Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-10-08
Our CurrencY.


Let US approach directly the questions in
Volved. They relate to your currency, and in
cidentally to the principles that should guide
US in leVying taxes on imported goods. These
matters are directly presented to you by both
political parties, and the decision of the people
of Ohio upon them will have a Wide-reaching
influence upon the whole people of the United
States. What do we mean by the currency
question: Currency is that which by law or
custom passes from hand to hand in exchange
for labor and for the productions of human In
dustry, and for land and all acquired wealth
Properly, the word currency includes gold and
silver, as we'll as paper money, but now that
we have deprecated currency, it will be best
understood If we regard our currency as in
eluding only the United States notes, bank
notes and fractional currency in common use
in the United States. The first and principal
question is, shall this currency be made equal
in purchasing power to gold and silverl Upon
this question there ought to be no difference of
opinion among intelligent men. By common
consent in all ages of the world-in all civil
lied and semi-ciVilized nations, both Christian
and pagan-gold and silver are regarded as
the best standards of value. They are not
only easily made into current coin, but they
are in any form and wherever found of in
trinsic value, easily divided, indestructible,
and easily transported. Different natiaus
have tried many expedients to sub
stitute something else as a standard of value,
but experience has uniformly driven them back
to gold and silver. Even now in the United
States, where we have q legal-tender paper
currency, its depreciation is daily measured by
the standard Of gold. All our business with
foreign countries, and most of the large trans
LII
values. And now in spite of our law the MAJ;
ket value of all your productions, your wheat,
your iron, your labor, is measured by gold.
We deceive ourselves as the Israelites did of
old by making gods and wOrshiping them. We
make our paper money a legal tender, stand
ard of value, and naturally think II measures
the price of gold. We think VIC see gold bob
bing up and down for the play of the bulls and
bears OF New York, but 1t is our paper money
the public credit-that is bobbing up and
down. Four hundred years ago men saw as
we now see the sun rising in the East, passing
over the armament, and setting IN the west.
Il appeared that the sun was mere tender 10
the earth-a satellite to render It's daily ofi1ces
for our use. Gallileo and others proved that
all this was deception; that the earth moved
around on its axis once a day, and, as one of
the smallest of the planets, on its orbit once a
year, and that the sun was the centre Of our
system, and itself was but one of innumerabls
stars. Though this was demonstrated, and We
all now admit it, yet we still say the sun rises
and the sun sets, Just as the brokers say gold
has risen, gold has fallen; and yet, fellow citi-
zens, If We are not blinded by ignorance and
carelessness we know that gold has not risen
any more than the sun has risen. Gold cannot
20 down any more than the sun goes down. II Is
| the public credit, the promise OF the Onlte9
States to nav a dollar in coin that rises Ahu
| falls. Psper money is worth nothing but Wnat
| n promises to pay in gold, and then lts Naiue
is ip nrecIse proportion to the expectation that
| a viii be paid in gold according 10 promise.
| The commercial world measures our currency
nv their estimate or guess as to when we viii
Tsdeem IL in gold. All know that we have the
ability TO redeem IL, but they speculate upon
our Willingness to do Il, and measure In this
way the depreciation Of our note Just as they
measure the value Of an Erie Railroad bond or
any other security. Convince the commercial
world that you VIII redeem this currency in
| gold when presented and II becomes par in
gold. II will then buy as much food and cloth
ing as the best gold coin issued from the mint.
When We can redeem it It will be like the
Frenchman's bank bill-n you got the money
don't want Il, II you havn't do. Then the
note and the gold will cireulste side by sac
the one interchangeable for the other. 10 Ae
complish this Is now the highest ooleet III ~
statesmanship, and the greatest g0oS ~ for
classes, but especially to those VINO ',Si.sS,
their daily ad.-HoR. J. SasTn'a" . 1''''''