The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-01-26
The Currency Drift.


Gen James A. Garfield contributes to the
February atlantic an important and interest
ing paper on the currency conflict. The pa
per is review of the question from the be-
ginning, and abounds in strong argument
and pertinent illustration. The reasons
brought forward in favor of the use of a me-
tallic currency, or of mixed currency con-
sisting of gold and silver and of paper con-
vertible into the metals at the option of the
holder, are those which have ever been held
by the wisest economists and most enlight-
ened statesmen, and are tolerably familiar to
all 'hard-money" men. They are however,
stated with great clearnees and force, and are
OF nature which commands for them re-
peated perusal. Gen. Garfield prefaces his
argument with an account of the discussions
attending the passage OF the legal-tender act,
and this account is in many respects the
most entertaining part of his paper. 1t ap-
pears that Secretary Chase had grave appre-
tensions of the consequences of the measure
which he proposed, saying that no man could
foresee what mischief the legal-tenders might
do when they were once let loose. As Gen.
Garfield expresses it: she gravely doubted
whether that war-born spirit, summoned to
serve US in dreadful emergency, would be
mustered out of service with honor when the
conflict should end, or, at the return of peace,
would capture public opinion and enslave
the nation it had served" His fears were
shared by nearly all the public men of the
day. In the Senate the legal-tender clause
was adopted by only five majority. Senator
Fessenden, then chairman of the committee
on finance, pronounced the measure one
which as often as it has been tried by other
countries has always produced disastrous
failure. He supported it with extreme re-
luctance, and simply and solely because of
absolute necessity, and with the understand
ing that it was but a temporary measure.
Senator Sumner reluctantly and painfully
assented, supporting the proposition only as
temporary expedient, and warning the gov
ernment against the dangers of the expert
ment. 'The medicine of the constitution"
he said, "must not become its daily Bread"
In the House vigorous opposition was made
to the measure. Owen Lovejoy opposed it,
declaring that "There is no precipice, there
is no chasm, there is no possible bottomless
yawning gulf before the nation so appalling.
so ruinous as this same bill that is before u.s.
Thaddeus Stevens in supporting the measure,
took the ground that its operation should
only be temporary, because 'It is never de.
sirable to depart from the circulating medi-
um which by the common consent of civil
lied nations, forms the standard of value"
At that day there was a positive dread of
making treasury notes a legal tender for pri-
vate debts, and the measure was only passed
under the pressure of an Overmastering ne.
cessity to meet the immediate demands of
the war, and with the determined purpose to
return to the old STANDARD at the earliest pos
sble moment. The people were substan-
TALLY unanimous in the opinion that the only
safe instrument of exchange known among
men was standard coin, or paper convertible
into coin at the will of the holder. Indeed
they had reason for their faith, for the coun-
try had fully tested almost every experiment
in banking and Currency, and knew the evils
of paper money. Even at the close of the
war sentiment had not materially changed,
and in 1866 the House passed resolve call.
ing for contraction of the currency with a
view to an early resumption of specie pay
ments.
That there has been a great change in the
ortt OF public opinion during the last ten
Jas, Jas Zen. Garfield acknowledges. Many
metallic currency. Gt he great bank Ge-
bates they are ignorant. With the examples
in our history of the evils of paper money
and the remedy brought by the re-introduc-
ton of hard money they are unfamiliar.
They fad treasury notes convenient, and
their long use has confirmed them in errone-
GUS notions of the nature and function OF
money and the standard of value. To them
money is only medium of exchange. Its
other uses are unknown to them. AS Gen.
Garfield points out, more than million OF
votes will be cast at the next presidential
election by men who were school-boys IN
their primers when the financial measures oil
1862 were adopted. So it has happened that
the theorists and dreamers and blockheads
have been listened to, that every exploded
financial dogma of the last two handred
wears has been revived, that financial prln-
ciples as well established as the theorems OF
Euclid have been sneered at, that the teach
ings OF centxr1es of experience have been
rejected, and that the country has been
agitated by the discussion of schemes, long
since proved impracticables to escape from
the universal laws of value. The fears en-.
tertained by the men who in 1862 reluctantly
passed the legal-tender act are being realized
All these schemes, new as they seem tc
many in this generation, hav We been tested
again and again and have, wh'e erever tried, re
suited in disaster. There is absolutely moth
ing novel in the financial dogmas of Henr.
Carey Baird, and Britton A. Hill, and w. ID
Kelley, and William Allen. Their Theories
were fully set forth by John Law as long ag'
as 1705, in these words: 'lf money b
established that has no intrinsic value, an'
its intrinsic value be such as it will not b'
exported, nor will not be less than the de
mand for it within the country, wealth ant
power will be attai ned, and will be less pre-
carious II The paper money here
in proposed being always equal in quantit
| to the demand, the people will be employed
the country improved, manufacture advanced
| trade-domestic and toreign-carried on, an
wealth and power attained; and It'll not b