The workingman's advocate., 1876-07-01
OUR NATIONAL FINANCES.
~ HuN JOHN NAGWIRE.


flNufIuuvt from our laStl
A ciamor was first started agai lst the
gretubachs, that they we're not money be-
cause mt made Of a commodity that could
be suli ln a foreign market as merchandise.
A large amount III the bonds were pur-
chased by English aud German money
dealers. NLo reside outside the jurisdiction
ul .ar government, hut that Is not ot con
sequence A. long As the bonds are payable
AZ rur treasury IN greenhacks. The debt
remains q home debt, no matter where the
holder uf the obligation may reside.
Those bonds were duly executed, sign
rd, scaled and recorded, they were as bind
Iug ga th, chhgees as on the obhgors.
The Congress that executed those bonds
acted Us Gent Tor both Of the contracting
parties.
The Congress had no power, however, to
hInd the sovereign, whose agents they
were, IN any such contract, and the sover-
eIgn has power to repudIate contracts that
the agent IS not authorized to make That
contract, although not binding IN the
sovereign, was for the time being acquies-
ced in. because the parties were within the
jurisdiction and control Of the sovereign
But when the agents Of the sovereign
undertake 10 abrogate a contract that has
been duly executed and recorded, and bind
the sovereign to a new and different con-
tract, their acts are utterly void The
Congress has power to make treaties with
foreign nations, but no power to bind the
sovereign IN contracts made with indiviG-
uals IN foreign countries and outside the
jurisdiction Of the sovereign.
Now, what has Congress done in regard
to the 5-2o bonds payable, principal and
interest, at our own treasury
First IN order to pave the way for chang
ing payment Of the bonds IN greenbacks,
TO payment III gold com, bill was intro
duced by the chairman Of the finance com
mittee Of the Senate, In March, 1869 and
became a law on the 2Sth of that month,
entitled law to strengthen the public
credit, as follows BE it enacted that all
obligations Of the government shall be paid
In CONF or its equivalent" The parties
who planned that law did not yunture to
ay gold coin; that would have been re-
pugnant 70. and repealed the act declaring
the greenbacks to be valid legal tender.
Coin or is equivalent When two
equivalents meet, there can be no remain
der.
Notwithstanding we may logically de-
er IS not a commodity, or an article Of ner-
chandize, the value Of which depends npon
the varying commercial value OF any com
modify and notwithstanding that the
progress IN science has dispelled all ideas
not founded upon correct philosophical
principles nevertheless, gold appears to
nave had a mysterious hold on the people
Of all countries from the beginning. The
n ll. A. l. -.
the second chapter Of Genesis and it
would appear throughout the sacred record
that by reason, perhaps Of its great beauty
To the eye, It's immaculate purity and IN
destructiblhty, It was regarded as symbolic
of, and connected with, the Deity When
Moses was absent receiving the law deliver
ed to HIM on Mount Sinai, the people un-
der his immediate charge, to whom God
had manifested his power by repeated
miracles, lost their faith and made a god
OF gold. When the Priesthood was given
70 Aaron, "a crown of gold was put upon
ms mitre, wherenn was engraved Holiness,
delightful to the eye for its beauty. =
(kccleslasticus, chap. XIV, V. l4) And it
Is a fact Of history, that pagan nations con
tlnue to the present time to make their
gods Of gold, and that there is a banker
ing after it among the Hebrew as well as
Christian nations, although it can not be
utilized by the latter for any other purpose
than ornaments, and as an article of com
merce that hnds ready purchasers among
the pagan nations for the purpose of max
ing their gods.
Statesmen continue to assert, that gold
was deposited IN the earth by the Almighty,
to be used standard of value, the
measure Of value, and the representative
Of value and that the value of gold il de-
termned by the amount of labor expended
in producing it. This is logically true in
regard to ali other mineral deposits, such
as IRON, copper, lead, tin, zinc, coal, salt,
and all else that can be utilized but If
applied to the production of gold, the logic
viii not hang together, as is shown by
facts. Twenty laborers have searched
months and years for gold, and did not
produce an amount sufficient to support
one man on the other hand, ws read of
one man who, with no other tools than a
common Jack knife, hooked out 200 dol
lars worth o gold daily for months an
other obtained from one ton Of quartz
AZ, 900 dollars of value in gold, the cost Of
labor not exceeding that Of quarrying a
.or Of limestone three Others, at Vir-
mia City, have taken to themselves each
Zoo 600 dollars per month of gold, being
he he net profits Of their mines after de-
5,c,ing All expenses. II labor il to be
tsIen az a standard Of value (as it un-
5onbtedly isl. then gold can not be fair
measure Of value. And 1t Is no more
legal tender without the token OF sover-
s;entv upon it than cast steel, which never
varies in price SO much as gold.