The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-07-20
'>vuS goldii,,lbe Geep,us os II

,,lwa,s ann go t,atk TO nxscarts az 10 ask
-.adc TO give no credit and 90 backto birt'r.
Yet hi, i exac'lv Mr.. Walkers proposition
as ut present stated. 7 I~gY.
PATTERSON ntlsu III Science OF Finance, pp.
j, 6, thatino Great Britain gold supplies H.
lie more than halt per cent. OF the cur
>cncy, and bank notes and coin together
c,ake only three per cent. A New Haven
journal told US two weeks ago that chers
n $500 pissed through seven hands, ann
paid seven debts Of tbDt amount before "
va. presented at the bark. counter. Five
thousand six hundred dollars worth OF bust
ness done BY slip OF piper wnlch nad no
citation 10 nor connection with gold. II
.es'cd simply and entirely on credlt.
The exchanges etfac;ed a! the New YORK
Tearing. House were thirty.eight thoussnd
millions Of dollars 10 the year 1869. what
useless burden 10 insist that all Tits amnunt
Of business shall be done With actual gold
coin =, ..... . :
We must, therefore, use credit, which, u
but another rane for paper.money IN 1ts
! .tfprept forms-bil!s. check1. notes, etc.
We propose TO use the credit of the nation
"A the basis for this greenbacb currencY-e3-
,ctly as the so called specie system OF H!eas
Rriiain does. What forms the basis OF the
currency Of Great Britain: doid! NO:
The first thirty millions Of bank notes, issued
bv the Bank of England, do not unoer'ake
to represent specie. They represent SO mueh
money owed BY the Government TO the
bank; in Other words. they represent Gov
eminent bonds, never paid and never OK
pectcd to he paid. Precisely that Is the OASIS
we pronose to have for our greenOacks-'ne
nation. When the Bank OF England nearly
touched bankruptcy, III 1879, 1865, 1901,
tS47. 1857. and 1866. what did she ask OF the
t;,yrrnmpnt? The loan Of gold: No. she
a.kcd for the loan Of excbequer hilS-tbat
j.. substantially. Government bonds. we
mean 10 have greenbacks at all times COR
ycrlible into Government bonds, at 10"
fixed rate of Interest, such greenbacks 10
constitute the whole currency OF the c0un.
fry: all banks forbidden to issue bills. and
confined to the functions OF receiving de-
posts and making loans.
No buIlipu;st will main ain to-day that
his theory means our return to actual, SIMPLE
barter: the exchange OF one species Of mer-
c.,andiSe- gold-tor every other species,
whenever q sale is made. Every one OF you'
readers will allow that we must Use credit.
Credit means gTeenbackS, bauk-bllls. checks,
ticposits. gold certificates. etc. Inc only
ul:e.tions ae: 1. How many OF these shali
NJ ailrwcd-that i, what amount OF cur
rencv Shall be allowed! 2. Upon what shall
they be bised- upon gold or some other Sc
,1lri'.!
70 the first question we answer, The bu-
Stress cf country always settles the amount
u it, currency. No matter what be lhe
t,rma or supposed system, specie basis or
paper, The -ubpyc statement remains always
inevitably true. Great Britain pretenus 10
-cte thai after thirty million. OF baph-oliIS'
based on Government bonds, no more paper
money SHALL exist which does not rrpre.en.
actual sovc1eigns deposited 10 lbe Bank OF
Euglauu. But the merchants creaicu OF
themselves currency enough I'D le69 10 tilscI
exchanges ut the London C'earl s-House
,m0unlipg 10 seventeen Thousand UNIONS vi
IUlarS.
Our paper-moucy banks aud Government
supposed that they bad iiIn'tcd the currency
20 somewhere about elght hundred m'l'loLs.
Hlr The merchants in 1869, created enough
currency in The shape OF notes, CHECKS, an"
certificates OF deposit 10 effect exchanges IN
New York amounting to tulrty-eISht thou.
Sand mIlllous.
The fact is, the democratic principle GOV.
ems trade. The day when Go,ernaenls,o or
.1oull be luade and what should be it.
pl,cc-hoa much gold-iace should be made
md who should make t-has pissed
away. Who would dr,a m to-day Of choos
100 five hundred bank directors TO settle
now much coal should be mined, bow much
wheat planted, aud bow much cotton cloth
mateY Supply and demand set lie such
questions, and the world recognizes that 50
such things are best settled.
Banks and secretaries OF treasure, imagine
they determine the amount Of the currency
As well migut Old Probabilities clam thal
he de,e,mined the weather. BE and they
only record what mightier forces do.
Business creates just such, and just %
much. currency as it needs, everywhere and
al all lluses.
You will ask. if this be 50, why are not
sou gittIback- content! lwlll tell you.
Al present only larg" capitalists, hlnkS, and
the layuri'cS Of bank. can thus create cur
rcncy. il Is 4 mon0EDly-a very close COR
pnration or ling. When half dcz"n Rhode
i,iaud banks ii!cd. and their books were
exposed 10 the public gtZ', we SEW that one
great tirn-the Spragues-had borrowed
Ill their funds. At present, tins power OF
making currency is coDbned 10 DaDk> ana
ucir pets. We mean the whole people
>hhl e. " it. Whoever can pledge pro-
perry shaft be rnthlcd TO 4 certain pro-
portion of lis value in greenhack>. The >!s.
ten Will not increase the currency By one
dollar. 1t will only give us more greenbacks
and fewer checks. Checks are ariStocraiic,
grccnbick> are democratic. 1t will put the
man ailh one thousand dollars on par with
The uan who hls million, SO far as the
powrr Of using his means il concerned. II
will regulate interest better than gold and
the Bark OF England can do. NG7holder OF
grccnback viii lose dollar while the Union
lasts: and hat is ali the English caim-viz.,
thar no holder of Bauk of England note
VIII lose a shilling while the Empire stands.
Yours, WENDELL PHILLIPS.