New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-06-06
NATIONAL PROMISES.
AN OPEN LETTER FROM DR. LEONARD
RACON.

| OF THE GOVERNMENT TO REDEEM ITS PROMISES
| MEASURES THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN WITH THAT
| END IN VIEW.
| TO me Hon. HORACE MAYNARD.
| DEAR SIR: Perhaps ought to offer some apology
Tor addressing you, with whom have no personal
acquaintance. My apology is that you, as a member
OF the National Legislature, are in an important re-
lation to every citizen. Though you represent
neither the district nor the State in which reside
you are conspicuous in that House of Representa-
tives which legslates for Connecticut as well as for
all the other States.
have been reading your speech Of March "a on
| The Currency and Free Banking For lack of
| ranking privilege the envelope, instead of being
adorned with some illustrOus autograph, bore only
cheap postage stamp and am. therefore. unable
to say whether l owe this pamphlet copy OF the
speech to you or to some other member OF Congress
AT least am indebted to you for the matter OF the
speech, and desire to acknowledge the obligation.
| In your exordium, having announced the vast
ness complexity, and difficulty of the subject you
| say, while it presents much that is obvious and
palpable it conceals its governing laws, subtitle as
hitherto to have eluded the keenest scrutiny" The
first part of that statement is beyond the reach OF
contradiction and of the remainder shall only say
that do not propose to dispute about 1T. What Is
obvious and palpable" will be enough for the pur-
| pose of this letter. Those governing laws, so
subtitle as hitherto to have eluded the keenest
scrutiny" may perhaps reveal themselves after a
while in the results of that legislative wisdom which
attempts to create value out of nothing by enactng
that certain pieces of paper shall be of equal value
| in the market with certain quantities OF gold. AT
present certainly do not propose to discuss them.
| Certain things in your speech are obvious and
| palpable' to all honest men endowed with common
sense. Allow me TO quote some of them. There is a
passage H. o. in which yOu compare a ten-dollar
United States note and q ten-dOlaI National bank
note" You saw Trace them back TO the source of
ISSUE and we find the one issued in the payment of
debt, the other as loan" You say, :" For the one
there is no existing commercial equivalent; for the
| other there remains some form OF substantial
value" You say, lone is technically money u. e.,
money by act of Congressional tender for money,
| the other only promise to pay money; In short,
one Il. e., the bank note is promise to pay the
other" You say, The United States notes are, In
fact, q popular loan to the Government" the
National bank notes are loan by the banks to the
people"
How well you understand the obvious and palp-
able" appears. even more strikngly, when you pro-
coed to express your conviction that the United
States notes a perilOus issue"-more perllous
than the issue of National bank notes. 1.-THE
you Will Always Dc 'ciy sicaV, w
remit taxes and to pay the expenses of the Govern
ment in money costing nothing but the printing"
Here, them is statement Of certain I" obvious and
palpable' facts. The ten-dollar treasury note-the
greenback, az we call twas issued in payment
of debt'-issued therefore. for value received. 1t
Is simply an acknowledgement that the United States
we're indebted in the of $40 to the person who
first received it. SO Of all the greenbacks. The
United States, being embarrassed in their affairs
and, indeed, brought to the verge of total bank
ruptcy and dissolution, were under a necessity of
putting off upon their creditors these acknowledge
ments of indebtedness ue-bills'promssOry notes
payable to the bearer The Government did all that
was then in its power to make those acknowleg
ments of Indebtedness valuable to the creditors who
were compelled to receive them Not only was there
pledge that the notes should be receivable in offset
AGAINST certain debts due to the Government, but
every person within the jurisdiction of the United
States was required by law to receive them as the
equivalent of money in the payment of debts due to
HIM. We may dispute as to whether they were
really money but it cannot be denied that they
were brought as near being money mere
legislation could bring them. They were, and
continue to be, lawful money" for some uses, but
not for all uses. OF such notes issued and now in
circulation the nominal amount is not much less
than S4eO,OOOOOO They were all issued as You say
"in payment for debts; - and you compare them
with a note supposed to be given by some impecu-
NOUS gentleman for the dinner which he has eaten
at hotel. While they acknowledge value received,
they represent only value consumed. Or as you
say, "There is no existing commercial equivalent
for them.
If these things are "Obvious and palpable" land
that they you certainly will not deny, then
some other things in your speech must be explained
by referring to those governing laws so subtitle"
which have euded your scrutiny. Here begin to
touch the mysteries. The treasury notes. you tell
u.s. are not what to uninstructed eye they seem to
be- mere promises to pay money, but are themselves
| the money which they promise to pay. THAT is
| money" you say, which the law declares to be
| money! and then you quote from the act of Con-
gress which authorizes the issue of these notes. and
which declares that they shall be lawful money
| and legal tender" for certain purposes. But the
act IN the same sentence, takes good that
for certain other purposes they shall not be lawful
money. Here, surely come in the governing laws
that are SO subtitle Can thing be- and at the
same time not BET Must Ibow before this mystery I
| Or may smile at it
| Some plain men. not famili ar with the mysteries
| of finance have been so simple to think that the
formula The United States promise to pay should
be taken literally and not in some Pickwickian
sense They hold that promise which is not kept is
broken. aud that a promise made with no intention
of keeping it is lie They hold therefore, that he
United States are bound i'll common honesty, to pay
every of those notes, dollar for dollar, at the
| earliest practicable day. They hold that. as the
| giving Of those notes instead of money to public
creditors was justified only by the distress and
urgency of war; SO the refusal neglect in time of
peace to for the earliest possible payment
of the debt they stand for, is unjustihabe, and
| therefore dIsgraceful. l confess that |
| am simple enough to be one of them,