New-York tribune., 1868-04-29
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
GREESBACKs AND REPUTATION.

GREENBACkS AND
! To Editor Of The TTi1sHs
SIR: | have been u constant reader OF your
valuable journal for many years and have of late noticed
your spccuatons on our financial condition, and also
your correspondent at Washington, 81 8. p" Now 1t
appears to me that all this wranGng about paying of
the FiyeTwenty bonds in greenbacks gold is all
sense The question is how long eau the Government
pay interest in coin its bonds; and the greatest of oil
the questions Of the day Is whether the great civil
through which have passed has left n solvent
bankrupt nation The las been three years.
aud we ought by this time 10 be able to take correct
reckoning and find out where are
In 1852 sold gold at three per cent or greenbacks ana
mercantile friend for his note at IL months, and before
.aid note was SIX months old could have sold gold al -
premium; and 1t maturcd had to take grecnbacks
in payment when gold was worth over 100 per cent pre-
muni hold to-day said grecubacks, have received 40
interest from Government any other source, and If
wanted my gO!u back again must pay premium of 49,
quotations on hand. Now, your sympathies seem to
be for the bondhoder who bought his bonds at great
the that Shylock charged Antonio and word
Is said III defense ut us poor fools who sold gold TO cp
the GOvcumcnt OF country without cxacting inter
My own belief is, that our Government is wholly in.
inevitable aud If such Is tho the sooner We repud
ate and return to gold and silver currency The better
vent II ought first pay of its forced loans In the shape
Of grecnbacEs hat blnS no interest to the holder
rency fom to ,OO more dcnOrallHg 10 our
people aud more cissraceu TO us as hatioh tha rePu
The people are more interested and intelligent
these money questions Than the politicians are ulsposea
to give them credit for Very respectfully ,,
Crab orchard, No. WM. H. HARLAN.
Rcpy.-Our correspondent comes square out with his
grievance, and We like to answer such. lie thinks just
as important that the Government should not iepudate
his grcenbacks that 1t should not rerudiae its bonds
That true But neither the greeubacks the bonds
have ever had any serious advantage tho other
They both declined and advanced In value together, and
at about the rates When gold was at 2CO and tho
greenbacks worth only 40 cents on the dollar, our
bonds sold at about par In grcenbacks; and now when
greenbacks have advanced to 2 bonds are at about
tho figure and when greenbacks stand at "a our
bonds will not be far away. They tho promises Of
the same debtor and have other difference in value
except what IL impaired by the fact that draws in
tcrcst and is payable at definite time. while tho other
dfers In these respects The holders who sold bonds
for gold In 1862 lost much therefor as
our friend who sold grecnbacks In 1902 Our friend is
wrong in Saving grecnbacks have drawn no interest
When private debts contracted PRIOR TO 1890 in gold were
paid off IN 1894 in eclback, which then worth but
20 cents the dollar the holders of the greenbacks
ceved nearly per cent interest upon the gecnbacks
In fact, they received the Interest the green
backs then that the holders OF the bonds receive in the
appreciation OF the principal they advance TO par
So those who bought geebacks for 40 cents the dol
lar in gold have received the advance On value
those who bought bonds at the same rate.
AS to the currency question it Is not return to gold
silver that want for that would be TO the
currency Of barbansm. What need is paper
rency worth cents instead OF IS cents the dollar.
The banks of the State OF Illinois recently returned
aggregate Of gold hand amounting 20 SiOO.0O How
could the exchanges Of property OF that State, amounting
to many millions per day be effected IL oil currency
but gold and silver abolished, leaving only iOOO1
to population Of 81 10000, about four cents per capita
The destruction OF
all the railroads canals and vessels in the State would
not more speedily produce famine there than would the
destruction Of its paper currency what Is the
thing population. For the lives Of least half the
people OF agricultural State and far larger proper
ton of those Of manufacturing State could not be pro-
served week IL the Of efToctng exchanges
destroyed. The rcpudiatlon OF national debt would
leave us totally without Any paper currency
and such catastrophe would destroy moro
lives by famine than wero sacrificed by the
paper currency worth only rs cents ia evil
pared with one worth 100 cents the dollar But
compared with at ALL with only gold and silver,
II is an incaculable blessing An attempt TO return 10
gold and silver only would have much the effect
our industry attempt to abolish railroads ""d toe-
praphs md camels and Us tie only means
Of travel and transportation
Our correspondent asks II not insOyent
nation. mol we owe s2,5OOOOO,OOO, and we own
$500 Co., 900 Of property e., tenth OF all
worth. We cannot pay this immediately but 1t is
absurd TO say that cannot pay the interest IT, and
ultimately much OF the principal put 10
better use than TO pay it.