Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1877-08-07

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SIR: There seems to be in Ohio and elsewhere
In the West, something like q reaction by polit-
Clans OF the republican lsriy against tue law
which hxts January !, 1879, s. the day for the r. .
sur ption of specie payments from the Treasury
Of tue Uunei States. | infer hat, in the opinion
of those politicians, the current Of public opinion
I is setting or caa be turned in that direction.
! Doubtless the chapter Of Money and Currency
IN some respects one Of the most thcult Ia the
science of Political Economy. There Is no need
Of my saying that do not pretend t. understand
al The mysteries of that subject, bat ia all hu-
mihty | may say that the average politician
whether conducting party newspaper, II arraag-
ing Tor u party ,nvenuon-pei maps even the
average member OF CJngress-is not more com
peteut TO pronounce an autho native judgment on
1 financial questions than we common folks are,
Who can olly say what common honesty i, and
what J.. common sense II Is ~ the presence of the
y, o, le and al the level of the peoples common
sense, that these questions of resumption and the
silver dollar are to be discussed and decided As
une of toe people, | mag without arrogance or
presumption, contribute my part to the discussion.
Admitting tnat, IN bank parlors and among capl-
alists many lhin5s may be sad thing, both true
and uettiucut-out Of the lae of my thinking,
&c mt mbtr lhAf, far as these questions are po-
liical and are therefore qusstiI for the people,
lhey ought to De utcidcd by such considerations
d, the connoa SENSE OF the people vail appre-
clate.
" hat, then, j. this question of resumptioni II
is SIMPLY the quest On "uctuel IN coutOI may with
a den tie piedEe gwen 10y Act OF Consless IN
1910 the gtCeuuack promises Ut the IA ed states
% nav dollars. shall be TIuCt med
| Oh Jan | 1879.
lie nauou, ia the distress Of the war for iis
own uXis teuCe, wanted money more rapidly than
monty could Do raised by taxation OF by tue sale
ui ouLds. la addition 20 all The ordlnary tNpeu-
ses OF Government, there were The extraordinary
cApenscs Of a wal ia whlch eve' thins wa, at
4az,.J. lhoreiOic tue goVtrnne nj dld Jdst what
an Inp. curious c.ltz-n dots IA similar c cuDstau
ces; !, Uheied 10 It, creditors rs confessions OF
lnue bteuuess handsomely mscI lbed gu paper. In
81, al oil pay lus, II gave lis promises 10 pay. Oh
nCe-Eolduts Ot all sorts aud grades, contractors
lUi the army or navy, soldiers aud sailors, pen
,Iou,rs disabled by wounds OF disease IA The de-
teLCc OF then csuuuy, WIDOWS aud orphans OF
tnuse " no had gwen tuelr lives 10 save the
i'm lie, ICceVCd from the United states, IN
stead Ot mOuey, treasury NOTES. "oliSer and god
nave we LUue, tue Government Was compelled
| 70 say, 'Out We give y.u The best that We can,
even these promises, secured by tle honesty anu
nonOr OF tue people whose authorized agents we
are; AID luasmuCu as II viii be Impossible Tor you
~ walt u II SHAH be possible for your country to
redeem Its ri LhtUd Iatu, We have ordained by
that these NOTES, at tueir lace value, shall lie
| a gal tender IN pay ment of Whatever debts you
nave cont acted VI may contract hereafter" The
uuies tuus forced Iato circulation Toy sort OF
military necessity were u substitute Tor money,
and were called mOney-Just rs u check ON some
god bank Is called money, II the man VINO signs
1t nas an ample deposit there. Ia that they
| are money, aud IN that sense ouy. 1 am mol
that any body, a yet has been so silly or 90
audacUus III the abuse OF language, as TO cali
,Hem CON. Money, properly 50 called, whether
.uiu "a silver, has value ot ITS own Just as yard
suck mas leu. TIA and therefore 1t be used to
measure The value OF otnet t1lngs III the market
Just yard suck IL used 10 NE isure the ugth
Vi piece OF c,olh. lac greenbdcA, ike II bank
uote checA, has no Naiue save 1t stands Ton
SOME taIDg valuable. IL represents, not the value
u the paper when was consumed IN printing IT,
Out the value vi something est. Itlrpiesents tue
value OF ceItalu debt que to the holder iron the
Treasury OF the United Stdtes-a deOt which Ia.
| oeuu due cuuesseuly, ever slLce | al green6aCk
note wa- ISSUED. Inc Lute which TepI eseuts IA
de BIT OIL $40 irUm lie n lie 5 aes 10 tie TO del
| 4 ueuI due eats AMI years asO-ls worth to-day
$3.50; aLu sucn Is The present value Ot mat deDt.
EAperieuce thlOugu all these years has shown that
| IA ptopoItloh as ine PROSPECT oi payment bright
Gus AID diams near, the pace Ol tue paper repre-
sentlns tue deUl becomes more and more valuable.
The pTUsi ell now Is tnat the de0t VIII be paid (as
pay aDltl IA less than eighteen nUAtns. lu pIU
portion as that p aspect sha be VOscured by The
| IcmagoS CUES WHO are aSItatIug iOr pOstpoueLneut
| vi The resumption, tne value vi the dGOt anu VI
due paper VIM r presents II, viii be lessened.
| Is tue word, tueu, 50 badly constituted by its
CIeatOI-is tDe world 50 M" iselJ managed BY Tue
| providence oI GUd, tuat We as NATION must MOI
pay our u DTS Hest We 10 some great mischief by
! % SIN pie an act OF honesty Snali We Deiiey,
| lnat lne tOuldatlOus WIN be destroyed, and Al
.uiuss val DC Out vi cUul.e, II sometime within
tue next hteeu mouths The ioimally autheuu-
cAled pioulisv vi ihe Cuiled States 10 pay $40 10
/ Le UeaIer shall BE- worth exactly SO ia gold, IL
lesd oil passlGg, as II now ives, at discount OIL
) per cent?
just ths aud nothing else, IS proposed BY the
Act Of COnzIes. Which ignorant politicians z
! ncisLt VI the people. common sense, aud If tue
! -eopies nor } sen-eJ are pr mlsiux 10 repeal
Du the bret Jay ol JasuaTy, lS19-u uless the aCl
/ tai be, u tie ueanume, re- ealed over the veto
ut He Honesty the plesideut-;he United
( 'ts,es vii b. glD 10 pay On demand that portion
+ vi TIE NauOlsI debt INCA Is represented by the
-re.Lba'k a.'es, sHo ,hvu, aud theme, forward
~,e.y such pole vii be OF equal value wlth to,
-o.d = icu u PROMISES " hat Is there 10 thi. 10
{ &c aifslu Of: bat dreadful Thing will happen II
! tbe-e cuCgIatiug ~ .druces Of ocbt (eyety one
lepfe.eL 'lLs Ys.ue IeCeisedl cease 10 be di,hon-
,fse, - they L." s.e ~ passing stless han then
I nominal ss.ue.
Flole.-Ing once r ore nv incompetence 70 de-
tetuiue wheel Ter here Ill be rapid contraction
I VI iue cuuencs, / c4lnol refrain from asking what
/ % Is TIA vii cause Tie expected distress. The
.teeLbst note Wal 3 hay lost iueiT legal ten
( oef qusIta itey NIl Oily have become a. good
I n k0IJ. sob 51y NlA ru-h 10 exchange them fot
gOloi btcsu-e, for a.. oidIusry uses they are more
-ouyeHlen III II al The gold ioi which they can be
exchanged. Atthe same time the NAuonal cur
reHcs, Issued 0y tue National Bauks secured by
the bonds Of Tue uUed state, and PAYABLE ~
sieenbacks, will continue ~ be receivable at par
IN all parts Of The United siates IL paw eut Of all
| axes and eNclse-, ami all other duties to the
! Cnlted otates, except duties Oh Imports, aud will
therefore Continue to be. as now the National
currency Manly, the difference will be hi.
1.-The government Will no longer meet It's current
EXPENSES BY giving ITS own notes payable some
uMe betwee now and never. Every treasury
note coming INTO the Treasury will remain there
u be Cancelled For the payment Of ali salaries
md other dcbls aud demand sowing by The United
o'ates 10 INDIVIDUALS, corporations and ssociatious
within The Uniled states, the note. of the Nation
81 Banks VIII cOuuuue u be receivable at par "
/ and ne NJ 30 received viii circulate through all
the CHAD nel1 81 trade equal IN value with
2reolback. and therefore equal N value with
gold.
We told that, if the nation shall begin to paw
o., ultes, there wli be contraction OF The cur
.eury and we are expected to believe that there
fore Iuc q ,vcrnment mI-t continue 10 force its
PJpmI-es INTO ejaculation, aud catefully abstain
. ilpn pa N what It promise. to pay. | answer
Let those VII" profess 10 uu ier,tand the myster-