Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-12-31
ISIr REPUDIATION

Inc course OF the cincinnati ia
zette is alarming the straight-laced
Radicals, who affect to have a holy
horror for Reputation The Ga
zctfe has lately been dealing some
trenchant blows at the plans for the
resumption of specie payments that
do not include the proposition to pay
all debts at the gold value ofthe cur
rency at the time they were con
tracted. A Republican" who
processes to have spent some of his
best days in building up the Rcpub
lican party, and in troubling him
self to put down theA"late un-
pleasantness, inquiries through the
Cincinnati Commercial whether his
"organ is in favor of reputation as
between him and his landlord and
creditor, and not as between the
government and its creditors" He
wants to know "if his landlord, on
his permanent lease, can collect
only siXty-fiye cents on the dollar,
and if Uncle Sam is bound to
pay dollar for dollar in specie
TO the suffers and contrac-
tors, to the stay-at-homes, and
'sharpers' in the same unpleasant
ness" Has not Uncle Sam al
ready said these suffers and con-
tractors, the stay -at-homes' and
sharpers" in his greenback prom
Uses to pay, and these characters,
against whom the Republican ~
inveighs so Justify, have long since
set their greenbacks afoat on the
great current. 1t is not a question
whether Uncle Sam will pay them
" dollar for dollar in specie but
whether he will so pay the holders
of the bits Of greenbacked paper
that he gave them and which they
have made available as dollar for
dollar. The holders of these
promises opay perhaps gave what
they considered an equivalent to
dollar for dollar for them, and now
let us see how the Gazette proposes
thai they shall be paid. This able
aud influential western organ Of
RadicaHsm proposes that the gov
eminent shall redeem its own paper
at its market value, and it charges
that this has already been done to
the extent of a hundred millions of
dollars. In its issue of the 10Th
inst. the Gazette says:
The proposition to have the govern
ment redeem greenbacks at their value
IN gold is called Reputation. Is it2 It
so, the government has been practiclng
reputation by selling gold at premium
of thirty-fve for greenbacks. Still no.
body calls the practice Of selling gold at
q premium Reputation. To the extent
OF nearly one hundred millions Mr. Me-
Culloch sold gold for greenbacks, taking
the latter at equal to % to 20 cents on
the dollar, and Cancelled them Was
that reputation No Did any holder
of greenbacks complaint No.
"lf it was right to redeem one hum
dred millions Of greenbacks 1T their val-
us in gold, where would be the wrong in
redeeming three hundred and sixty mil
lions more in the same way. We can
not see it Can anybody point it out
"The confusion in the public mind on
this subject grows out of the practice of
calling a thing by the wrong name We
have been in the habit of regarding
narer money as the standard OF value,
and then, instead of talking about dis
count on the currency, We call it pres
MUM on gold Gold is now worth l35
in paper. Suppose we reverse that prop
osition, and say paper is worth 70 in Colds
The result, it is true, would be the same
hut the correct way would be TO quote
the discount on the greenbacks instead
of the premium in gold
Notwithstanding the legal tender law,
GOLD is the standard Of value. Ii is
necessarily so, because it is the standard
of value In all commercial nations. Gold