The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-09-30
Auh6fal
Wendell Phillips.
Clear Headed Letter On the Currency,
LEGAL TENDERS, BASED ON THE CREDIT
100 ~ or THE GOVERNMENT, THE TRUE
MONEY OF TIE PEOPLE

The following letter from Wendell
Phillips has been addressed to Mr.. Eu-
gene Beebe, Secretary of the New York
Legal Tender Club. 1t gives in forcible
language that gentleman's views on the
delicate question of a circulating medi-
um, and will be read with interest by all
who have money or want it; a.. 10
80. %" ls a. August, %, 1876. /
kr. Eugene Beebe, Secretary cfHs Legal
"a Tender Club: ,7s,,q o.ll..5.5 .h4.i
ADRAR SIR II appreciate the great i'm
portance of your agitation to prevent fur
ther contraction of the currency, and am
sorry shall not be able to attend your
meeting in September. 1t seems to me
there are but two questions to be consid-
cred touching the currency, ,.,,.
Upon what basis shall it restP
2, How much of it shall we havep
A long time ago there might have been
third--of what shall it bemade, gold
and silver, or paper? But the expert
enCb of business men long ago answered
that inquiry and settled it beyond recall,
that throughout Christendom the cur
tency must be paper. 1t is idle to talk
to-day Of specie basis. That gentle
hallncination has been encouraged to
quiet timid men and delude the masses.
But the thing itself has not really existed
Tor fifty or q hundred years. Great Brit
ain, where, if anywhere, such q basis
could be maintained, has to-day fifty
cents of coin to 500 of paper. [Ratter.
son, Science of Finance, PIP. 6,6, q, %,
S8, 38. Edinburgh, 1868. X
Political economy settles very few
points by theorizing. Now and then ex-
perience decides question, and it passes
into accepted and undeniable truth. In
this way business experience has decided
tk.A currency in civilized and CONNER
Cial nations, must rest on credit and con-
INST of paper. Thus experience answers
our first question; the currency does rest
and must rest on credit. Whose shall
that credit be2 Shall it be the credit of
banks and their customers or the credit
ofthe nation. This question also expe-
nence has answered, Before the war we
had banks resting each one on its own
credit Of the nation. Thisquestion also
experience has answered. Before the
war we had banks resting each one on
Its own credit. We all remember the re-
suit. The bills of a bank ceased generally
TO be current hundred miles from its
own counter. You lost ten per cent in
changing those of the South and West
for Eastern bills; and, Horace Greeley
demurely told the Committee who paid
him a handful of Western bills, "if con-
yenient / should much prefer we'll ex-
ecuted counterfeit on some Eastern
bank" What makes our National Bank
bills good, and equally good, everywhere
to-dayP The nation stands behind them.
6Hch notes pass everywhere at the same
value. because the nation guarantee them.
All the note currency we have rests on
national credit, directly or indirectly.
No man can give reason why they
should not all rest directly on national
credit, why all bank bills should not be
withdrawn and legal tenders supply their
place.
In building house you do not put
platform between the house and it's foun.
dation. Certainly not. Your walls rest
directly on your foundation. To-day the
Nation pays the banks $2000o,00O or
more to allow them to play the useless
part of standing between it (the nation)
and its own currency. DR.. Franklin's
hero, who asked his victim to pay for
heating the poker, was q most reasona.
Bile person and Solomon compared with
ourselves in this matter. have heard
Of an incompetent man put under guar |
dianship and obliged to pay trustees lib |
orally for taking careof his property, but |
] never heard OF one put under guardian |
ship and paying his guardian literally |
and then obliged to do all his own busi
ness besides, which is exactly our case. |
We furnish the credit that supports these |
bank bills, and then, we pay the banks
for using that credit.
Bagenot, tile highest authority in Eng
land, says the public takes Bank of Eng
land bills without inquiry or hesitation,
because it knows that in any emergency
the Government will sustain the bank.
Here our bills pass because the Govern
nent is distinctly pledged to do so. The
tVo great commercial centers have drift
ed into currency basis, in fact, on Gov
ernment credit, and they deliberately ac-
cept the situation.
Our first question, on what shall our
currency rest2 is fully answered by facts.
IN commercial nations it rests, and must
nest on Government credit.
second-How much currency shall we
mo mo single man, officer or institution,
can decide, or ever did decide this ques-
tior Currency made'ur Of bank bills,
denosits, notes, bills of exchange, &c.yis
IIe any other article'of manufacture
20 Nuke as much OF it as we need. The
s;ne.s of a country, when not inter-