Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1875-09-23
PAPER CURRENCY, NOT EXCHANGEABLE
FOR COIN WORTHLESS.

No reader OF American history Is ignorant OF
the experience OF the Continental paper cur
rency-how from value something near gold it
declined to worthlessness before the close Of tho
war. More recently, the paper money of the
Confederate government ran career which
is familiar to everybody, and the story OF tho
Richmond housewife who took her money in her
basket, to bring home her beef in her pocket
book, illustrates its comparative value in its lat
ter days. SO also, in other countries, something
very similar may be even now seen. General
Boynton OF Washington describes the visit Of
the United States San Domingo Commission to
Hayt where dealer in straw hats gravely
asked ono Thousand dollars for straw hat but
who accepted as equal value four dollars in
American money. Apples on tho fruit-stands
were offered at sixteen and twenty dollars in
Hayti currency, or eight to ten cents in silver.
These examples illustrate paper currency
whose redemption in coin is not assured. In the
case of the Continental money, there was pos
sbility that it would be redeemed in the other
instances that prospect had grown very faint Or
had entirely disappeared. No holder Of Confed.
crate notes hoped for their payment, when Lee
had surrendered, and with that military result
value went out of them.
What We say therefore, is that there ia no val
ue in paper currency except the prospect OF
Its redemption in gold or silvcr II this is def
nite, and at all times practicable, the notes will
be sat par" as a matter of course, and while
they will not deprecate, they will not produce
the demoralizng effects of IN inflated and re-
.dnndant currency. Bat the moment their re-
demption becomes clouded by distrust or uncer-
tsinty the moment there is hesitation or refu-
sal to pay them tho moment it is seriously pro-
posed not to provide day certain when they
shall be paid, that moment they fall in value,
one, five ten, twenty per cent, as compared with
gold. In Hayt the issue was SO immense that
NO one believed redemption possible, and there
was, besides, more currency than the TRANSACT
ton of business required. The depreciation was
therefore enormous.
But in our own case the similitude with Hayt
is exact. We are not 80 badly of but we are on
tho same road. Our paper notes bear the Gov
ernment's promise to pay, but noue have yet
been paid and it has remained uncer.
tain when any would bs. Before the war
closed gold had reached premium of
$50, the prospect OF the governments pay
ing its notes looked 20 dark, but the capture of
Richmond brought it down, and the surrender
OF Lee still further reduced it, while, in the
year 1865, so much did De prospect Of payment
improve, the decline in the gold premium, (and the
corresponding appreciation of paper,) was over
SO per cont. (By typographical error, last
Saturday, we stated this at 49, And since 1865,
the quotation of United States paper has varied
exactly as financial, commercial, and political
influences made it likely or unlikely that its re-
demptiol would soon begin. Whenever repudi-
alton was suggested as it was by President
johnson at one time, and by numerous Western
Democrats at other times, then the quotation Of
greenbacks FELL and people showed their dis.
trust by putting an advanced valuation on real
money. Only last week, the ufationist triumph
~ the Eric Convention sent gold up two per cent.
Why? Simply because it placed more doubt oil
the prospect OF redeeming the greenbacks.
Now, one point more II the time OF specie
redemption, now fixed at three years and
quarter hereafter, shall be indefinitely post.
oned, and tue United States shall refuse Or fail
TO name any other time and If, then, there
shall be large increase in the volume Of the
Governments notes put in circulation, without
any assurance of their redemption how will the
situation differ from that Of Continental notes
Or Confederate scrip,or Hayti shinpiasters! Like
those eurrencies, ours will DO dishonored, and
its payment doubtful 1t will be true OF it that
tue promised payment is not made, nor any time
fixed when IL will be- Pretending to DO "re-
deomGble," it Will DO in fact as irredeemable as
tue trash Of llayti. Under such circumstances
our paper notes will dopreciate, and the gold
premium will rise, and the point where this
movement will 10 checked no man can foreteI
for it will depend entirely on the viii OF the peo-
pie who make the Government which issues the
paper money. And if they arc not ready to try,
now, to get down to an honest and safe money
who dare predict when they will be?