The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-10-28

\ Wneh ne puts greenDack dollar IN hrs pocket
can feel that it is worth dollar in gold.
Now | ask which are the best for the labor
ing man Mr. Campbells, paper certificates.
worth twenty-five cents on the dollar, or the
Republican Greenback worth one hundred
cents ON the dollar. We Republicans are
| convinced the Greenback and when Mr.
| Campbell says the Greenback must he de-
stroyed, aud his worthless trash be substituted
| for them. say mo. such a thing must not
be done. The Greenbacks form the best cur
reney We have ever had and we should hold
fast To them until something better can he
devised
Now | never have proposed nor advo
Gated the destruction of the Greenbacks
No fair minded man can or will put this
construction on anything have written or
said on the subject, aud this is particularly
true with respect To the articles from which
Gen. Hayes Processes to quote. On the
contrary | have always contended that they
should be made a full legal tender. which
is the only way to make one currency equal
to another. The specie basis fallacy al
ways has and always will prove cheat and
a fraud. When thus improved have ad
vocated their substitution for the national
bank currency that they should constitute
whatever currency we we're to have other
than gold orssilyer
Now let US see how it is proposed to i'm
prove and keep the legal tenders 1.-THE best
currency We have ever had" In the re.
sumption act Of the forty-third congress
the third section repeats those sections Of
law limiting the aggregate amount of cir
culating notes Of the national banks, and
provides that the banks may increase their
circulating notes without respect to the
aggregate limit. The act also compels the
Secretary Of the Treasury to retire legal
tenders 70 the extent Of eight per cent Of
any such increase in the bank currency.
That is to say when the national banks in
crease their circulation one hundred thou
sand dollars eighty thousand of green
backs are to be retired and destroyed, I'M
til there shall hot be outstanding over
three hundred millions of Greenbacks
And on aud after the LIST Of January, 1879,
the Secretary is required to redeem in coin
the legal tenders then outstanding, and to
enable him to prepare and provide for the
redemption in this act authorized and re-
| quired, he is authorized to use any surplus
revenues from time to tine in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, and to issue,
sell and dispose Of either OF the description
] - 4, 4 a. a
the act OF Congress Of July I4th, 1870 for
refunding The national debt, which bonds
were TO bear 4. A. and per cent.
Now it is not denied by any one that
the legal tenders retired as the national
bank currency is increased are to be destroy
ca, and the same is true Of all legal ten
ders coming to the Treasury after the Isl Of
January, 1879 for there is no authority in
the law for their re issue. All the talk
then about keeping the greenback dollar
and making 1t equal 10 one hundred cents
OF the best gold ever issued from the
mines is a deception and fraud The
object, purpose aud intention of the
authors Of the Resumption act was and is
to retire and destroy every dollar Of the
Greenbacks, and to surrender the whole
money power oi the nation to the national
banks
Now TINS Is last what cen HAYES Is ia "a
vor of, and what the Republican party Is in
favor Of; he Is authorized TO speak for it,
for he says T" But they say this system
gives elasticity to our currency. That may
he true. But our present system gives elias
tlclty 10 our currency and all the elasticity
I any can ask II more currency is de
manded at any time to meet the wants Of
trade, new banks can be established under
our free banking law, and thus the demand
can be promptly met. Ii we have too much
currency the surplus can be returned to the
government. which stands ready t. receive
1t and give iii eS change the bonds left with
US when the currency was issued. thus
under the operation OF our free banking Law
We have the means 81 expanding ~ con
tracing the volume Of our currency to meet
the wants Of trade, and to meet til IN
promptly and eifectually
Now the advocates Of the system OF cur
rency interconvertible at the option II the
holder with government bonds bearing an
equitable rate of interest, do claim that IN
der it the whole people would have the
power not only to regulate the volume OF
the currency, but also to a great extent
to regulate the rate Of interest IN .,analie
capital, which is the most important prin-
ciple OF a monetary system Bot General
Hayes and those who hold with him. while
denying this right ~ privilege to
the whole people, are quite willing
to give it to the national bankers.
and that, too, at an expense to the taN-pay-
ers Of over forty million dollars annually
when the gree nbacks for which they profess
so much love-a love much like that which
Judas had for his master-are retired and de-
stroyed, which they propose to do lat the
earliest day practicable"
| When we propose to give this privilege of
Z interconvertibility to the whole people. they
call the currency worthless trash, but
they propose to give it to the banks, and to
authorize them to issue -four to six dollars of
currency for each dollar Of coin in their
vaults, and then call each dollar of their cur
rency equal to a dollar If the best gold ever
issued from the mint Let me ask if this is
not base deception and fraud? This sys-
TEN contains the power Of expansion and con-
traction. II gives the bankers the power to
expand their profits, and to contract the
value Of all property, well as the rewards
of labor. How can such a system be in the
interest of the industrial classes, when it
compels them to pay an enormous tribute to
privileged c'ass of banking corporations, for
currency inferior in every respect to one
they can have without any such burdens
The fact is, the banking system always has,
and always must, in the very nature of
things. prove oppressive to the laboring
classes