Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-10-31


PRACTlCE.-IT WOULD ENABLE CAP
1TAL TO CONTHoL AND EXPAND
TIE CURRENCY AT WILL. - 1T
WOULD BIND AND GAG THE TREAS
URY AND FLING IT AT THE FEET
OF THE WALL STREET GAMBLERS.-
A CLEAR AND MASTERLY EXPOSE
sITIoN OF TIE SUBJECT.
From the speech of Senator Howe at MadisonI
Political economists OF careful
study, practical business men of large
experience have appeared as the adj
vocates of this scheme | have pom
dered upon it much. My conclusion
is that it would be impossible to de-
wise a scheme more ruinous to all
honest effort than this very one. l
do not stop to remind you that we
have no authority for holding that
Congress can in time of peace under
our Constitution, make anything but
gold and silver legal tender for
debt We can change our Constitu-
ton, and we would 90 so if the pub
lie welfare demanded it. | do not
stop to remind You that a nation has
10 better moral right to liqmdate
its interest bearing obligations by
issuing non interest bearing notes,
thar any private citizen has to do
the same. | confront you with no
legal, and no moral obligation, sim
ply say to every business, and to
every laboring man, that if he is not
utterly reckless of his own welfare,
he must not dare to try
THAT FEARFUL EXPERIMENT.
| have read of the good woman
who complacently boasted that her
husband had emhelished his town
residence with the last invention of
modern architecture-a mortgage.
| have read Of that able financier
who lived upon the interest Of what
he owed. Who has not laughed at
the self complacency of Mr.. Micawber,
who, when he had liquidated store
bill with his | 0 I. proudly declared
'he could once more hold up his
head among his telow-men." But
the scheme to which we are invited
is more farcical than any Of these
Mr.. Micawher only cheated himself
with the delusion that he had eXtin-
guished a debt, when ia fact he had
merely changed its form. But here
is all alchemy by which it is propos-
ed to transpose simple debt into SOL
ii cash. The deed is simply impossi-
be. Water was once turned into
wine, but He who wrought that mir
acle is 10 longer among us, and if
he were, / doubt if he would perform
the miracle proposed.
If there were no obstacles in the
way, raised by
THE CONSTITUTION OR BY CONTRACT,
it would be easy to draft bill max
ing bonds and greenbac1s intercon-
vertible. 1t would be easy to pass
such bin through all the forms of
legal cnactnents -; but what then !
where is the man who has bonds he
would change into greenbaclls !
There are hundreds end thousands
who would gladly exchange green
backs for four per cent. bonds, if
they could Hitherto Congress has
not permitted the Treasury to make
such change except upon conditions.
Private parties will not make such
exchange at all The country re-
sounds with the cry that we have
not money enough. Not money
enough Show me the place where
4-per cent bonds can he had for
Treasury notes, and | will show you
where mi lions OF Treasury notes
can be had
NOT MONEY ENOUGH?
Twenty years ago, the whole bank
note circulation of the country was
Int little over two hundred millions.
Not a dollar Of it was lega. tender
The whole coin reserve was less than
a hundred millions. There was $40
cry then Of want of money. Not
money enough Money was never
50 cheap before in this country
since the May fIo'ro' unloadei on
Plymouth L ok, Not money enough!
Be not deceived. 1t is not the vol
ume of money which is shriveled, but
the volume OF business. The volume
of currency is hut about thirty mill
lions less than it was in 1870, Isl /
and 1872. The volume of business
has shliveled since those years'heyJnd
my ability to state. During those
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