The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-01-24
Owning Stats suarslal



gls THE CURRENCY QUESTION.
The Richmond Dispatch Of this morning
answers the senseless and conceited assump-
ton Of the New York World and Tribune
in very able leader. It overthrows the
silly assumption common to al the specie
worshipping crowd THAT contraction Of the
volume Of the currency increases the value
Of what is left in circulation just as wheat
or corn increase in value as the supply
diininishes. It has never occurred to the
editor Of either paper to ascertain for him
self whether the comparison is good one.
He assumes that it Is. and that. being SO.
man who asks for more currency il q
fool, as indeed he would be if the rea-
soning were sound. But the fact is
that wheat and corn perish in q single
usage. They can be transported
only certain distances. They are
circumscribed in their power of circula-
ton. Theg can be used but once. And,
ofcourse, # there is more wheat than there
is . demand for, the price falls. But none
Of these things are true as to greenbacks.
They can 60 all over the Union. Thsir
s transportation costs next to nothing. They
are not circumscribed in their power Of
circulation, or, at any rate, they pass all
over this vast country and in some cities
Of Europe. They can be used orer and
suer again. And here il where the theory
of The World and The Tribune fails. An
addition to the volume Of the currency
will not necessarily diminish the value Of
the whole, for the reason last given above
namely, the fact that greenbacks may
be used over and over again. VI
If the Government Or the banks that
issue these notes were in danger Of bank
! ruptcy, that fact would destroy the
value Of the currency. But as long as
the revenues Of the Government amount
annually to one.half Of The sum Of cur
rency Of the country. and it is able to
4 csFry at par NTH gold = debt Of two
thousand millions Of dollars, it IS abso-
lutte nonsense to say that its promises
to pay can detefiorate very much
in value. The Tribune and The
World would consider a man q great
fool who should say that Oakley Halls
promise 70 pay, q million Of dollars
was better than Vanderbilt's promise to
pay ten millions. Vanderbilt's greenbacks
to the amount Of ten millions would bring
more in the market, dollar for dollar, than
Halls greenbacks, although the latter had
out only one-tenth as many. The quan-
tity in circulation has nothing to do with
the price. The beggar's note for one
dollar is not good. The purchaser
man tosWhoms the paper is offered as
valuable decides for himself whether the
issuer is able TO pay 1t. and having de.
cided in the affirmative, he takes it. IT
nust besEo as to hank4notes and green
backs. They will remain good as long as
the government and the banks are solvent.
The banks cannot issue a dollar for which
they do not pledge one dollar and eleven
cents IN bonlsI that are worth their face
j Or sgold. Now. IN the name Of com
nion-sense, how could notes thus se-
cured and.thus issued. depreciste 80 IS to
beworth only fifty cents III the dollar in
gold, as q consequence d a doubling Of the
amount Of them in circulation? II is
simplH impossible. and the men who thus
adhere to old theories are themselves
the FOOLS We give them their own epi-
thet.n N &ss "
The Dispatch then shows conclusiyely
that BY means Of checks, which constitute
large portion Of our real currency, lis
volume is sswelled more than ten times
without any Injurious depreciation Of prop
erty. In word. the currency is dupli-
Gated and reduplicatcd By means Of checks,
and no depreciation follows and yet we
are told that if we double the currency
itself depreciation must follow. We do
not believe it, and shall not believes il,
until we see the fact demonstrated before
ourown eyes,
There IS more sound political economy
, in this thoughtful leader than in all that
the great dailies Of New York have
written since the panic began.
Make money absolutely good By honest
coinage and issue and there cannot be too
macAef u n cTcalation. Our money to-day
can only get in circulation by an exchange
of equivalents for it. IL is absolutely good.
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