Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-06-08
Gold and Currency-Editors and Poll
ticians-National Debt.


ticians-National Debt.
A great many very innocent edit
ors and politicians now days are
astonished at the depreciation of the
national currency, when in fact our
national finances were never in a
better condition, and the national
debt is melting away by gradual
liquidation. These editors and poll !
ticians fear to confess the truth that
they, united in the hue and cry |
against greenbacks, at the instiga- |
ton of the Gold Ring, the Supreme
Court OF the United States, and the
importers OF foreign merchandise.
The watchword of the Gold Ring
was, "Let Us return to specie pay.
ments." What is the meaning of
this cry? Anybody and everybody
has the rigbJ and always had the
right, TO return to specie payments,
and settle his debts in hard money if
he chose to do SO. The covert mean
ing Of the watchword is, Let us re-
store the law that allows nothing but
gold and silver 10 be legal ender for
debts" Now unless our financial
editors are as blind as unborn bats,
they might have foreseen, and in fact
many of them knew perfectly well,
that to the same extent that the ma
tional currency lost the character ana
power Of money, TO that extont IL
would DO curtailed of its valua Even
gold and silver derive most of their
vAlue from their power as money +;
that ia, tender Of u hundred dollars
in gold will pay debt of one hun
dred dollars, whether payable in cur
rency or any other commodity, and
whether the creditor is willing 10 re
ceive it or not. Until the recent
declaration Of war againss the nation
oil currency, the demand notes were
gradually approaching the specie
standard, and whatever ground they
reached, they maintained it with as
tonishing tenacity. Possessing the
same power to pay debts as gold pos
sessed, Ca tender in such currency
discharging the debit the Supreme
Court of every State in the Union,
Except kentucky having judicially
acknowledged United States demand
notes to possess the incommunicable
power of money, it only needed the
public confidence inspired by General
Grants administration to have put
them ON q par with gold and silver.
But the Gold Ring had taken posses
sien Of the popular mind, and the
great world of labor which had been
palpably swindIed, praised the deeis-
ion Of the Supreme Court of the
United States which dishonOred the
national currency and determined
that though gold could discharge
debt payable in currency, yet green
backs could not discharge contract
which called for gold. Congress was
carried off from it's moorings by the
felon cry of the gold gamblers. The
decision of the Supreme Court would
have had no more effect than the
bred Scott decision, if Congress had
supported the national currency
That Court is composed ofthe fossils
of the old era and some disappointed
aspirants of later period. The as
sumption that eight,or nine men in any
position, judicial or otherwise, may
determine what shall be the currency
to be used by nation of 30 millions
of people, is only worthy Of derision
and contempt. But in accordance
with the Kentucky doctrine, sane :
toned by the Supreme Court Of the
United States, Congress passed law
which its friends falsely and cunning~
ly called "a bill to legalize gold con
tracts" But gold contracts never
were illegal, but such contracts could
be paid by the same nominal amount
of national currency. The true in
tent and meaning Of this law was to
dishonor the national currency, de-
prive it Of its power as money, and
reduce it TO the condition of other
commercial paper. And yet tie
men who with malice aforethought
have murdered the bost currency any
nation ever possessed, or who have
abetted the destroyers Of this cur
rency with blindness quite az erin
inal, are struck with wonder. either
real or pretended, at the drowning
condition Of the circulating notes Is,
sued by tho United StAtes, while
their interest bearing bonds arc ris
ing in the market all over the world
VIII any 6nAnc.tr tell US, from
whence do greenbacks derive their
value, since they have lost the pre-
rogative that bclongs to money? As
long Is the Government is willing to
receive them for revenue, they will
TO this extent be of some value. The
Supreme Court however has decided
that hey will not pay State taxes,
if the State Legislature, as it did in
Oregon, should require taxes to be
paid in coin. The demand notes do
not draw interest, and if paid at all,
that payment will be adjourned to
some very distant day. Stilfthe ex-
peetatation that they will eventually
be paid, or be converted into interest
bearing bonds is one basis of their
value the only other basis is that the
Government receives them for reve-
nue.. The true policy is to restore
the former law let the national cur
rency be made legal tender for all
debts, and it will directly reach the
same plane as gold then we shall
have currency that misers will not
hoard up, and that will offer a per-
petual stimulous and reward to labor
and enterprise.
A-The Sparta Eagle say that ac-
eordinU to all Occnnnts thn n.o,,s