Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-12-24

backs can not be made without violating
the provision of the law of June 80
lS64-that the amount Of outstanding
greenbacks shall never exceed S450, O00,.
600 But the amount of greenbacks nov
! outstanding is less than $3S0,OOO,OO0
Seventy millions more can be issued
without violating that section of the law.
The issue of greenbacks as substitute
for National bank paper would be no vio>
lation of the spirit of the law; AMI !
have repeatedly demonstrated that with
this substitution the debt can be paid
without the addition of a dollar to the
volume Of the currency or to the rate OF
| taxation.
We hear a great deal about "irredesm-
able paper,,' flooding the country"
''basketful of rags This is mere idle
talk, UNIV orthy of reasoning men. The
'irredeemable paper" is the greenbaek,
which was vr.esd for by every Republican
in CONGRESS-, And when, during the dis
cussion of aAe legal-tender clause |
pointed out the fact that no time was
fixed when their redemption could be
demanded, l was told that the omission
was intentional. The flooding the
country is only to keep outstanding the
exact amount Of currency issued by these
same gentlemen. The "basketful OF
rags" would delight the heart OF every
one Of them, even though his opportu.
nifty for laying by for rainy day"
would have satisfied even -.
The whole greenback theory consists
of two plain, simple propositions :.
First We will pay the public creditor
what we promised to pay him-no less
no more.
Second We inflated the currency
when the government was buying mate
rial of war and mourning the debt. We
will not contract the currency when the
government is about to pay the debt. II
the currency is contracted prices fall.
The debt remains nominally the same;
but, in order to pay his taxes, the farmer
must sell more corn and wheat and bar
ley, the manufacturer more cloth or shoes
or furniture or machinery, the laborer |
must work more hours. This is robbing
the people to enrich the public creditor.
The legal-tender- act con6scated the
property of the creditor class. This sys>
tenn Of contraction confscates the property |
Of the debtor class.
Some of our friends favor initiation OF |
the currency beyond the point to which
it has ever gone. | will not go into that |
question here. If we would do exact JUS
tice between the people and the public |
creditor, we would keep the volume of
currency exactly what is was when the
debt was being contracted. 1t was then /
upward Of one thousand millions. 1t is /
row scarcely more than six hundred and
fifty millions At the close of the war,
business was active, enterprise was stimu-
lated, labor was employed and well
paid. Taxes were collected in one year
to the amount Of five hundred and eighty /
This condition Of affairs should |
have been "let alone" until the debt was /
all paid. But the thinkers would be busy.
They began to contract in the interests |
Of the bondholders to hoard aud then to
sell coin ; to keep large reserves in the
Treasury to convert everything into
gold interest bonds As a matter of
course, they have produced stagnatiOn in
business checked enterprise shocked
the sensitive nerves of capital driven it
from investment in industrial pursuits,
which employ labor and pay taxes,
10 investment in bonds, which yield
large interest, pay no taxes and employ |
no labor added to the amount Of inter
est increased our public debt deprived
abor of its occupation; lessened the pub.
lie revenues while they have increased
he hardship and burden Of paying them.
And vet, in the face of these facts, we
hear a constant demand for a return to |
specie payments, by means of stillgreater.
and still greater derangemenl
If all our interests. Specie payments 1
ire undoubtedly very desirable, not as
IN end, but as means--as a condition Of /
financial affairs-out of which are to flow
stability, regularity, order. We may
make sacrifices in Fastening uBduly to /
attain that position greater than we in
,ur by postponing it. | certainly think
the injustice and distress caused to the |
taxpayers and the debtors of the coun-
try, by adding forty or fifty per cent. to
their obligations, or by diminishing at
that rate rate their resources, would be
such sacrifice.
After ell, the path of honor and ofhon-
ssty is the path OF safety. Pay our cred
tors-public and private-exactly what
we owe them, in currency Of the kind
md the value which we promised
neither contracting to the injury of the
people, nor expanding unduly to the in
Jury of the creditor.
Very truly yours,
GEO n PFNDI EToN