The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-11-04

cry con&l0er8t10n OF honor and good faith
demands that 10 should pay its lseal-tender
notes in coin (neaning gold coin, Of course, }
and that at the earliest practicable mo-
ment."
Now. admitting that the promise
ON the legal -tsnder notes and on the inter-
\ est t-beAEing obligations of the government
meant the payment OF coin dollars, deny
that ID was dollars containing 26 and $40
Grains Of standard gold, any more than it
was silver dollars containing Sill grains Of
4 pure silver.
The 6rst coinage oct passed under the
constitution was April 3nd, 1792, which
provided for tho coinage Of eagles 10 be Of
[the value Of ten dollars or units, and TO
contain 247i grains Of pure gold, also half
Isaelss and quarter eagles, TO Be respective
" Of one-hAH and one-f fourth the value Of
the eagle.
ThA.saAAsez sezaunzlasd tar ssiaaesef
DOLLARS on USrrs each 70 be OF the value
of the Spanish milled dollar, and TO con-
tain SIT grains ef pure silver. This dol
lar continued to be the unit Of vAlse and
legal tender for any amount whatever
until the passage of the swindling act Of
February 18th, 1873; by which 25 $40
grains of standard gold. was made tie unit
Of value, and the coinage of the silver dor
lar, containing S7lt grains Of pure silver,
prohibited. Prior to the passage Of this
act, it was optional with the Government
and individuals to pay in either gold or
silver coin, and every dollar Of our national
debt was contracted under laws passed be-
fore the demonetization Of silver there
fore hold, that there is no obligation, either
legal or moral, resting uron the govern
ment to pay one dollar Of its legal tender
notes, OF of its interest bearing bonds, IN
gold coin and that payment in silver dol
lars containing 3714 grains Of pure silver,
would be an honorable and honest dis
charge Of any, and all Of its obligations.
can but regard the attempt to deprive
the government and debtor class Of the
option to pay in gold or silver coin, as an
act of bad faith to the tax payers, As well
as to the debtor class generally; and which
can never under any circumstances meet
with my approval or support.
But Gen. Hayes says: "We should get
back To specie payments, because by so do
ing We shall be enabled to avoid every ap-
pearance Of deception, and shall get rid Of
that delusion which Is apparent in every
financial transaction carried on with our
present deprecated currency. The green
back as it is to day is a deception. 1t is not
what it claims to be. The dollar bill claims
to be worth dollar, while in reality it is
only worth ninety cents in actual money.
When farmer sells bushel of wheat and
gets for it dollar in currency, he really
gets but ninety cents. When the laborer
receives a dollar bill for his labor he re-
oelves what is called dollar but when he
.akes it aud goes to purchase food or cloth |
ing for his family he can purchase only as
much as he could purchase with Linety
cents Of real money. And this deception
extends through all our financial transac-
tIons with legal tender notes. We are do |
ing business on delusive basis. Once get
back to specie payments, once make our
legal tenders equal in value with gold and
the delusion ceases. What we then call
dollar will ne dollar, and will purchase
as much as one dollar and ten cents will
now.
''And this is the kind Of currency which |
the Republican party wants. We want a
currency whose purchsing power will be
equal to gold. We want currency such
that when man puts one dollar Of it into
his pocket I; he can feel that it is worth one
hundred cents Of the best coin ever issued |
from a mint. Our present greenback cur
rency is the best currency we have ever
had in the nation"
/ have made this lengthy extract, for
the purpose Of showing Gen. Hayes views
on the currency question from which it
will be seen that he is in favor Of the gold
standard, and consequently opposed to re-
storing the dollar Of 4124 grains of standard
silver, as the unit Of value. His language
will admit of no other construction, and in
this, as will be seen, he claims to be in &C.
cord with the Republican party. 1t will
be noticed that he first characteriEes the
greenback as delusion and deception, and
again as the best currency We have ever
had. He says the farmer and laborer are
cheated by its use. How this can be, ia
not clear to the common mind. The
farmer is now at liberty to sell his bushel
Of wheat for ninety cents in what he terms
real money, and the laborer 10 accept the
same for his days work, which il certainly
as much al either will receive when we get
back to a specie or gold base.
If the laborer who owes one hundred
dollars on his cottage can discharge that
debt with one hundred days work under
the present system, it will require at least
Ill days on the gold basis; and if the farm
er has q mortgage on his farm for 81, 600
which 1000 bushels of wheat will dis
charge under the present system, it will
require at least l, Ill, bushels toremove it
under the gold basis. Now / fail to see
why any Of the industrial, enterprising,
business portion Of our population should
desire return to the gold basis, which
would increase their burdens without any
corresponding benefits but it is easily
seen how national bankers, usurers and
the oney-lendiDg class in general, would
be benefited by the change. And this is
the reason why they and their allies insist
upon its adoption. The change would add
at least 10 to 20 per cent. on all debts pub
lie and private besides, it would make it
extremely difficult, if not impossible. for
us to ever pay the national debt and this
is the way the advocates Of the gold basis
propose to help the people and the govern
ment out Of the existing financial difficult
ties.
D. ..hoL r. -: