New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-01-28

1
| lawful money called three per cent certificates. We
have also fractional paper currency, which conyerti
compose the paper currency Of tho country, and
the amount Of each is stated a follows:
United States notes. 1856 02l ,073
T TsfSS pSr B sen s ssSSSS
| Fractional currency. 8,H5,Il5
In ................... .$745, 9Os353
All this currency is by law at par. BY law 1t is either
made the standard Of vane may at pleasure be con
Of all commodities and Of ali debts, except for duties on
imported goods and interest of the public debt But in
the thew world One dollar Of has only the
ing power as IA cents IN gold God-whch is real money
not the representative OF money but money ITSELF OF IN
trinsic value recognized such by every man In all
civilized countries and IN all Of tine word-gold ia
demOnetzed 10y the law cannot DO collected the courts
and, like cotton or wheat, Is treated as commodity
money" Now It seems that the first step in
investigation should be TO abandon the attempt 10 reason
the immuabe law Of currency and that s there Is but
and that is gold Since the earliest records
OF humanity gold and silver have been employed as the
equivalent for effecug exchanges From Scion TO our
day 1numerable attempts have been made 10 % a
silver have maintained their exclusive dominion IN the
money Of mankind. The gold in the shield Of
Achilles, the sheckels that bought the field at
| Slachpelah, the pieces OF silver the price OF me
completed history Of nations now rising into greatness
! Will be folded away among the records OF time,
tender. we could not have maintained our immense
armies during the recent war Gold was Danished 10y
the war. The quantity was TOO small i0r tne 1asI
expenditure required by the war We had theh no eeaI
|
were wisely excluded RON nauOhal clrcudtIOn. We
then cautiously issued legal tender notes carefully
limiting their amount, aud only increasing the amount
when We could mol borrow them paCh AZ ICasonauIe
rate OF interest We called them lawful money, and a.
10 receive them as such but, after all, they only
forced substitute for money the promise To pay money,
Of value er Own 9qs Tss dS nIf Sc
depreciation as the dark days OF the on, and
tried IT, We utterly failed The effort was pa
trotc but il was, impossible England did the in
her Ele sspd
sale expectation Of gold but like ours, her EFFORTS
abortiye. am not ashamed to confess my part IN
made during the war 10 maintain our paper
the true standard Of value, and confess II was
impossible. Every Intelligent business man watched the
dHy market ofthe gold bArOnetor which, win uneir-
| ing certainty, fixed the yalne OF our greenhacks,
of our public credit and bonds as IL dd lhe value o our
| cotton and distinction between the stand
ard value and the actual agent Of exchange must al
ways be kept IN view one must DC goiu anu o VtneL
ought TO be paper money convertible into god such
paper currency with proper measures to meet ahb or
extreme drains Of specie proven by all experience To
be possible currency that has yet been devised
by man An unmIXed coin currency cannot exist ~
Will devise, aud the people viii use some representative
fcaes OF deposit, bank Government paper money
Aud unbndng, unTelaXing rule, that rompes pay
In coin at all mes-durng panic distress, or war
as well as peace-w periodically produce disaster and
that 1t be paper currency; second. that amply
cured either by the credit Of nation or by unregistered
cOiatera third that except IN cases OF panic that u De
convertible into coin; fourth that provision be made Tor
pancs And the only legislative questions that arise
points whether the paper money should bo
relief shall be provided IN case Of necessary
suspension OF specie paymehis As 70 me nIsi Question
bank currency secured by the public credit As 10 tho
second they have tried various devices the raising Of
the Of Interest temporary suspension " payments,
making the paper legal tender but al these eNpcdiouts
merely temporary ~ bridge over war panic,
period OF starvation or balance Of
trade They remedies In sickness 70 be discarded
rss may suggest however coated the remedy may
be- there is but test OF healthy paper currency and
that Is US cOhNeIuDhy INFO sou com. II theh, gOIu
only is the true standard OF money why shall We not
commence financial measures by restoring u 10 It's
place as legal standard OF money Why not allow our
citizens to base their future contracts on gold Why not
There difficulties In applying now standard TO exist
ing contracts made upon different standard but tbs
specie payments and yet We forbid all men from
legal iootns as gaming contracts II would seem that Il
We are at all sincere IN wishing specie pay
ncnts that We should not only promote spe-
Gle contracts, but should encourage them. Con
tracts TO vast amount are now nom necessity made
upon the gold basis All our foreign commerce exports
aEd imports amounting annually 10 over t0O0OOO6 are
based upon gold The price OF all public securities is
fixed by the gold standard OF London and Frankfort The
Of all imported goods by the Importer to the obbers
by the gold standard. The daily transactions gold
IN New YORK often amount to tOCOOO On the Iaciho
slope gold the only standard OF value We cannot alter
this II we would. Why not recognize the fact legalize
these and conform gradual
adjustment of existing contracts, Including paper money,
the general principle that It is wiser and more III accord
with the spirit OF our Government to leave this adj
usment voluntary contracts OF the people, rather
than undertake by the arbitrary rules Of law. Ii our
people left free they do this without Injury 10 the
debtor creditor without cOnhseaon Of property and
without change IN the intrinsic yaue OF property
For those the Committee Of Finance regard tho
first section Of this BILL which lcgazes gold contracts as
Indispensable preliminary To any plan FOR approaching
our currency gold This action has twice received the
sanction tho Senate and it primary Importance has
generally been admitted In popular discussions The oh
ecOns 10 this section are stated by the Senator from IN
Nr MorOD) follows: The means he suggests FOR
returning 10 specie payments are tWofOd The nrst ~
10 egalize specific contracts be executed IN coin.
voted for bill for that purpose ast session. without
much consideration and have since become satisfied 1t
was an error. The unwaTy would be ontced into such
contracts by the crafty aud those in sraghtened ciTcu
stance or under heavy pressure would DO forced into
them No safely make contract TO be- executed
I'm coin while the currency deprecated and the Imam
cia condition OF the country Is nuctuating. such
racts where brought about by coercion and fraud
would the nature Of gold gnmblingthe one party
trusting that gold would be at large premium when the
little or none IL could hardly DO distinguished from n
contract for the delivery Of gold at future time This
cannot be safely left the free Of the parties
thcreOthat the parties cannot DO inttusted 70 make
their contracts est the creditor Cypress tue debtor
Sir the tno Is not likely 10 come IN our day when the
crafty will not have the advantage OF the unWary rive
legsaung to protect inc unwafy we shOuu NOT or
day permit the existence Of unconverble paper money
Mr. Webster said that Of all le sontrvances FOR cheat
ing the laborng classes OF mahknd none mas Bee ino
enectual than that which deludes with paper money
The chief reason is that such paper money Is 20 luc
tuating that none but tho Intelligent and CRAFTY can
estimate its fluctuations while the unwary assume that
u is equivalent TO gold II We then legsate to protect
the nnwary We should require all contracts to DO made
on tile gold basis but experience shows that the true
basis Of the consent OF the parties We can
the interest OF parties to regulate equvaehts anu
we car protect gold contract against usury ana fraud
much more easily than contract payable In currency
The from Indiana proposes 10 ada 10 the Dutue
of existing contracts annual interest equivalent to !!
per cent by requiring gold payment IN tSoand ANAL
contract they are not likely adopt meas
ue to the debtor than his II II is unsafe to ALLOW parties
10 make a contract coin, how can they DO allowed 70
make contracts In currency 10 DO appreciated In coin In
twoand a-half yearsi II coin contracts are brought
about by coercion and fraud the courts VIII not enforce
them and II gold Is required consideration for pay
men OF currency contract II usurious ana VIII not
ton OF specle payment law adding to the amount OF