Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-09-26
The Currency Issue Explained.

The currency question, now become
of such vast political Importance in
the near future, while exceedingly
complex to those who have not given
finance much consideration is yet
simple when analysed, and the dema-
gogues who hope to make capital by
Misrepresentation ofthe two platforms,
the Democratic and Republican, will
find that thepeople are not to be de-
luded by specious argument. In the
first place the question is between pa
per money and specie, this involving
only the continuance of any form of
irredeemable currency, or a substitu-
tion at some time of gold and silver
as the medium of exchange. In the
second place it is between the green
backs and national bank note currency
as it stands at present, and larger
volume of the same kind of money, as
proposed by Mr.. KELLY of Pennsyl-
vania. In the third place it concerns
the time and place of effecting any
change in the financial system as now
organized. Now we conceive that the
Democratic platform as indicated by
the declarations of the latest conven-
tions to be that the country requires a
return to aspecie basis, and the change
ought to be effected as early as is con-
sistant with public safety. 1t there
fore ignores all considerations of the
volume of the paper currency, or any
method by which it can be improved.
The declaration is emphatic that the
whole system is false, and hence that
neither expansion or contraction can
make it meet the requirements of the
people. 1t is condemned as utterly
worthless and therefore susceptible OF
no improvement that could make it
available Undesirable. As to the means
of effecting substitution of specie for
greenbacks nothing is declared. A
violent revolution is not proposed. 1t
is we'll understood by the Democratic
leaders that any sudden destruction of
the present system would be produc-
tive of disaster, and at the same time
it is not believed that any sensible di-
rect method of substitution of specie
for gleenbacks, though causing tenn
porary financial disturbance, will fail
to result IN immediate good. The
first point to the settler is the fact of q
change from a paper to specie basis.
The mode of effecting that change
must be left to the grand council of
the nation. The opposite creed is
readily understood. 1t islands square
ly upon the greenbank and the ma
tional bank note, and the only dispute
can be as to the mode of handling
these representations of money While
some may contend for the mainten-
ance of the system just as at present
constituted, others may desire more
of the same cost. It seems to us that
there can be no stand made upon the
present currency. If it is good then
Mr.. KELLY's imitation scheme is bet
ter. If the government can print
$500, 600, 900 OF. money it can print a
thousand times that much, and it
would be the better policy to at once
strike off enough to make every man
woman and child in the country rich.
If one greenback dollar has an
intrinsic value then one billion
have just one billion times as much
value. This is the deduction; If it is
an absurdity it is not our fault. So
the issue is narrowed down to KELIY's
imitation scheme and a currency hav-
ing specie bases. There is no ques-
tion but that the people will declare
in favor of the latter.