The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-08-14

@uu W meiut1iu LVo@knPsiVo "'sss<$s - -
riodical necessity Of suspension" Again,
be ssys " that 90 soon as possible they lthe
greenbacks) must be eouvertible Of all times
into coin," and " the people currency need
mot be discredited by any temporary run
that money shavers might make upon the
Treasury for gold since any combined ef
fort to bankrupt the nation might be met
with repulse Of the conspirators for few
hours, or few days. until the requisite sup
ply could be obtained. The people would
never be panic-stricken under their own
currency, because they will know it to be as
good as the nation itself; and Is for the spe-
culatOrs, the Government need psy little At
tention to them, but may let them wait
awhile In an emergency, and suffer the PEN
atty Of their Impotence in seeking to live in
dishonest mode. Sill, the Government
should be prepared to disappoint spectators
10 the money ma rket by paying their de-
mand." So be would have the Government
make itself into q great-jackaIL to furnish
food for gold gamblers and stockholders.
Does not Mr.. Hine very well know that
"converiiblity" has its origin in the lowest
helm the very Sodom Of modern civil IA
ton, Lombard street in London, and Wall
street in New York 1t is the very life OF
the system. Abolish the "gold bond"
"god convertible" and cOinsge legal tender
laws, and Lombard and Wall streets would
soon share the tate Of ancient Sodom, they
would be only known in history as places
where everything vile congregated met its
just reward. :..t
If government order could, with
out discount, conscript poor man to per-
il b is life in the army, why could not tho
order of the government conscript the prop
erty of the capitalist without discount to
feed and clothe the conscriptss Why is il
that the government was compelled to beg
for money and offer the conditions to the
rich that are now most oppressive to the
working classes ? We answer that because
the government, instead Of exercising its
sovereign power to represent justice, let it
out, or leased Il hitherto, to money shavers 10
a pretended convertible" currency. to
shave the people-and they have done il ef-
fectually-and these money shavers propose
to have this convertible lease made perpetu-
al. But Mr.. Hine says, "Oh, no, gentle
men, we want TO change the form Of that
lease not the substance. We will not let
you make q convertible currency, but We
will make one and let you run It." Does
not Mr.. Hine know that no reli able cur
rency ever has been, or ever will be con-
structsd on his bankers "gO:d convertible"
theorY-that no nation any more than no
bankers can run such q currency without a
cIashS Money is not made tor the purpose
Of ''convertibiiity" into any one species OF
property, but to be az auth ent:c medium for
lne exchange Of all property. The only
authority that money needs is the sover-
eign law Of the nation, and the only fund
needed in free nation for its redemption"
70 the whole property Of the nation. The
whole property OF . nation is gr eater than .
part, and it is not Mr.. Bankers nor Mr.
Illness ''gold converVbiliy" which makes
a money good, but it is that the money 10
by law or by custom the only fund for pay
ment by which people can pay their obiga-
lions. Ii is this which makes it desirable.
Classes may be built up and the masses Of
the people impoverished by this Convert
b le" theory, but honesty, justice and fair
DE- ealing has no part OF lot in such system,
for the reason that the supply Of gold and
silver under tue operations Of such q law
must necessarily be subject to great Irregu-
iarIty, and when money for business is made
thus to Auctuate with the supply and the
demand Of the precious metals then there
can be nothing else but 6uctu&tion in bust
ness, irregular supply Of money, and ju-
bilant system of stock jobbing and gold
gambling. The British government has
tried this experiment Of Mr.. Hines for near
ly two hundred years. She has BY it effec-
tually pauperize1 labor in her own country,
and destroyed the business Of the civilized
world. She has never seen . period Of If
teen years since she instituted that system
tina: she has not been Obliged to wipe out
from $500, 0oO, 900 to 81. 600 ,0OO, 900 worth Of
business. When Mr.. Hine, therefore,
cIamCrs for convertible currency whether
it is run by the government or BY indivi-
duals, he clamors for the establishment Of
relentless monied aristocracy, and q pauper-
lied industrial class. Whatever may be bis
pretensions such is the effect Of bis theory.
Next week we shall give this subject fur
Their airing, and the criticisms on Mr..
Cary's bill, aud the platform of the Labor
Congress viii be passed under review.