The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1874-03-04
CONGRESS AND THE CUR
RENCY.

| hGH IL
One of the most troublesome ques-
tions to be settled by the law making
power Of our government, seems to
be that touching the currency. The
Congress of the United States has
now a monopoly of the paper prom
ises-to-pay of the whole country :;
and whenever that body thinks the
circulating medium is too scarce, all
that is necessary Is to set engravers
and printers to work, and up goes
the price of the precious metals. 1t
is a very easy matter to issue bank
notes, irredeemable as they have
been since their creation, and, in all
probability will be, until we can get
clear Of the Credit Mobiliers and
back-salary members Of Congress.
From the first issuance of the
paste-board Continental money down
to the Bank of the United States,
the Sub-Treasury, until We reach the
present greenback system, this cur
rency question has been very vexa-
tious to the people; and our law.
makers do not seem to comprehend
the difficulty. We have not profitted
by the experience of almost a CEN
fury. For now that the government Of
the United States controls all the
money of the country, and every
bank note having the appearance of
money, we still have panics and have
nothing but p deprecated currency.
In the past decade no holder OF
even a SIS note ever dared ask bank
to pay him-neYer thought OF asking
interest. Although this ''greenback'
issue is based on the solvency of the
United States, no one has ever been
able to convert it into coin without
losing one-tcnth OF its face, and at
times since its creation, something
over half was lost in order to get
money that would make purchases
in England or France, or even our
semi civilized Observation-Disclosures.
The war, which gave rise to the
issuance of all this paper money.
ceased near ten years ago. Instead
Of apprOximating a day when We
might reasonably have expected to
see the credit OF our government as
good at home as that OF other gov
ernments, we find that our financial
politicians at Washington are talk.
ing of increasing the issue of bank
notes forty millions or more, 80 as
to give us an actual circulation of
$4O0, 100000. The demands OF the
country may require an increase of
circulation, but instead OF Congress
undertaking to supply this demand,
it would be far better for our consti-
tuition to be so altered as to forever
bar that body from ever establishing
any sort of banking system. We
are fully satisfied that Congressional
banking is a decided failure, and
that it would be better that each
State should supply her own citizens
with circulation that would always
be at par at home, and, if properly
manipulated, would furnish exchange
to the commercial community at a
reasonable rate.
1t would probably require about
ten millions of dollars to supply the
wants of Tennessee.
Now the only question is, "Can
the State manage a bank. with the
necessary branches. honestly?" If
she can do this, capital OF $10,-
100000, with a safe and prudent
directory, would raise large rove
nue., and thus relieve the hard-work-
ing classes fIom the onerous taxes
they are now compelled to pay. The
State manages to collect very large
sum in taxes every year, and if
bank can be established without
mixing up politics with the appoint.
ment of officers and directors, we
can see no reason why there should
be any obstacle in the way of man.
aging the finances of Che State by
our home people.
''Power is always stealing from
the many to the few" and we find
that the States have lost all power
to do anything towards supplying a
circulating medium. We are to look
for Congress to say what we need
in the way of money, as that body
exercises all power even to prescrib-
inc our social relations