New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-04-16
Mint Drop" Rant.

One OF the papers which has become ma
nomanaic upon the subject of resumption of
specie payment has the following.
"a Michigander' writes not at all like a
goose to the Financial Record in favor Of
more" of Senator Chambers better
money! He thinks we need above all things
to stop lying. lie has ragged and greasy
bill before him dated, as near as lie can find
out, he says, in 1869. Ii says on its face !:
THE United States will pay the bearer two
dollars" If he were to go to Washington
and demand the tuliilment of this promise
Secretary Richardson would turn up his nose
at him. The United States doesn't keep its
promises. If neighber promises him a bar
rel OF cider, and don't give ii to him, he sets
his neighbor down as shabby fellow. Ifhe
promised it in exchange for something he had
receiued, and don't give it he considers him
q cheat
And this is The kind Of rant and nonsense
which the editor thus approves;
eff in court" continues the indignant
" .Nlchgander,' che should acknowledge
the service, and the engagement, but pleaded
that he did not promise for any particular
time, he wond be a bareface swindler, and
his act would be fraud. Ii further he
should claim that he would do this because
he was rich and powerful, and too poor to
follow him through the courts, he would be a
scOundrcl. If he denied his promise he
would be liar. Ifhe tried to give value to
his repud!ated agreement by warning other
people against initiating or counteifei,ing it,
he would be an impudent rascal. If he per-
suaded the courts to force me and other poor
people to accept such promises to pay as
valuable, he would be a tyrant and monopo-
list"
If "a Michigander' was fortunate enough
to have any of the rags which raves so furi-
ously when the late panic begun, we have not
a doubt but he carefully secuted them till
the excitement was over, Just as he would
gold under the same circumstances, deeming
it perfectly safe. Millions upon millions of
dollars Of these ragged and greasy bills
were thus hid away by the people during the
panic. If they had believed them worthless,
'barciaced cheats, 'lyin@ promises" and all
that sort Of thing, they would have made
haste to pay their debts with them, or dis
pose Of them in some way for whatever they
would bring. With this very two-dollar bill,
"Michigander' coulI have paid his taxes
either to the State or General Government,
or any other debt he might owe. He could
readily have exchanged it for food, or cloth
ing, or anything his family might require for
their comfort or pleasure. And he could
have loaned it at ten, fifteen, or twenty-five
per cent, according to his own greed and
the necessity Of his cue toner, on any secu-
iity he might demand.
There is not a single obligation, except the
payment of duties on foreign imports, for
which a 'greenback" is not Gas good as
gold" at its face, and there is not man in
this Union who will not receive it in cx-
change for anything he may possess. 1t is
the best and safest currency any people ever
possessed, and has done more materially
toward saving the nation, but to develope
the resources and promote the prosperity Of
the country than all other causes or agencies.
The people are satisfied with it. Everybody
but bankers, brokers, and money lenders, are
satisfied with it; and even they guardcdly
boarded it away during the panic, or used
it to augment their incomes and profit.
Business men out of few Of the large
cities, those who have built our railroads,
rolling-mills and other iron establishments,
our manufacturing industry, and whose en-
terprise has done so much to render our
country independent of foreign nations, are
satisfied with our circulating medium, and
are willing to wait for its redemption in gold
till we have outgrown the disastrous conse-
uucnces of the rebellion
Every intelligent man knows that what is
called the irrcdecmablc " character of our
had nothing to do with the late
panic. Unlike all others, it only had the
effect to increase the confidence of the peo-
pie in its nature. Every man who has dol
lar clings to it with death-like tenacity, 1t
was the only thing in which the people had
full faith. Daring every other panic, the
holders of banknotes recklessly disposed of
them in the best way and for whatever they
could. But greenbacks were boarded as
though they had been gold. And yet they
are denounced by redemptionists as utterly
" orhless!