The Portland daily press., 1876-04-05
The DeyiPS Currancv Svstan,

In that wonderful picture of human life
Whlch Goethe has drawn from the legend of
Faust, the poet has painted a financial episode
in the second part of the tragedy, the particu.
lar features of which will be applicable for all
time. In the frst act. Faust and his Satanic
companion, Mephistopheles, who is the invent
or of paper mons, appear at the Court of the
German Emperor. The realm is in a ruinous
condition, and the situation affords Mephis-
tophsles an opportunity of securing power for
Faust by the introduction of the financial sys-
tenn which Is now 40 desperately urged by
Kelley and his rag baby followers. The Court
officials are gathered about the Emperor The
Chancellor complains of the decline of Justice
and the increase of plunderers; that lawless-
ness is upheld by law, and that "the man of
good intent to fiatterer and briber bendeth."
The General-in-Chief complains of dscords,
mutinies, and devastation of the realm. The
Treasurer complains that the allies have not
contributed their promised subsidies, and that
"the strong box is void indeed" The Lord
High Steward complains that he Is always try
ing to be economical, butts ever greater In need,
that the Court is short or wine, and that the
Jews Will have him "Dast all chsncts THE Em-
who shows that only money Is lacking; that
the earth is full of gold, and that as the earth
is the Emperor's he has only to take hoe and
spade and bring it to the light. The Emperor,
however, is disgusted with this proposition,
and demands that Mephistopheles shall pro-
cure him mouey. Thereupou Mephis stopheles,
with his diablere, sets upon foot gIotesque
carnival masquerade, and after the mad revel
is over, to the Emper0r's sstonishmeut, mooey
is plenty. The l. rd High Steward is safe
| from the Jews aud has bluated the usurer's
claws. The General pays up his arrears The
| Freasurers box is running over The Devil
has created paper money and the Treasurer
| thus informs the astOnshed Emperor how the
transformation was effected:
| Remember! Thou this note did undersign;
Last night, indeed. Thou stoodst as mighty Pan,
And thus the Chaneellor's Speech before thee Ian:
Grant to thyself the festal pleasure, then
The peoples good few strokes of the penl"
These didst thou gye they were night Ietreaed,
By skillfql conturors thousand fold repeated;
And, that like advantage all might claim,
We stamped at once the series with thy name,
Tens, thrties, ffties, hDndrefs, are prepared,
Behold thy town, half dead once, and decaying,
How all alive, enjoying life, are strayiugl
Although thy name long since the world made glad,
Such currency as now IL never had. rH
The Lord High Steward informs the Emperor
| that the currency was scattered every here;
| that every note was accepted for its worth In
| gold and silver; and that the people at once
| commenced feastiDg and Ieyehng. Even the
l Dtfll uimSen grows merry over DIS new cur
| rency, it is so handy, and the Emperor orders
| every one to do as he royalty pleases Even
the Court Fool rejoices that be shall be landed
owner, and Mephi'topheles sneeringly says to
himself: "Who now will doubt that this, one
| fool has wit"
All goes swimmingly for time, but at last
| comes the logical conclusion of the shipplaster
| madness In the third act, Mephssopheles,
| upon the eve of battle between the rival EN-
perors, tells Faust:
E. He did enjoy, even he'll
l Meanwhile the realm was torn by anarchy,
Where great and small were warning with each other
| And brother drove and slaughtered brother,
Castle TO castle, town gainst town arrayed,
/ The mobiles and the guilds of trade,
The Bishop, with his chapter and congregation
Ali meeting eyes but looked retaliation r
In churches death and murder; past the gates,
The merchants Travelled under evil fates;
And all grew bolder, since no rule was drawn
For life, but self-defense!-So things went on.
The Devil having invented irredesmable pa
| per money for the Emperor, and plunged him
( into all his troubles, takes pity upon him, and
| rescues him. Mephistopheles' system Is a fair
| exposition of the modern initiation business.
| The poet has painted o picture which has al
| ways been true in the past, always win be in
| the future, but the way of escape in the poeti-
| cal creation is not available in real life. If
| the people of the country avail themselves of
| the Devils system of currency, the Devil him.
| self will not get them out of the troubles that
| must flow from it.-Chicdgo Tribune