The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1868-02-12
For the Argus

| Cincinnati enquirer.
For the Argus.
Il Mn. EDrroR.-You have invited a review
of M. Osborne's money theory; and as |
Il have the facts and arguments Will try and
i give TIM in form as perpicuous as the H.
i nancial essays of Mr.. Osborne, though, per-
i haps, not in a style as graceful.
i In its main characteristics the money the
DRY of Mr.. Osborne seems to me, to be un-
tenable, and, that too, for the very reason
that it does not rest on "gold base" or
rather gold and silver base. The COM
mercial world has, for ages, adopted gold
| and silvera as measure of value, first be-l
cause these products of industry have an in
trinsic value and second, because they are
more stable and more easily aud cheaply
| transmitted from one locality to another,
than any other articles of value created by
human labor and skill.
! The bank of Amsterdam was founded on q
stgold baser--of dollar for dollar. Hence
| its notes meta pu..hc necessity-the cheap
and safe transfer of large sums Of real money
| from one place to another. The transmits
sion Of commercial balances BY these notes,
founded on "gold base,r also saved the
abrasion of the precious metals.
But the cunning and cupidity of capital
lists discovered that, by banks of circulation,
they could do a more profitable business,
than on the honest and reliable "gold base, y
| by lending their "credtn to unsuspecting
dupes, who were rejoiced at the idea of hav-
| ing "three times as much money as under
| the "gold base" system of dollar for dollar.
In my view, the evils, which Cypress the Ia
borer and enrich the capitalists and OF
which Mr. Osborne Justly complaints do not
grow out of a "gold base" for bank notes,
but that they necessarily and inevitably re
suit from the utter absense of a gold and sill
yer base for the bank pictures which unfor-
tunately for the true interests of labor. are
now called money.
Mr.. Osborne says: hauls his wheat to
market and exchanges it for money. The
money supplies none of his natural wants.
A may starve or freeze, if he keeps his mon.
ey--it viii do him no good until he parts
with it; then it is plain to be seen that the
| value of money is entirely representative and
not actual. Its powers are legal and are
delegated" .-......
Here too, in the main, Mr.. Osborne is cor.
rect. Though if A exchanges his wheat for
cutlery, even this would not keep him from
starving and freezing" and yet Mr.. Osborne
will not say that cutlery has no "actual val
ue." But, in my view, Mr.. Osborne is sadly
mistaken in saying: Its powers (the powers
of money! are legal and are delegated" II
he means that the power to coin money is
illegal and delegated he is correct. and yet
the power delegated ito regulate the value
thereof is an absolute nullity, for the obyi
GUS reason that demand and supply regulate
the value of every dollar coined by congress
Suppose congress should enact that one
dollar should contain half ounce of pure
silver, would that Regulation be of any
avail, in the commercial world? Would
it purchase as much wheat, from Mr. Os
borne, as a Mexican dollar, or a five Frank
French coin?
Mr.. Osborne thus introduces the form oil
his paper money: "Then we wish the
reader to keep in view that the legitimate
use of money of this nation should be cir
culating credit, thus:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Public money and medium of exchange 800.
The kosda- of this money is entitled to Sl00, OF
public and private credit within the United
States of America. v& En-
{ I have filed Mr.. Osberneis form with
$f00 affa cannot see why 'sthe holder of this
money is entitled to 800 of prirate credit
as his next form, that of public credit is
in these words:
---~ UNITED STATES AMERICA.
1
credit is entitled TO $'oo of the public money
and medium of exchange of the United States oil
America, payable at any public depository, three
months after date"
Now, wish the reader to keep in view
the fact that Mr. Osborne tells ms that .sthe
legitimate use of money of this nation should
be circulating credit" He certainly means
that ''the money" fnot the use OF itl should
be circulating credit" His views, If not
contradictory, are certainly not easily COM
pretended. For instance, Immediately after
giving the form of his "public money pic
ture. he says: This money should be issued
only to pay the debts of the nation" The
present. then, is propitious time for an i'm.
mense issue of circulating credits" to pay
off four thousand millions of public debts
unconstitutionally contracted to revolution
Use the late federal government and establish
on its ruins the most CALLING military despo
tism the world ever Witnessed. On The
other hand, the public debts of 1860 would
have been very small basis for an issue of
Mr.. Osborne's "public money" pictures
Mr. Osborne saws: ave find no halfway
ground between right and wrong"
This is a truthful and important fact fo
the producers of wealth to reflect on. GU
! late banking system land the present one il
even worse) was not "half-way ground be
tween right and wrong" 1t was, on th,
contrary, the very quintessence of "wrong'
"a legalized and gigantic system of swind
ling the honest votaries of labor out of tht
fruits of their industry to enrich the non
producing capitalists. And, if | am no
mistaken. it is a knowledge of this alarming
and selt-evident fact that has aroused tn,
philanthropy of Mr.. Osborne and induced
HIM to invite inquiry as to the practicability
of establishing paper money system which
will not rob labor of its just reward. But
rs yet, have no confidence in Mr.. Osborne
theory. If, however, he can invent or dis
cover cheaper and better medium of ex
change" than the jackson curreney''-golt
. and silver-no one will more heartily res
! pond amen.
J That the productive industry of the worlt
: pays all the taxes, and feeds, clothes and ed
ucates the non-producing classes, is fac
susceptible of the clearest demonstration.
JACKSON.