National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-18
THE BY-GoNE INVITATIONS.
AMERICAN STRUGGLES eAGAISsT Z
REDUNDANT CURRENCY.

REDUNDANr CURRENCY.
BARTER RAND CREDIT MoNEY-FIRsT PAPER
MoNEY-ExPANsIoN AND PRosrRATioN-
RESUMPTION = CONTINENTAL MONEY
srEoE THE REVOLUTION.
The following condensation from Mr.. W. q.
Summers late work on "AmericAn Currency" are
taken from the New York EvesfRs Posf'
RARTRR cUEREEoT.
- -sFThe colonists began som amer the settlement
of Massachusetts Bay, to use . barter currency
ostsnsfbly because they had not money onougni
really because they wanted TO spare tre Hotios
currency to purchase real capital which was their
true mead I'm 1885 musket bullets were Used for
change at farthing apiece, legal tender for sums
under twelve psnee.l The currency history Of
tnla oouptry has been nothing but repetition Of
.thia down 70 the present hour. 1t has always
bSen claimed that new country must bs drained
of the precious metals, or that It could not afford
10 expensive 8 medium. The new country really
neets capital in all forms. .--sF3v.5 8
tsThe only question is, whether, being poor and
rnkble to get all that Il wants Il can better afford
% DO without foreign commodities or without Epe-
ole currency. No sound eoonomist can, hesitase
how to decide this question The losses oeeasioned
by bad currency far exceed the gains from i'm
ported eommodltieS The history Of the United
States from the landing Of Winthrop to to-day is
a reiterated proof OF Il. The best protection TO
native manufactures Il to keep due proportion
of the nations capital in specie circulation, and
do without, or ind substitutes for, or learn 70
make the things which the people cannot afford
to buy from older and more advanced countFies =
'sCrsdit, in its legitimate FORMS Is priceless to
q new community, but when used IN nleRitimate
FORMS as in a pare credit currency, or currency
into which credit enters an indehnAble element,
1T makes legitimate credit impossible. This his
tory will do little more than to expose the errors
Tn nIstAking credit currency for money, and money
Tor capitsl-errors which are repested to-day BY
the new StAtes-and to show the bad results OF
those errors 81.
1.-THE barter currency was inferior to gold and
silver in cost When corn and beaver, and In fact
all other products were made legal tender, no one
would pay debts in specie. It was boarded and
paid away for imports
"a barter currency is also the most rapid Of all
-currencies in its depreciation. II COW will pay
taxes the leGnest COW will be given. II corn Will
pay debt, the corn which Is Of poorest quality or
damaged to q certain extent VIII be given. If
large number of commodities are made legal ten
der, the poorest quality Of the commodity which
may be cheapest At the time Of payment, viii be
given: Credit operations are therefore made In
possible" ....
IN 1852 the 'pine-tree coinage" was established
S.I' sachusetts, but the barter currenc wss con-
hoIhc IN wampum or peaR being also
Y. DIo ne "a. sted. As the law forbade the
aWSrI nolLie '" s4e-. It was either Struggled or
= Y. sea .oiple laid down by Sir Thos.
Gresham, in Queen EIiIsbsths time, that Q bet
tel and e worse currency cannot circulate to-
gethef but that the worse will drive out the bet
ter, was the only secret"
THE FIRST PAPER MONEY.
In 1890 an expedition WAS sent against Canada,
the pay ment Of which was to come from the booty.
The expedition failed, and the frsg paper money
was Issued to supply the dsmHpdB Of the soldiers
f6r pay "SsTen Thousand pounds were issued In
notes from Sc. to S. receivable for taxes and for
geodG paid into the treasury for taxes"
''Sir william Phipps tried to suStain the paper
by giving coin for some Of It, but the soldiers dis
posed OF It at one third discount The Issues vsro
limited to $4,000, and Elo 900 In the Treasury
were ordered burned in 1891 In z6o2 Il was or
cerod that the bills DO received at per cent ad-
vance over coin At the Colonial Treasury, and the
court promised to redeem them In money within
twelve months. This kept the paper at par for
twenty yearS In the same year legal interest
was reduced to per cent The barter currency
now ceased for q time, or at least became less
Common. Felt and Bronson both quote Madame
Heights letter that, in oonpeetIcuL there were
fodr prices: pay pay a. money money and
ttrusting.' The merchant asked bis customer how
he would pay before nxinS the price. PAY was
barter at the Government rates; money was
SpaniIh or New England eoin, also wanpum for
change; pay as money was barter currency ct
prices one third less than the Government rates;
trusting wRS an enhanced price, according to
time A sIKpenny knife cost Id. In pay, Sd. in
pay As money, and Cd. In coin"
To meet the expenses Of . second expedition,
IN lfeo $4,000 in bills Of credit put In crcu-
latioH, and in iii $4,000 more. In 17o9 the time
{or redemption was set at four years; In ITO at
FIVE years; In I'LL at sig years; this injured the
credit OF the bills OF the Same time that they be-
came redundant. The depreciation now began
The psper was legal tender, Its acceptance being
enforced from time to time by more and more
.stringer. ensctments.
EXPANSION AND PRosTRATToN.
The next experiment was with bank currency
founded on the value of land. This was no better
method than the previous Issues, and loans issued
for five years were allowed to run over thirty.
In HIS there was petition from Boston ulsr-
chants for more paper, which was laid over.
Governor Shute recommended the Assembly to
take measures 20 revive the low state OF trade.
They issued 800 900 Of bills ''because bills
scarce" ThssS were issued on loan Silver,
worth IS. ID in 1852, had risen to l2s. per ounce.
South Carolina had issued bills in LTD for war
expenses. This emission fell third the first
year, HeaA 49, sSSS-3 ~-S S0-e-~S'- ~ ~S-~-
ate.
In 1TSo Massachusetts trade was sta3nant, and
there was great cry for more dis LEI II De
observed, . says Mr. Sumner, "hoW this complaint
is heard again every four or nTe years, although
the amount Of paper was continually increasing
II Is tie best Instance in history Of the way in
which Q country grows mp to any amount Of cur.
Tsney. Here was sparse population In new
country with untouched resources, and It seemed
p them necessary to have recourse to artificial
tissues Of currency to make business erisk 10 get
up enterprises for the sake Of making work. and
20 lay bountes on products In order TO enable The
people to carry on production The distress was
ER4L but It came from turning their backs on
Nket nature offered them gratuitously, and vio-
lAtint the laws BY which they might have pronted
Of these gins
uHutchiEson,' referring TO the temptation TO
trustees, says: The influence which Q bad cur
rSncy has on the morals Of people Is greater
than IL generally imagined. Numbers Of schemes
for phhiie and private emissions were proposed
as remedies. The only sfsctual one, the utter
-SAelitiOn sf the bills was omitted Expeditions
NSrs favored for the purpose Of bringing about
Issues Of psps<, and public works were advocated
Tor tbs same reason In 1f2l Massachusetts, Is
susd 500 CO. and forbade buying and selling sill