The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1874-02-05
THE 'OGRRENcY QUESTION

never been engaged In trade or connected
with a bank Of any kind. But we have
some plain, old-fashioned notions about cur
rency, which We desire to lay before our
readers for what they are worth. The
world, as it became peopled and began to
have commerce and trade in connection
with an acknowledged and permanent right
of property, required some standard of
values, and, by common consent, the pre-
cious metals, silver and gold, were fixed
upon for this purpose. These, for thou
sands of years, have been used as measures
of value, from the little change they have
undergone and the scarcity of their produc-
tion, and they are still considered the COM
mon standard of the world. In times
of trouble and financial embarrass-
ment, resort has been had by some
nations to a paper currency and a
forced recognition thereof, but this has
never been done except under a sup
posed necessity to answer temporary pur-
pose, and as soon as possible there has been
a return to the common specie currency of
the world. There never has been resort
to paper money without innumerabIe diff
culties attending it, and especial injury to
the mass of the people using it. A few
shrewd, cunning and not oyer-fastidiously
honest men manage to proftby it, andthere-
fore they are always anxious to keep up the
system and prevent return to specie val
ues. The colonies in this country from the
old continent, being often hard run by the
heavy expenses of their Indian wars, some
times resorted to this tempting expedient of
extending their means and credit but the
results were always more or less injurious.
So, too, when these colonies confederated
together in noble struggle to obtain their
liberty and independence they resorted to the
issue of paper money, and kept on issuing it,
as it depreciated, in still larger quantities,
until it became utterly worthless and died in
the hands of the people. A bushel of con-
tinental money would not have procured its
ssEaer a single meal. Our forefathers, after
the great struggle was over, when they met
in convention to establish "a more perfect
VnIon. ;, fra,,aal si---1-1leit.sIs
specie, gold and silver, were alone recog-
nized as the legal standard of values. For
one we have never doubted the wisdom of
their determinations on this or any other
point But notwithstanding this, banks
were established and paper money issued;
and made more and more plentiful; as the
trading people demanded it; and from time
to time the currency was inflated, and the
nominal value of everything, including la
Dor, raised, and everybody was supposed to
be rich and fourishing, until something
brought on panic, and the banks failed, and
their paper promises became worthless and
the great mass of the people suffered as they
always will from such system and such a
practice. During the late unfortunate civil
war both sides resorted to paper money, or
running their credit for the time being, and
the result was, as it always has been and
always will be, the depreciation and con
slant change in value of the notes issued,
until, by the surrender of the Confederacy,
its portion became worthless. The United
States was enabled, by its superior wealth
and facilities, to hold up its rag currency
better than the Confederacy, but it, too,
went up and down with the varying phases
of the war, sometimes being quoted and
used as three or four to one. During this
period few people at the North and West
realized large fortunes, and became mil
lionaires, but no actual wealth was added
to the nation, and the ordinary classes were
not permanently benefited thereby, but in
the end seriously suffered. This is history.
Since the war this paper currency has had
no fixed value, but has gone up and down,
at the pleasure of spectators, until, when at
its highest worth as quoted, the late panic
occurred, and the whole country felt a
shock as if from an earthquake. With all
the paper money afloat, and at an estimated
value nearly the same as ever, there is COM
plant of want of money-business has
suspended, labOrers have nothing to do and
are clamorous for work, and disorder and
tumult are common in our large cities. It
is said that Congress must do something for
the people. This is always the cry when
people are in any financial distress. What
shall the Congress dog Shall it continue
the evil which has been brought on the
people by the use of paper money not
founded on specie basis2 Shall It issue more
Of the 'silthy lucro" to relieve the people
from their present embarrassmentsi Mem
bers Of the Congress, Republicans and Dem
ocrais, are divided md split up on tins
question. Some are for giving temporary
relief by the issue Of more paper money,
others deem tins favorable time to return
- specie basis and to specie payments.
That IS our opinion. Let there be a restOr-
alton of the constitutional currency Of the
republic. It must come to that at last. Let
it be now. There win never be a more IA
vorallle time.