Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-10-06

Treasurer New, who mas lately feturheu
. from the West, reports that this move
ment is likely to 60 on with greater rath-
er than less. rapidity.
AN HONEST CL-RRENCT.
GOVERNOR WooDFoRD's SPEECH IN GIN.
CINNATI.
Hon. Stewart l.. Woodford, ex-Lieuten"
ant Governor of New York, is rcvolutionlz-
ing public sentiment on the currency ques-
ton in Ohio; and he is doing it by pre-
senting to his audiences a plain and SIM
DIE statement of the facts bearing on the
subject. He spoke in Turner Hall, Gin
cinnati, on Thursday evening, September
%. He said:
s.e ..C1TIzENs OF CINCINNATI:-l am here
J TO plead the cause of an honest currency.
iEApplause.] And by an honest currency
/ mean one whose every paper dollar will
buy Just as much as its gold dollar. APP
! plause.1 Whose gold dollar will buy no
. more than its paper dollar. and whose dol
lar is worth as much as to-day as it was
Yesterday, and no more than it will be
worth tomorrow. Such currency is de-
handed by business morality; 1t is de-
manded by business expedicncy. Such a
currency we have not to-day.
There are three kinds of money recog-
nized by the law of this land. There is
cold and silver, of which we hear a great
deal, but see very little. A voice,
"Good.nl There are the National prom
ises to pay, which we call greenbacks,
and there are the circulating notes OF
the National banks, which we call
bank currency. The bank currency
is redeemab'e in greenbacks. and be-
cause you can get a greenback dollar,
9 whenever you want it, you would just
as soon have the National bank dollar rs
the areenback dollar. But you cannot get
the gold dollar for the greenback dollar.
every time you want it, The greenback
dollar promises to pay dollar. 1t won t
buy as much in the city of Cincinnati as
the gold that promises to pay it is not
worth as much rs your corn, ii you are
farmer, for your goods if you are \ mer-
chant, for your labor if You are me-
chanic.
Now, for example, as am simply Il
quiet lawyer, who always believe in call
ing my
WITNESSES TO THE STAND,
we will call the greenback to the stand.
First, it reads, 1.-The United States will
pay the bearer five dollars" 1t does not
say, This is five dollars 1t says
"promises TO pay five dollars Now.
there is a s5 gold piece take good look
at it, for you probably have not seen one
for long time. [Laushter.l Now, that
is what that bill promises to pay. No
banker in the city will tell you but that
bill is just as good as that gold piece.
Now, will it buy as much? 1t won't buy
as much. can take that gold piece to
any banker or broker in the city of Cincin
natl, and / can sell it at premium of Just
sixteen cents on the dollar. Five times
sixteen are eighty bank will give ne
another bill Just like that and eighty cents
in fractional currency for. that s. gold
piece. Then. that is worth eighty cents
more than that.
WHAT MAKES PROMISE COOP.
Now. have,you ever stopped to ask your
self Just what that difference is? The pa
per IS the promise to pay the gold, and the
promise is not as good as the gold itself.
Why? There are two things that enter
into every promise--one is ability, and the
other is inclination. For example, you
may be just as honest as sunlight, and ii
you are not able to pay that note it Is
worth nothing to me. On the other hand,
you may be perfectly able to do it, and if
you are not inclined to do it, your note
Is not good. If you are one Of those
men. SO plentiful in New York -
and perchancc there may be some here
who try always, if they owe debt, to see
if they can wiggle out Of it in some way,
when that note falls due you must pay il,
and have got to employ lawyer, and
pay him 80, TO recover II tor me; then it
is wosln oaiy sgt is NE. ~~''
Your note is not worth "a hundred dol
lars, because you have not the Inclination
10 pay it. A man must be able a;.d in
clined to pay his debt before his aotc is
absolutely good. When these two meet
together a note is absolutely good, and is
just as good as the money it promises to
pay. For example, you may have 500
in your pocket. There are men in Cincin-
natl, to whom you would rather lend that
500. and Get note bearing interest, be-
cause your money would then earn inter
est, and you would know that when the
note came due you would get every cent.
They are able to pay and they are willing
to pay.
Now. there is the note of your Govern
ment and mine, that promises to pay that
S5. Why is not that note just as good as
that g.? You don't question the ability
Of The Government 10 pay its debt; the
resources Of the country are boundless,
and we are able to pay our debt whenev-
err we are willing. The question is not
one oil ability, but of inclination. Zap
piuuse. n Why is not that note, which is a
promise to pay, just as good as the gold
itself? Partly because we have not the
gold in hand; partly because you don
see that both political parties are taxing