The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-04-03

II ia impossible to make an irredeemable
ond incnnvertihle promise uniform or stable
In its value BY any function that can DC
aiuen to e Nv statute; neither BY making 1t
legal tender, nor by making 1t recelvaDle ior
tayes nor By any other device within the
compass Of human Wit.
Value will not be given except for value
received unless by gamblers, and when al.
men are forced TO guess what the value Will
he of the note they give or the note they
take, all trade, of necessity, comes down TO
the hand to-mouth method as now. After
the public mind has become thoroughly I'M
bued with the danger of dealing with SUCH
uncertain tools all enterprise ut long date
ceases. because no foresight or sagacity can
give any assurance Of success, and a forced
liquidation inevitably takes place, such as is
now upon us.
The most stable kind of paper money, and
therefore the only kind fit for ultimate and
common use in this or any country, is paper
money convertible into coin on demand.
We now use the most unfit and unstable
kind of money while kpowing well the kind
that would be most BIT, and We have the ne.
cessary results want 10 the midst of abund-
apce, widespread bankruptcy, miserable
waste and extravaganza, and, finally, public
dishonesty and fraud in high places. Wien
the nation lies can we expect its servants not
to cheat? When the nation picks the poor
mans pocket will its servants fail to steal the
soldiers money?
At the beginning of our history as nation
Pelatfah Webster denounced the paper mo-
ney of the Revolution. He said OF It:
off 1t saved the State it has also polluted
the equity of our laws. 1t turned them into
engines of corruption aud wrong, corrupted
the Justice Of our public administration, de-
stroyed the fortunes of thousands who had
most confidence in ii, enervated the trade,
busbapdry, and manufactures Of our coun.
try, and went far to destroy the morality of
our people,"
More pregnant words could not now be
spoken, nor truer picture drawn; we end
the century in the first decade of which these
words were witness to the facts of that day,
with our present laws enforcing lie-our
Supreme Court degraded, our administra-
ton corrupted, the fortunes OF the rlcn
fading away, the welfare of the poor i'm
perilled our trade, husoandry, and manu-
lectures enervated or psraIyzed; our trades.
men compoundipg in bankruptcy for the
gambling risks that have been forced unon
them by vicious statutes, and with the repre-
sentatiyes of each of our. two great parties
in Congress WearyiDg the country With strife
and contention, uncertain and Tacillating IN
their purpose.
The QUESTION now arises, is there not a
middle ground between the best ana the
worst kinds of money that may oe adopted
TO bridge over the passage from the latter 10
the former? 40 r., d.. !..'
1ta y IL oc
to god-the one which changes least 10 its
value or relation o"gold, aud the one which
iD these late years has changed only IN the
direction of becoming more valuabe-is the
government bond bearing interest in gold.
1t is now belevedthat 30'yesr At per cent.
bond will sell at par 10 gold, and that 90
year per cent. bond would sell at ~ to 30
10 gold, especially with interest quarterly.
1t is obvious that the latter bond, after us
value ip gold had once become established,
would fuctuate less than the bond known
as the greenback or legal-tender note.
The one bears interest and yields income,
and therefrom it obtains its certain and steady
value. "'.'n
The otberjis endowed by statute with the
function of paying debt and taxes, and there
from obtains use and uncertain yalne. =
) The value which ensues from the income
of the one" is more stable than the value
which ensues from the use of the other.
Uniformity -stabllity-being the most es-
sential element in that which Institutes
money, can we not impart the stability of the
interest.bearing bond to the note which serves
as money? Possibly we may. v<#
/. Let the egal.tender note be convertible
at the will Of the holder into the fifty.year
bond, with interest at fourper cent, payable
quarterly. s&"
2. Let the bond be recoverable into a
simple Treasury note, receivable for alltaxes
and dues Of the Government, except duties
upon imports and interest on the public debt.
3 Let this Treasury note be recoverable
into the bond at. the pleasure of the holder.
The fifty-year four per cent. gold bond, with
interest quarterly, would thus become the
standard of the value of both kinds of notes,
which would then cease to fuctuate excepl
as the bond itself huctuated, and, as has been
said, the fuctuation inthe value Of the bond
itself would he very slight. and in general
its tendency would be constant toward par
in specie. This plan has been suggested in
Washington. If it were adopted We should
have for the time beng three Kinds Of notes
fifsy.year bond; the bank-note convertible
into the legal.tender note; the Treasury note
convertible and recoverable into the fifty.
year bond. But they would all be gagged
By the steady value of the bond; they would
all be alike In being receivable for all taxes
and dues except duties and interest upon
the public debt. TIE difference would be
that the first would be legal tender, The
second would be useful only as an instru.
ment of exchange, the last would be valuable
because it could be converted into an instru'
ment paying income. For all the common
uses of notes one would serve as well as the
other. ....d. -
1t is therefore clear that at some period
for instance at the present time, large amounts
cause they are piled up In excess of any
cannot be probably lent or used. &c
To the extent,of such funding the vicious
element Of our currency would disappear
the banks would still hold an ample reserve,
and would not be compelled to contract
their loans. The moment greater demand
for legal,.epder notes eIsued for conversion
and trenched on those needed for use, the
rate of interest would advance beyond four
per cent, and the funding process would
close. Ii more notes were then needed as
instruments Of exchange the reconversion Of
bonds would begin, and the plain Treasury
notes would pass from hand to hand, sery-
ing the same purposes in all respects rs the
present note, except in the rare case Of an
actual. legal tender becoming necessary.
The legal.tender currency could not con.
tract below>the sum needed for bank re.
serves, because such Withdrawal would cause
an advance id the. rate of interest beyond
the four per ceRt., obtalnable upon the bond,