The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1874-06-12
Shall we Break our Neeks to SaYe
our Lives2


our Lives?
We promptly and unequivocally
condemned the manner in which the
President gave to the public his
views on the financial question. A
careful examination of the remarka-
bic scheme propounded in his extra
ordinary manifesto shows the mat
ter to be as Objectionable in some
respects as the manner. 1t is not
surprising that as the telegraphic
dispatches from Washington say,
the sentiment of Republican Con-
gressmen is, with very few excep-
tions, adverse to the policy recon-
mended by the President. Even the
"hard money" men-with the excep-
ton perhaps of Senator Jones,
whose reputed wealth being enor-
nous and lying in mines of the
precious metals would benefit by the
financial revolution that would ruin
nearly every one else-are staggered
by the plan proposed.
The initial point Of the President 5
scheme is the repeal of the legal
tender clause one year from now.
He says "this would cause all con
tracts made after thai date, for Wag-
es, sales, ETC., to be estimated in coin.
1t would correct our notions of val
ues. The specie dollar would be the
only dollar known as the measure
of equivalents. When debts after
ward contracted were paid in curren-
cy, instead of calling the paper dol
lar dollar and quoting gold at so
much premium, we should think and
speak of paper as at so much dis
count; this alone would aid greatly
in bringing the two currencies near
er together at par" The New York
Post, one of the most able aud in
huential and among the best in
formed Of the "hard money" jour
nals,is staggered 5y this proposition.
1t says
Imagine the Legal-Tender act re
pealed July !, 1875. There are
| 1856, 100000 of legal-tender notes
now authorized, and $S82,000,00C
are outstanding. 1t is fair to esti-
mate that there is not to-day in the
country $125,OOO,OOO in gold coin
Does the President expect that VIC
shall be able to accumulate in the
next thirteen months $159,000,00O
in gold? and $175, 100000 at least
would be needed, allowing that the
$26, 100000 legal tender notes out
standing and not authorized should
| be retired. And if he does ot,what
| does he propose to substitute for the
| legal-tender notes after they have
ceased to be legal-tender? The
banks now bank on legal tender
notes, and have little or no specie
| ANY banker will tell the President
that it would be impossible to &C.
cumulate in one year specie enough
to take the place Of legal-tendel
notes.
The Post says the plan is "crud'
and crueP' and recommended by sex
treme but impractieable people" L
compares it to curing the tooth ache
by ia King the life of the person il
whose jaw the tooth is, and to jump
ing from the roof when there is saf
descent by the stairs. 1t says ,thougl
in theory the plan is defensible, il
practice it would at present or with
in a year cause needless destruction
The whole banking system rests o.
: the legal tender notes, as does tn
| entire fabric of credit, both corpoI
ate and private. To repeal the legal
, tender act as q means Of gettini
z back to a specie basis would strik
out at one blow the very founda
2 tions on which our whole financia
structure rests. The Post say