The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-07-07

''AN--S0S OOSOAAiuS unpopular Win Do1H
parties and with all respectable aud inf1u-
entail people. For one, propose to be
just as nnorthodox and unpopular on
this point as opportunity permits. There
are plenty always ready to ttik for the
rich and popular side of any question
what say is IRON conviction, hit where
it may, and be tic consequences what
they may.
The III ing fer Congress to do in order to
resume the only Kind OF specie payment
that has ever existed IN this country, or
that the Supreme Court opinion requires,
is to remonetize silver, again make it the
'unit of value" and.a legal tender for
debts to any amount. On this old fash
Toned basis-this Hamiltonian and Jack
Bonian foundation - immediate re Jump
ton Of specie payment is not impractI-
cable, and if redemption was not legally
| required, the currency could remain as
| it is now, on actual par with silver, with
out the retirement Of 3 single greenback
or the contraction OF dollar of paper
currency, or the bankrupting of another
| mandatory. Yet Congress and all the
'shard money" "honest money" voters
and candidates in the country have so far
absolutely opposed this resumption, and
when the other day the greenback men,
bers Of the House at Washington in the
absence of hard money democrats at St.
Louis, passed a bill to restore silver as
full legal tender, the Senate finance COM
mittee PROMPTLY resolved to non-coneur.
Yet the Senate committee knows that to
eXtort gold instead Of silver increases ev-
cry bond, mortgage, note, or other debt,
public or private, II, but we will say u,
per cent, and makes them that much
harder to pay. Prior TO 1879, most debts
| are payable in greenbacks, but the aniici-
patton Of paying in gold then, cuts down
the prices of labor and products, and the
profits Of business, and renders most
property unsaleable, SO that most men in
debt cannot get out by any possible man
agement and economy. If this gold re-
demptIon policy was required by public
faith, or common honesty, it should be
borne with; but when it is shown to be
legal robbery and fragrant injustice, its
| continuance will become uncertain be.
cause It's popularity will diminish. be-
lIeVe that the next Congress will be forced
to remonetize silver by making it legal
tenker for debts again.
The reader may ask why Congress has
Undertaken to repudiate contract to pay
in silver, and make it payable exclusively
in gold. Well, here Is merely q theory to
account for It's gold-resumption financier-
ing:
A very large majority of the members
Of both branches Of Congress- have
miSlaid the exact figures-are stock hold
ers in national banks. In fact the people
seem tO reg ard that as a sort of necessary
qualification for Congress. Now there is,
from the natural antagonisn of general
and special interests, an "irrepressible
conflict" between paper currency issu-
ed by government and paper currency
issued by banks. They never exist in
harmony together. The banks are never
sure how much or how little government
paper will be issued, and hence their bu-
sines operations are without the certainty
and reliability necessary to success. They
naturally desire to have the matter of
Issuing paper currency left entirely in
their hands. There is no practicable
method by which the government itself
can issue the paper currency and keep it
legally redeemable in coin. The nearest
it can come to doing this is through the
system of keeping it redeemable in inter-
convertible coin bonds. Any man who I'M
derstands finance and talks about having
the paper currency of the country consist
Of greenbacks, and of the government re-
deeming it in coin to any extent that may
be demanded, is simply humbugging. A
government cannot do this, directly, for
many obvious reasons. The immense
stock Of coin to be kept on hand would
become corruption fund; the course of
body Ike Congress would be so uncertain,
that no one could tell how much or how
little paper currency would be authorized.
The whole business of the country and
the market value of every mans prop
erty would be at the mercy of an ever
changing body Of politicians who could
have no harmonious financial policy, and
whom partizan objects would often tempt
to disturb the finances in ignorant reck-
lessness of business results. The all impor-
tant ''confidence'' so essential to any legal
specie redemption ystem would be abso-
lutely impossible in regard to u paper cur
reney directly issued anu controlled by
the wisest and most patriotic Congress
this country ever will have. So long as the |
people demand that their paper currency
shall be kept legally redeemable in coin,
either silver or gold or both, the only
practicable method of accomplishing that
object in so far as 1t can be Gccomp lished,
is to leave the business of issuing curren- |
cy entirely to banks Of some kind, and
n.1r ax norianea demon afrafaa fhat On for n q
banks and bank currency are concerned
the present national banking system is al
together the safest that has been devised. |
The man, whoever he is, whose s.head is |
set" on this country having a paper cur
rency legally redeemable in specie, Is
simply favoring, whether he knows it or
not, the funding and permanent abolish
ment Of the greenbaek currency, and the
substitution in its place of national bank
currency. That is all that the cunningly
wOrded demand Of both the democratic
and republican platforms, for ''return to
specie payment amounts to- just this
and this only.
This ''irrepressible confict'' between
greenbacks and national bank currency
has been gong on quietly ever since the
war, but the greenback currency was Ve-
ry popular, and no party dare undertake
to abolish it without first securing public
approval. 1 have not room to trace the
successive steps, but in 1873 the first ac-
tual raid upon the greenback currency
took place by making gold the exclusive
specie OF the country, and raising q gen.
eral cry tina t the greenbacks must be re-
deemed in gold. The bankers knew that
the government could not redeem them
and keep them on gold redemption basis.
They never expected such a thing. The
resumption does not provide for their re-
issue after they have been a'redeemen.'
Everybody begins to see that now,-but
very few saw it six months ago. A careful
reading Of the resumption law will re-
veal the real design Of its trainers. I'm.
der cover of popular though impracti-
cable demand to 'tmake greenbacks re-
deemable in gold" they can be safely
funded into gold bonds-as is now pro-
IL