Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1876-02-03
The Greenback Bubble.

| Dack Convention that GreenbackS
were an inspiration OF God. Adam
was an inspiration of God and he
did well as long as he confined
hims self to the purposes for which he
was created. All things are inspira-
tons Of God. All Inspirations of
that kind answer good purposes if
not perverted. The same inspira-
tons subserve base purposes when
they are perverted. The Book of
inspiration itself is sometimes put
to bad uses aad then it does harm.
Greer backs can be no exception TO
the rne. They were me inspiration
of an emergency. They helped save
the country. The country saved,
they are still the best general cur
rency it ever had. But greenbaok
currency can be made worthless. 1t
is not now ia good as gold and it can
1 UC W at0tGQ uukiI Wi tDLCoS as COu~
tinentaIs. We gave last week a
chapter-no, q leaf-in the history
of John Laws greenbacks. Their
circulation began with the beginning
of 1919. They promised entire
relief They made Paris happy for
that year. But their blessings had
not reached ali the people, and the
end of the year had scarcely passed
when the bubble burst. The country
suffered before but it now starved
Distress followed which has no equal
in history. 1t was like the German
| legend of the hero cast on the top OF
u mountain composed of al the lux
ures the palate could crave. The
hero devourod his way through the
mountain without calculating that
there could be limit to his enjoy
ment. When suddenly be ate
| through 10 its side and Tell into a
bottomless gulf. And so, when IN
France royal edct was published
that two livres in notes should equal
only in specie, the nation became a
nation of paupers. Men with mill
ions slept on their princely couches
and awoke to find lives of beggary.
Countrymen went 10 the markets
with produce to find no circulating
medium. Specie was driven out of
the country and the paper worthless.
Soon the face of the country was
reduced to wilderness laborers
starved The succeeding winter the
poor were found starved and frozen
in troops, This was the result of
Laws scheme. 1t has been the
result of every such scheme. 1t is
the result and must always be the
result of the adoption of forced
paper policy. Louis XIV, by the
paper jugglery, shifted the debt of
the crown upon the shoulders of the
people. Our infationists would put
the Government debt into green
backs, giving every man chance to
grab for it. Then if the people were
short sighted enough TO take them
ALL they would at once be found TO
have no purchasing power, and like
Laws currency would be ropudated
"No,' say our greenback friends,
"they are convertible for 3 o. 100
bonds" Aud what good would the
bonds do if they ctull not be con-
verted into bread, clothing or gold ?
Bancroft tells us that Laws system
| left the world lesson which it was
slow to arm that when be increase
of circulation springs from artificial
causes there must be check and
reaction that every artificial ex-
p4usion Of the currency, every ex-
pansion resting on Gred' al)ne, is a
source of confusion and ultimate
loss to the community, and brings
benefit to none but those who are
skiIlfnl 10 foreseeing and profiting
by the fluctuations The world did
not ioarn the lesson. Th, lesson has
BEEN repeated again and again,
always with disaster in proportion
to the scale OF the undertaking,
Laws was the greatest, and the
greatest ruin followed it. But Laws
was not as great rs that proposed
by our greepback infationists His
circulation reached only about 81 :
100, 100000 ours might and would
if the food gates were opened, reach
twice that, which is about the
amount of tbe debt. The produce Of
one season, the wages of one season,
the debts d o TO poor mon, would be
paid with THIS money As soon as it
would be out of the hands Of the
rich, the rich would refuse 10 take it
back. 1t wouli not buy the i'm
portations wanted by people of
wealth The heavy dealers in
| onrohsraS from fsrmora of nroduce