The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1875-08-12
STAUNTON VIRGINIA. THURSDAY AUGUST IL. 1876.

deem it, it will be ike the Frencllman's bank
| bill-f yo've got the money. | don't want II;
| if you haven't do. Then the note and the
gold will circulate, Side by side, the one inter
changeable for the other. 70 accomplish this
| is now the object lot craftsmanship and the
greatest good to all classes, but especially to
| those who labor for their daily bread.
| PAPER MONEY. hi =
|, Aud here, fellow-eitizens, you may ask, II
! gold is.the best standard of value, why have
any other money? Why have paper money at
all? Why not fall back on hard money as the
only currency? This was the old doctrine OF
the Democratic party, Of jackson and Benton
yes, and of Governor AIlens too, forty wears
ago. The answer is that the experience OF
commercial nations has demonstrated that pa
per money is a great convenience in promo
ting the exchanges. 1t is more portable; can
be transferred readily from hand to hand; It
| can be more easily guarded from thieves, anu
it gives life and activity to trade by substltu-
| ting credit for actual 4oin- But all this is OF
paper money convertible into coin at the will
| Of the holder, not deprecated money. We
have had a varied experience in Ohio with pa
per money from the wildcat banks that splung
in existence after the war OF 1912, to our State
! bank system. Still, though we suffered many
| losses by bad paper money, yet in this country
we may consider it as a closed question that
we will have some form OF paper money
The Republican party cured one defect OF our
old bank currency by giving lis national mon
ey of uniform valne Throughout the United
States, instead of local money of State banks.
| What we still want is national money readily
| convertible into gold.
WHY PAPER MONEY SHOULD BE EQUAL To
| GOLD.
Let us examine the reasons why our cIrren-
cy should be made equal to gold. Here is a
dollar bill. 1t reads: 'sIhe United States will
pay to the bearer s1'' What is dollar? The
statutes of the United States declare dollar
to be coin weighing 25 $40 grains Of stand
ard gold. Why is it MOI. paid9 Are we unable
now, as during the war, to meet this obligation!
It is said the note does not fix the time of pay
ment. This would be no defence by an indi-
vidual in suit of law, for the Court would
say such a note was payable on demand, and
compel him to pay. The United States can
not be sued but it ought to be honest; it ought
to observe those rules Of honesty that it pre-
scribes for its citizens. Admit tnat it has the
power to say that the time of payment is a
question of public policy; but public policy
that delays the payment of such i'll obligation
after the nation is able to pay seriously i'm
pairs the public faith and sets bad example
Another reason why these notes should be
made equal to gold is that the purchasing
power of deprecated paper money depends
upon the caprice Of spectators, who put Its
value up or down at thSirswhim OF interest,"
Every holder Of this note finds its value daily
changing. It may be worth twenty-thrce
grains Of gold to-day, aud tomorrow twenty
two. 1t is like a movable yardstick or a
changeable ton OF short acre. Surely, q prom
Use depending OH the faith of q great nation
like ours, should be as interchangeable as the
i best gold coin ever issued from the min'.-
Again, a payment of such note to laborer
for his hire. or to a farmer for his grain, is a
| Ip1uciop If lie itSnIf dollar IT, promises
dollar. The United States promises to pay
for it dollar, and yet twill only buy as much
as eshty-ve cents Of real money. Suppose
its purchasing power was made equal to coin
the1l the deception would cease, and the la
borer II farmer could buySas much for eighty
five cents as he can for a dollar now. The
United States would have redeemed its prom
Use and all business transactions would rest up
OIL real values. But it is said this note is good
So it is, good to pay taxes, for the taxing pow
er agrees to take it, and the same power de-
clares that it shall be a legal tender i'll pay
nent of DEBTS; but would it not be better if il
would buy as. much wheat. and corn, and
clothing as gold? It would be good for all pur-
poses. There is no power in human law to fix
its value in gold or wheat, or labor or clothing
Everybody measures it, depreciation daily
While it is good in the Sense that the United
States is able to pay it. it is not good in the
sense that the United States does not pay it
| according TO PROMISE. OONcTllOI tAlCu Sdi
the other day, at Newark, that the United
States note and the United States bond rested
upon the same basis. So they do, but the bond
rests upon promise duly performed, and the
note upon q promise not performed. The diff
ference is IS per cent We wish to place the
notellolder upon the same footing as the bond
holder, by making our promise as good as
gold, instead Of IA per cent. less. The ques
ton we have to deal with is, are we now ready
to enter upon this policy Of honesty, of equal
ity between the notehoder and the bondholder
this policy of good money. national money
paper andgold, equal to each other and Wortl
what it promises?
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED..
Now, fellow-citizens, what are the objections
to this policy? The first and most obvious is
that existing debts and contracts, based upon
deprecated paper money, would be advanced
10 the gold standard. If this was done sud
denly, without notice. or time for preparation
it would be wong; but if reasonable time il
given, contracts will be adjusted TO meet thu
change. Nearly every one is a creditor as wei
as debtor, and debts due you will balance
what YOU owe. The advance toward a specie
standard would be so gradual rs to be imper
ceptble. The fluctuations in the value OF pa
per money have been in single year more
than the present depreciation, and yet we al
low four years for the change. When the notes
BILE in GOLD. The creditor had to suffer q rapie
depreciation but since 1865 there has been 8
gradual appreciation of our currency BY 8
wise pol icy we could have long since reached
a specie standard, but, by reason OF this very
fear of debtors, we failed to take proper meas
ures. Ten years have passed away since the
close of the war; and still we are fourteen per
cent from the specie standard, and have been
so now for five years. Shall this always con
tinue? Somebody will always be in debt. All
existing debts are based upon the knowledge
that we must reach specie standard some
time Why not now adopt the policy and
give full notice of the time and manner OF re-
sumption? Will debts diminish by pestpon-
ing UNNECESSARILY the time? We know they
will not. Would you attempt the impossible
feat of scaling the debt according to the value
of the currency when it was contracted! This,
though often proposed, has as often been re-
jected as impractieable The only policy is to
give ample time and notice, so that debtor and
creditor may adjust their obligations. and then
steadily pursue that policy until your United
States notes are equal to gold, and this, as
will show you is the policy now proposed by
the Republican, party.
ABOUT CONTRACTION.
| Another objection meets us whenever we at
| tempt to advance the value OF our currency to
| the gold standard. We are told that the specie
payments involve q great contraction OF the
/ currency would make money scarce and add to
| the present distress. This objection rests upon
a failacy. deny both the premise and the
conclusion. 1t rests upon the fallacy that we
can by law fix the amount OF currency necessa-
nv for the wants OF business. From the very