The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-02-20
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IS 1t is pretty We'll EettRQ AHAt tur sAo'fsssSo
ssinfla.ionists arc in q mtority.ia Con-
gress--a majority sufficiently stropgto carry
their views out In some useful Tgay. 40
call them infls,ionists ois to be guilty OF .
uaisappiication OF term In order TO con-
denim policy which cannot be fairy de-
feated by argument. No man, we oe''eVe'
has proposed to add more than seventy nfi.
lions to the paper, currency. and. the STATES
OF the East have an excess OF thcir snare Vi
the present currency Of more .tnan Iha1
amount. The States in Gefcit can Justly
claim that amount to make them equal win
their sister States. 1t is absurd to say That
the cqualzipg the distribution OF the paper
money will affect its value.
But we doubt whether the seventy mil.
lions will be added. The amount will pro-
badly be less. But be it that, or less, there
can be from such Increase no depreciation of
the value of the currency based, as it Is,
upon the credit Of the whole nation, and
procured by those who issue it upon
pledge of United States bonds, more IN
amount than TIC paper money they receive
from the Government, yet worth their lace
In gold.
Those who oppose any increase are cla-
morous for specie payments, and lay down
the proposition that gold Is the only OASIS
for money. Against this dogma is the lac'
that this basis fails rs soon as there Is dis.
trust of the paper money that is based upon
it. The moment the public are anxious to
convert their paper into gold those who
issue the paper suspend the redemption of
their notes with gold. BE it The true basis
or not. we ask what sort Ct basis can that
be which in this country has not been paid,
has not come to the aid Of its paper repre-
sentative, more than one third of the time CT
the present century! The present. suspen-
sion has lasted fifteen years, aud must last
some years to come.
But through the war and its necessities we
have now basis which is satisfactory to the
people-that basis of the public credit Of the
nation. That is better than gold. Educated
as we have been, we suppose everybody
looks to the ultimate redemption Of paper
money with gold. Aud yet why should its
redemption in this way be desired as long as
it is satisfactory to all and subserves the pur-
poses of commerce? The recent panic show
ed that it was regarded with faith equal to
that in gold. 1t was boarded like gold. AND
was it not safer and better to keep than
gold?
There has been great revolution IN the
world through the new enslnerIes OF coiD'
muuication and transportation. commerce
has enormously increased. Gold. as me
dunn of exchange, has been so anecaeu D,
these events that the hard-neney views o'
cast DAYS are totally inapplicable to these
fines. Gold may be useful In the settle
mont Of balances between banks and nations
but il can never perform 80 active part IN
trade as to approach the wants of the trans
actions of this age. So the cry for imme'
iiate specie payments is senseless. so I'M
nensely have the transactions OF the world
md the demands of commerce increased that
he agency of gold compared with its uses
q times gone by is utterly inadequate TO the
eryices the hard-money men would throw
lpon it.
There must be new political economy
y ith regard to money. BAaEuoT gives the
world some insight into the new heaven
md new earth Of finance, and we hope that
ne shall be permitted to see yet further into
I. For the present we have an entirely sat-
sfactory currency most soidly based-and
have no just cause for discomfort. And we
nav at least thank God that this Is not
hardmoney country like China and japan.