who talk eloquently ab,ut bad faith
ldepsecisted currensy, and irredsmable paper
moneys
We disclaim in the most solemn form any
wish o. desire to do injustice to the holder
OF United States bond, whether on this or
szs other side OF she ocean. It is no act of
unfairness or Of arbitrary power to require
him TO receive what every other creditor OF
the Government must receive In payment Of
his claims. We are told that with the pro-
cesds Of these bonds our soldiers we're fed,
clothed, and paid. Yes, Mr.. Chairman, the
soldier received his thirteen dollars per
month In this paper which was declared e
be money BY the Law making power, although
1t ives worth only fifty cents on the dollar.
coin being the standard. Now, the PROPOSE.
ton Of tue bond d-holders' represe ntative Is
to pay him (the bond -holder) the other fifty
cents snd require the reformed soldier TO
work upon the farm, in the chop or manu-
factory. to make the payment You required
the solder to sign the receipt-roIls for thir-
teen dollars when you paid him only S6 so,
aud now you propose to pay the patriotic
capitalists thirteen dollars, who generously
furnished ~ 50 to the soldier aud tar the
industries OF the country 10, meet the de-
mand. ~~i
To make their argument irrefatable, hon
orabie gentlemen quote from learned writers
~ every age their definitions Of money that
the only money known to the civilized world
is gold and silver that exchelner bills, le-
gal tenders, and greenbueks are IN no sense
money, but only promises to pay money.
When did learned Senators consult Locke
ouN A4uEttc h4u AueklUoDH anu u uOst Vi
other writers on the nature and uses OF
monsyt Was it before they declssed green
backs money, and receivable as money in
payment OF all debts, public and priYatet
Wss It contemporaneous with the decisions
OF our courts that State, county, city, and
railroad bonds, and even private contracts,
payable by their terms in gold, were dis
charged by payment IN legal tender notess
Or was this discovery made after our sol
diers had received II as money and after
capitalists had invested them in bonds FOR
the payment Of money? It matters little
what Earopean philosophers declared 20 be
money.
Our Constitution gives to Congress the
exclaSive power to coin money and regulate
the value thereof, and expressly denies to
any State the right to coin money, emit bills
OF credit, or make anything but gold and
silver coin tender for the payment Of debts.
These are attributes Of sovereignty and be-
long exclusively TO tho representatives Of the
whole people. At one time and in one
country silver coin was the only money at
another time and in another country gold,
and again gold and silver. Locke (From
whom Q distinguished Senator quotes with
90 much app@rent sssisfacsion) declared that
gold and silver were the txusasnd only met
ais to De used for this purpose because Of
their I" intrinsic vaine" TIE fac. is, these
metals hare nc intrinsic value compared
With ire a or copper, and but for their gen.
eral app oriation to this use would only be
used ior manufacturing ornaments They
were selected because Of their supposed
scarcity, and less liable, therefore, to fiuctu-
ate in quantity.
The value Of money has no relation to or
dcpendence upon the material OF which il is
made. IL il has the properties or powers of
representing, measuring, and exchanging
value It Il money, ane these properties or
powers are not inherent in any substaaee,
but are conferred upon any chosen material
by the sovereign power.
In an hour of great national peril, when
there was not coin enough, or If enough to
meet the momentous emergencies of the hour
i c,uld not Be procured, sse Congress OF the
United States, with the coocurrenCe u the
Executive, impaired 70 pieces Of paper, BY
certain soeciHc stamps, vignettes, signatures,
and figures, all the powers OF money, and
made them legal tender for the payment Of
debts, even those contracted to be paid in
coin. have no refsctions to make on the
wisdom Of their action. leave that to the
Secretary Of the Treasury. The greenback,
as it has been denominated, was an invalua-
bic expedient backing our boys in blue AMI
covering their backs ut the same time. IL
served our purpose we'll, and will serve us
still, If permitted, Il helped US through one
danger, and viii bear rs triumphantIy
through another, unless the cupidity OF bank
ers, bond-hcidere, and shoddy contractors
shall triumph over the ipdussrial and tax
paying classes of our people. We know its
strength, power, virtue, and its universal &c
eeptablity. We know that cur country il
yet very far from being ont oftne wilder.
ness and ia the open plain. She has Jet 70
encounter she swsmps and quagmsries of an
immense debt, rotten revenue system, ana
an exhausted and overbufdened people
i We find gentlemen anxious TO ges rid of
that which has served as 20 well. We are
told that the mighlisst Of all evils will result
from our policy. II fas.ens pm the country
an irredesmable paper cdrrtncy. It post
pones the day Of specie paymtnts, the day Of
e hard monsy's-hard moneY the idol Of the
Democratic heart. If is strange spectacle
to see men who have always contepdsdl
xeainst f0ducinx the oountsy 90 hard uoney
Sssndard now adsooASins h iWish "a. .naoh
vikurs Why shin sudden eeDsessioas 70 old
Dsmocrasie theorissf Why al this haste
70 Res back 70 specie psyments2 It is 20
prevent the Govefnmenx iron paying back
TO the bond -hoIders thsssans knd % money
fouly RreAtiy s,precis4sd II vnlas) which
fhsy paid fen thaiF hopdA which oAnses such
- insepse dsaise n h4-s eFesnheeks put oos
of the wag and tlIess ~ lhey Who-sre urs-
|iik contfsckfou and ~ imdDsdI6ss rssunp-
Efionsuf anacie suaxmeot Thgg woold even