Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1877-11-29
THE SORT orxosEY WE WANT.

| THE SORT oFMoNEY WE WANT.
| Now, gentlemen think that we have eot
money that is good enough for our country. /
don't undervalue the greenback nor its great
services to the country, but when the gentle
man from Pennsylvania Mir. Kelley talked
about the greenback as being the thing that
put down the rebellion, thought if / bad
been on the other side would have said. s.wa
had more liberal supply of that money than
you had, and why did it not put you down
lianghierE our money was better than yours
In one respect, for ours set day of resump-
tion, which was six months after the independ-
ence OF the Confederate States" rLaighterl
think, SIR, that gentlemen who know the
financial history of the Confcderacy would
not join the gentleman in his eulogy on the
paper currency when cut loose from the
standard and basis of value.
Gentlemen, you want not only q National,
but an International currency. Let me state
one fact, which, think, commends itself to
every mans mind. The foreign trade of the
country, its exports and imports, amounts 20
81, 500, ,0O0, 900 in value, and every dollar Of
that trade must be transacted in coin. We
cannot help ourselves Every dollar of the
exports we send abroad we sell in coin.
Every dollar of imports we buy we buy in
coin. We must translate the prices in our
currency into coin We must use coin in
every foreign transaction, and every fuctua-
tion in the value of the greenback between
itself and coin, falls upon US and not upoa the
countries with which we trade and, therefore
the entire commercial world of America de-
mands that the international and National
value OF our money shall be one, 90 that what
is dollar in Ohio shall be dollar the world
over. Our money must be international as
well as National unless you wish to isolate the
country, and have no trade, or commerce, or
glory on the sea.
The trouble with our greenback dollar il
this: 1t has two distinct functions, one pur-
chasing power and the other a debt paying
power. As debt-paying power it is equal to
lOO cents. That is, to pay an old debt, a
greenback dollar will by law discharge 100
cents OF debt: but no law can give it purchas-
ing power in the general markets OF the world
unless it represents q known standard of coin
value. Now what we want is that these two
qualities OF our greeenback dollar shall be
made equal, its debt paying power and its gen.
eral purchasing power. When you have made
these two things equal, you have got q good
representative of value. We who defend the
Resumption Act propose to destroy the green
back; but to Dignity it, to glorify it. The
law we defend does not DESTROY it. Ii simplv
reduces its value to $500, ,000, ,OO0, and it makes
the greenback convertible into coin, but it
does not destroy and cancel it. resr-..--s =
Now admit that the law is not entirely free
from ambiguity; but the Secretary o. the
treasury, who has the execution of the law,
declares that Section 3,579 of the Revised Sta
tutes is in full force, viz: that the whole
amount of treasury notes returned TO the
Treasury shall be issued again, except that
the resumption act cuts that amount down
to $300, 200, 900 Now, although / do not
oeileye In keeping greeDbacks as permanent
currency in the United States, although do
not myself believe in this Government becom-
ing banker, yet am willing for one, that
In order to prevent the check of business
which gentlemen fear, the $500, ,0O0, 900 of the
greenbacks shall be allowed to remain in cir
culation as long as the wants of trade show
manlfestly they are needed. Now is that
much contraction? Is it contraction at alI7
your greenback up "a cents more In value
then you will have 500, OOO, 600 of gold coin
ready to flow into your circulation that can
not circulate until greenbacks are brought up
to par, and when You have brought them ND
to par you will have food, If you please to
call it so, Of 500, 600, 600 of gold coin. Tbose
who are afraid of contraction NAV LOOK af
that and answer it.
Summing it all in word, il is this, The
struggle now pending in this House is, on the
one hand, to make the greenback better; on
the other, to make it worse. The Resumption
Act is making il better every day. Repeal
tnat act, and you make it infinitely worse. In
the name of every man who wants his own
when he has earned it, demand that we do
not make the earned wages of the Door man
to shrivel in his hands, and to shrink avsv
after he has earned it but that his money shall
be made better and better until the plov- hold
er's money shall be as good as the bondheld-
er's money; until our standard is one. We
are bound on three great grounds to maintain
the resumption of specie payment. First he
cause the public faith demand it. Secondly.
because all the great business interests of The
country demand it; and thirdly. because our
future prosperity requires solid, permanent
basis on which confidence can again plant ia
feet, and the business of the co1ptrv revive
The elements are all in our favor now Tbes
Secretary of the Treasury tells us in his report
laid upon our table this morning. thai he has
$50, ,000, 900 of gold coin. unpledged for auy
other purpose, waiting as reserve for the day
of resumption. further, that at the rate of A..
000, 900 month he is adding To that stscR.
and Furthermore, the balance of trade i nov in
our favor to the extent of almost S2OO. an 00D
q year. All the elements are with na r.
change flows this way Our haryesfs have
been bountiful. The Nation is on the retu-n
wave of prosperity. Eyeryvhere buisness ia
reviving, and there is no danger excent from
the Congress of the United States. Here IA
the storm-center Here is the point of periI
If we can pass that point, and moi commit
ourselves to the dangerous act now Threatened
we shall ste ourselves safe and resumption
complete.
Gentlemen think there is danger that The
,ar,n;t Ia, snu m se. sne so,u, Il Inc ssw should
thew have s hen IN s;v;, n1smoer T ,sa; now SLOW
poss that farmer in one of your Eastern
States sells his farm for $4,000. he wants
to remove to the great West He gets ten
sach This = essv n ~ on.na',1n n.oa U on Si:vO