Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-09-29
Financial Integrity.


that the foundation of the prosperity
Of nation rests upon honesty and in
tegrity. II was an old adage, never sue
cessfully controvcrted, that righteousness.
exaltet a nation. That righteousness i,
seen mainly in the financial conduct Of it,
affairs. And righteous financial system
rests, for its cornerstone, on the principle
that the government shall not permit its rev
enues to be paid in any bank paper that j.
not in fact, as well as in theory, convertible
at once into specie. This is the only means
of having any standard of values or Of the
honest transaction Of business, and the only
efficient means Of REFRESHING a circulation Of
deprecated paper money.
There is now about ssO0,OOOOO0 of cur
rency ahoai in this country. 1t has been
steadily increasing in each period of five
years, for the last fifteen years. The deprc-
citation on this paper money is sl20,000000 !;
for paper dollar is now worth but eighty
five cents in gold. That is, the United
States government promises to pay one dol
lar for what is worth only eighty-fve cents
and will not by any means redeem its prom
ise. The national banks receive six per
cent in gold for every dollar of their circu-
lation from the government, and as much
more from the borrowers OF their paper
money. The government will not take its
own paper for its custom dues, thus forcing
on al its citizens, who do business with it.
dollar that is worth only eighty-fve cents,
and compelling them to pay to it a dollar
that is worth dollar and eighteen cents
That is, If the government owes man
a thousand dollars, it compels him to take
$3.50 for the debt, aud if he owes the gov
erument thousand dollars, he is compelled
% pay it 3 $50 Of its own currency, in order
10 settle the account. II is this deprecated
currency that is now robhing the country Of
its resources, aud pushing it over into bank
rlptcy NTH augmenting rapidiiy 1t is also
insidiously corrupting the moral sense of the
community, with reference to all financial
transactions. It Stays justice and righteous
ness and honesty in the streets every day.
We have no holy horror of paper money.
We believe that it can be made eminently
useful in the exchanges Of the country, that
it can be an important fiscal agent of the
of moving great masses of specie from one
locality to another, whenever payments are
to be made and balances to be settled But
IN so far as such a system rests upon the
mao nf cra1it or invrINas tha ,,,o Of ,r,.l;t
it is a cardinal principle of sound political
economy and financial integrity, that the
paper instruments Of that credit should he
based on immediate conyertibility into spe-
cie, at the pleasure of the holder. This
point being amply secured, there is no reason
why government should not use paper money
in its transactions, and authorize its use by
individuals. But the issue of legal tenders,
or of bank paper which does not represent
specie, is a continual fraud-one which should
not be regulated but suppressed. The use
of such paper is the cause of constant de-
rangemcnt in business circles. The ex-
cessive employment of it is the certain road
to general bankruptcy
We are not for hard money " in the sense
which banishes all paper circulation, but in
the sense which admits of the use of bank
paper, or legal tender, and yet, which re-
quires it, under suitable and strict pro-
visions Of law, to BE- kept always and ac-
tually at the par Of its nomipal sneaie v.,laa
currency in this country-a currency per-
fectly sound aud safe, more convenient, and
producing local exchanges at less expense.
than any other nation ever was blessed with.
But the war threw upon the country, first,
a vast mass of legal tender notes, and then
larger mass of bank notes, for which no
provision of redemption was made. 1t
might have been a necessity of war, but il
was necessity irmght with immense peril
"a the country. Fortunately, the country
weathered the storm of conflict, and came
out with vast paper debt, but with unlim-
tied credit.
The first thing after the war was over
was to establish righteous financial policy
that is, TO make the currency and debt of
the government equal to its nominal value
10 the holders. That would have been sim.
ple bonas,,. prt ;..,..Ios 49,.
government has b.., slool,, ;naa,. A.
currency until we have IN oirn'Ia,;aa
larger amornt of h,,l nan,r IA -. ~
close Of the war and no nro,,;s;o,, II.
redeem If.
The con.eouences Of our innoanso r.,n
ity. with asset, that cannot Ina real;,ad =,
once are coming unon tbe corn+,,, ,rho
great nroducirg no,sor If ,l,o oon,,,.,....1 -.
enormous business check tb,. nro,,rass 90
these effects and mioh, ,l,;na,oia -.
them altogether if there was nat az s,rnna
tendency among politiciap. IN nlov fos, anJ /
loose with the question of the resu,nn,ion of
specie payments The country il eooded
with irredeemabe manor Tba, ia III. A.
ger from which we are no,y .ref.d,,, rh.
patient is eonseious of tba snoo,;eo 1
like the drunken man in the delirinn Ava.
mems. demands another dose Of m. van,
agent which has nroduc.d ia d;@c,r.s
II now seems ms if tho noIitics Of ,ho oo,,
finances Tn. nrsssn, con,r,araiaI -.
ment and distrsss c,nno, l.. -
any morn exnor;,oo,..I