The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-05-12


pudiation and dishonor? Specie paw
ment may be a wonderful sscivilizer," |
but If bankrupting the productive in |
dustries of this country is a civiliz- |
ing process, IL PA failures with $3.50.
OOO, 600 liabilities for 1876, and ten |
times that much to follow in the next /
two years, if his plan were adopted. |
would be from his point of view |
financial exploit well worthy of the |
Centennial anniversary of the Ameri- |
can republic, of government for the |
welfare of the people. Let US, there |
fore, shut our eyes tighter than ever, |
spread q party plaster over our |
mouths, and stick with fanatlcal faith |
to the iron clad Resumption Law poll |
cy, needless of facts, figures, statistics, |
results, or of anything else which |
business men are expected to base
their opinions upon.
1t might be expected that specie |
payment men woHld first ascertain the |
facts of the cake, Tirst lind ont how |
much gold there IS and is going to be |
in this country during their genera
ton, and how much money is neces-
sary to carry on the ever increasing
business of this country, and then in |
the light of those facts and in accor- |
dance with the circumstances, settle |
upon their financial policy. But no
they first adopt an orthodox theory,
and then shut their eyes and ears and
reason to anything that don't happen to
accord with that theory, and the more
impracticable 1t is under the circum-
stances, the more obstinately they
adhere TO it.
The only 8 :65 interconvertible bond
plan in issue in this discussion is that
OF Horace Greeley's, viz. to make
greenbacks and 3 :65 gold interest and
| principal bonds interconvertible with
each other, with q view to thereby
raising greenbacks to at least near
gold value. So there is no need to
drag in any other interconvertible
plan, which disregards gold values ale
together.
That this Greeley plan would raise
greenbacks to nearly Q gold value, is
self evident. Our and 6 per cent.
bonds are worth considerably over
par in gold, so that q 3 rs gold bond
would be on the same basis, worth
about par in gold. A bond that will
bring 800 in gold, and could also be
had for 800 in greenbacks, would GER
tainly tend to eQualiZe the value of
gold and greenbacks. That Is very
fair reasoning, and it remains to be
shown why the experiment should at
least not be made. Conceding that a
man really desires co bring green
backs up to as near gold value as
they can be brought without iRjuring
the business interests of the country
by the process, I cannot see how such
a man can consistently refuse to adopt
Greeley's 3 $50 interconvertible gold
bond plan, in preference to any yet be-
fore the public. Such man is bound by
the logic of his premises and profess
sions to adopt and advocate that plan,
as the best so far offered which the
circumstances of the case will permit.
The only man who can consistently
refuse to adopt that plan, is the man
who regards the law of supply and de-
mand, and not gold, as the measure
T OF all values, and am not occupying
that position in this discussion, but
cheeriully consent to stand upon my
friends platform, viz, that gold is the
only measure of values and that green
! backs should be brought to par with
, gold with the least disturbance to the
lat rests of the country. How he can
bring and keep them to actual redemp-
, ton in gold, and yet refuse to take
them at par for custom duties, or fol
:65 gold bonds how he can furnish as
little currency as his contraction prop
, osition involves, and yet make thai
: amount do the business necessary tC
t keep the people of this country employ
ed, and how he can keep seven or five OF
three hundred millions of paper dollars
on legal specie redemption basis in {
e country that has not and cannot with
in any definite time have more thar
S25, 900 900 to $100, 000, 900 in gold with
in its limits,-are financial problem!
too complicated and contradictory fo
? me to comprehend, or for the so-callet
] Resumption law to ever work out, ant
l wish my friend would consider then
worthy of his entire mind and explain
them.
Resumption misunderstands my
= meaning of the statement that a maj
shows his good faith by paying il
what he has, if unable to pay in wka
he agreed. The debtor ought to offe
e the best he has, and so long as tn
q credit is tree to except or reject tn
n proffered pay, the offer will be takel
:, as evidence of good faith that will ali
rather than injure the debtors credit
: Such an offer is a very different thin,
e from forcing payment in jack rabbits
r. The case cited of a man giving hi
note if unable to pay the money whel
II it is due. covers the case of the govern
e ment exactly. According to Resump
0 ton, it owes all its greeenback credi
g tors gold, and il cannot pay them gold
They accordingly demand thing tina
n it can pay them in,-its 8 rs gold in
Il terest interconvertible bonds. TIL
i government, and the resumption Law
deny this request. They say we won
pay in such bonds, but Just wait an,
y we'll pay you in gold itself by Jan.
i lS79,-a promise that every man who he
n looked into the United States treasur
knows can't and won't be kept, IN
less through contraction SO severe tina
it will PROSTATE the business interest
is of the country for twenty years. Thi
" sort of jack rabbit pay is entirely TN
"a satisfactory to the greenoack creditor,
and the more it is persisted in tn
s. more the currency falls in value. Sc
IS the money market quotations for tn
l. evidence.
The real objection my friend enter
tains toward the :65 gold interest In
= terconvertible bond plan is probabl
Id this-that he does not see how it can /
at adopted and his favorite resumptio
20 law be carried into effect. Here he
- right. He sees that the greenbacI
III which would be funded into sue
~ bonds, would be converted back I'M
I'd greenbacks the moment gold was o
NJ fered for the latter, and that therefor
the government would be obliged {
CT redeem ali the currency that we no
lie have, and as he has concluded this
D. impracticable, he is forced to choose b.
a. tween the interconVerCible gold bon
currency plan or the actual specie r
at demption plan, and sticks to the latte
ct But this is where he makes his mi
ITS take. He ought to see that actu
vs specie payment in this country is el
:, tirely Incompatible with due rega
u for its business interests, and that d
be plorable as this fact may be it is one
ed the results of the war, and of our In
m mense foreign gold debt, and beir
impracticable, it is folly to attempt
On He should choose the least of the tv
se vil,-eRough currency to do busine
at with on the :65 interconvertible Dor
,at plan, or not enough currency to
business with on the actual spec
OF basis plan-and conclude that busine
ed must go ON anyway, as it has done
aid the last fifteen years, whether we fe
"a the magic touch of gold or not.
81 l. frf frr 81 bee