The Ottawa free trader., 1874-05-30
THE CURRENCY QUESTION,

Istand-still. 1t seems entirely satisfied VIII
: the national bank system, as now fastened Oi
the country, and would prefer national banf
papcr TO paper issued direct from the lnltet
States Treasury, for which all the resource
= and property Of the government are llaOl'
g and pledged At present the people are pay
, ng the national banks over S22OO0,OuO
year tc furnish them currency to rahsac
The business of the country Why not say,
il, by having the currency issued direct tC
} the people by the government! Can the + hEi
{, TRADER tell? .,
But the FREE TRADER wants gold ana Sll
yer How is il going to get it? Suppose
the Government and the banks were to re
p sumo specie payment tomorrow, how lOn-
would il last? We have the highest author
jty for saving it could not last two weeks, II
} il did two davs. If this be so, then what all
this pothcr abouty 1t is simply clamor loF
an impossibility, in order to raise smuuge
to protect the national banks in the enjoyment
of their rich monopoly.
In denounciug a deprecated paper cur
rency, the Ige will go as tar as the FREE
/ TRADER, or any other journal. The age Is
for the best currency that can be got, TN a
paper.dollar will buy gold dollar. But II II
be necessary, in order to reduce the rate OF
interest to &, or even per cent, TO have Spe-
ferred from ten to fifty years, and, if necessary,
to eternity Instead of stripping the indus
trial interests of what they have, we are Tor
taking them out of the clutches of the usuIers
and making them free, and of some use TO
themselves, their friends and the world. We
confess to the FREE TRAINER that year ago
the Age would cheerfully have seconded lis
theory of specie payments. But study since
has satisfied us we were wrong, and were Ia
boring to help sharpers and spectators fleece
the unsuspectlng masses. This insisting on
gold yard stick to measure the property OF
the country with is no more absurd than our
friends insisting upon the Ottawa Chiffon
House furnishing diamond7pointe gold forks
for their customers to eat their beeisteak with
I--Chicag0 Iadustrial Age.
If the editor of the Age had read the FELE
TRADER with half the care with which we
read the editorials cf the Age, he would not
have done us the injustice involved IN the
above Misrepresentation Of our position
What authority has the Age for saying "the
FREE TRADER wants specie resumption at
:" or that the FREE TRADER "seems en-
trely satisfied with the national banking
system and would prefer national bank pa
per to paper issued direct from the United
States treasury?
The FREE TRADER has never advocated
specie resumption at once for the reason
that that would be oppressive and unjust to
the debtor class All loans made during the
last four or five years, or debts contracted,
have been on the basis Of currency worthfrom
10 10 II per cent. less than specie. Few loans
run over seven years, except cXtradesirablc
ones at low rate of interest. Give ordinary
debtors, then, about all Of whose paper will
mature within the next three or four years,
say until 1878 to make their settlements be
fore specie resumption, and the cases of hard,
ship by men borrowing money worth s. cts.
on the dollar, and compelled to pay back ia
money at par with gold, will be very few.
Desirable as an earlier resumption of specie
payment would be for many reasons, the FREE
TRADER has never advocated an earlier re-
sumption than 1873, for the reason thus indi-
Gated.
AS to national bank bills, while their real
cost to the country, which the Age absurdly
puts at $22, 100000 year, is grossly exagge-
rated, the FREE TRADER has always main
tanned It's preference that the only paper c,n-
rency of this country should be the greenback,
issued directly from the national treasury.
Such currency, always redeemable in gold,
We maintain would be the best paper currency
the world ever saw.
We are surprised that the Age should use
language like this: Suppose the govern
ment and the banks should resume specie
payment, how long would it LAST" And so
on Is this ignorance or wilful ClaptrGp q
Does not the Age know, that over since that
memorable June day in 1871, when L. s.
bonds in Wall street. at Frankfort and Lon
don touched par with gold, the government
has had it in its power TO resume specie pay
ment at any time? The government has, say,
$400,000000 of greenbacks in circulation
How much gold would it take to Goat these
at par? Probably not $l00OOO,O 900; but say
it would take $400,0O0,000 With govern
ment bonds at par at the great money cen,ers
of the world, how much trouble would it cost
lnb " llS DOhuS lOf
gold enough to redeem its $i00,0O0,000 Of
grcenbacks over and over twice a year. if
necessary? The grecnbacks being at par
with gold, as rapidly as redeemed could be
used in buying gold or bonds again TO be ex-
changed for gold, if needed The idea that
the government, whose bonds now command
L premium of from to 7 per cent. in gold at
the money ccnters Of the world, can't get all
the gold it wants i. ridiculous.
The editor of the .ige like John A. Logan,
is willing To confess that he has been obliged
to devote some study to this question of
finance, and he even admits that instead of
being able, like Logan, 10 master the great
problem in "two weeks" it has taken him 4
year. Had he not better continue his studies
Il little longer? His idea that initiation isl
necessary to reduce the rate of interest 10 4
4 4