The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-08-29
OF A GREENBACK.

I was bora in paper mill and sent naked
to the government printer. When this tunc
tionary received me I was an embodiment Of
purity, without speck or blemish. l was
poor, child of rags. My value was some
fraction of a farthing, but by direction OF the
sovereign power the deftest artisans were sci
| to work to clothe me with robes of such in.
genious design as to defy imitation. This was
done. Afterward there was printed across
my face bold superscription,
ONE DOLLAR,
and there was added pledge that whoever
should bring me back to the public treasury
should be paid one dollar on demand In
company with millions of other pieces OF
paper like myself was then sent out into the
world representative creature. My maker
pledged his sovereign word that was worth a
hundred cents, and issued his prescript
making me legal tender for one hundred
cents throughout his territory.
/ first fell into the hands of soldier, who,
full of patriotic desire to serve his country,
had volunteered to carry gun in its de-
tense for thirteen dollars a month. He had
quit an occupation to assume this duty in
which he earned twice that amount of money,
and there seemed to be a grim sense of an
unfair advantage taken of him in the way he
crammed me in his pocket. But the
next day, when he smoothed me out and
sent me, bright, crisp and new, to his
wife, in a letter filed with precious loves and
loneings which shall never disclose began
to feel the importance Of my mission in the
world.
This feeling was nothing abated when the
soldiers wife paid me to her landlord, who
received me by virtue of my legal tender
character, but with much demur. 1t was a
pleasure to know that I had stood the good
woman instead of dollar in spite of the
prejudice of her creditor. l was evidently
destined for an active life. My new owner
was as swift to get rid Of me as he was slow to
take me. He paid me to his butcher, the
butcher handed me to farmer. The farmer
kept me for months IS matter of curiosity.
He told his wife | was government bill.
Finally he exchanged me for merchandise.
The merchant who received me sent me to
bank. The bank made wry face about it.
The merchant owed the bank thousand dol
lars and he paid his debt with a thousand
legal tenders. As the merchant had only
given the farmer sixty cents worth of muslins
in exchange for me 1 could not understand
the fairness Of this transaction. A short time
afterward / understood it.
There was a ship at Calcutta, in India,
which had taken on board a cargo of merchan-
disc to be delivered at New York. The cap
tain being cautious man, and informed of
the terrible war raging in the United States,
and of the paper tokens which had usurped the
place of gold and silver in that unfortunate
country, stipulated in his charter that the
consignees should pay him his freights Sin
gold dollars, and made his long voys ge moth
ing doubling. was one of the dollars the |
poor captain was obliged to take instead Of
gold, after going to law about it.
He received me on the check of his con-
signee, and sold me again over the counter
Of the bank that paid me out to him for less
than one half of my apparent value. The
obiurgations of that weatherbeaten skipper
as he received his coins convinced me that |
was circulating fraud, and that the promise
across nv face was a lie. "No government"
said he, "can make bit of paper equiva-
lent to dollars worth of silver, or gold, or
wheat, or pork, unless it is ready to redeem
the paper at all times in silver gold, wheat or
pork, according to promise. He went his
way an angry and ruined man.
The bank sent me westward to pay for corn.
The farmers paid me to the merchants, and
when the merchants began to get in debt for
goods was sent eastward again to pay for
merchandise, I became a noted traveller
Sometimes in single week | had dozen
different owners. Having, as | said at the
outset, no intrinsic value, my extrlnslc worth
vas the sport of circumstance winning
battle added to my purchasing power, losing
battle lowered it.
None of my owners, except such as had
lebts to pay, could place any certain fifth IN
ne. l huctuated in their pockets. l went IN
1t one price and was pulled out at another.
All business was conducted with wide mar
,ins of distrust caused by the hazard of my
,apricious caperipgs. l was the life of specu-
ion. Prices swelled to answer the distension
# the medium of exchange; and all the fools
we're rich.
Sometimes when railroad company paid !