Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-10-25


requiring gold payment for duties,
so far as II fleets the value of green
backs at a appreciates instead of
depreciating them. In the main,
however, the value Of greenbacks de.
ponds on the worlds faith in the
ability and intention of the Govern
ment to pay them. AS that faith in-
creases their value increases. During
the war that faith was weak and
greenbacks were low now it is
strong, and they are almost at par.
Every movement to postpone indet-
initely, their payment will reduce
their value just in proportion as it
obtains popular support.
HAS CONTRACTION CAUSED THE HARD
TIMES?
1t is asserted there has been q
great contraction Of the currency,
and that the hard times prevailing OF
late are due to that fact. Is this true?
In 1861, when the war began, the
total currency of the country was
316 millions-coin and bank paper.
at present we have about two and
half times that amount. But it is
said that at the close of the war we
had nearly seven times that amount,
or 1000 millions The truth is the
total issue of greenbacks has been
but $50 millions, and of this sum, so
millions payable on demand, were
retired in 1868, and the maximum
limited fixed at 400 millions which
has never been exceeded This sum,
with the total issues of the National
Banks, and the fractional currency,
constituting the entire circulation OF
the country, has never reached 800
millions. There was contraction
between 1866 and 1868 of "A millions
of greenbacks; they were not de-
stroyed, however, but have since
been re,issued; and it is noteworthy
that the very period when this con-
traction took place, 1866-68, is now
represented as one of the most pros.
porous in our history. The panic
which came six years afterwards
ton occurring previous to 1868. The
panic and the hard times resulted
from other causes, which could be
easily pointed out il we had space,
and some of which produced business
prostration and equally hard times
in England, Germany, Austria,
Switzerland and other countries. In
fact we have more currency now
than in the flush times in 1868. Nor
has there been any such thing as
forced contraction. Eighty green
back dollars must be retired-not
destroyed-for every 500 of new
national bank bills issued, but this
increases the volume of currency.
Nor does resumption contract the
currency. 1t simply puts q gold or
silver dollar in the place of paper
dollar. There is. however, no com
pulsion used. Every man preferring
paper to gold may keep the paper.
The governments readiness to re-
deem it's PROMISES TO pay, however,
will make the paper par with coin.
But while our currency has not been
materially contracted in amount, it's
value has steadily increased SO that
its real power in money has more
than doubled since it touched the
lowest point of depreciation, and is
40 per cent. greater than at the close
of the war. The cutlery, therefore,
that it is contraction which has pro-
duced the hard times is false, and is
raised by those who are either mis-.
led, or those who are seeking to mis-.
lead.
THE DECENTRALIZATION OF SILVER.
Again it was charged that silver
was, by corrupt means. surreptitious
ly demonetized in 1873. No proof
of the employment of corruption in
securing the passage of the law
which it is claimed demonetized sill
yer has ever been produced. The
whole subject of the relations of sill
yer or gold as legal tender, and their
respective merits as standard or
meas ure of values, had been for
years discussed by poIitscal econo-
msts and scientists, in this country
and abroad. To mention one, out
of many instances, DR.. Bascom, the
President of the University of Wis
consin, in work ON Political Econ
omy, written before anything was
beard of the recent characterization
Of silver, discusses the whole subject
of the single and the double stand
ard, and concludes ia favor of the
single gold standard. Does anybody
suppose DIR. Bascom was bought
up, or that in advocating that view
be was influenced by any considera-
ton except to ineulcate what he be-
lieved to be sound principles of pc
litical economy AND had he been
member of Congress-, and voted for
the law in question as he doubtless
woodland no would have known
too what he was voting for-woud
il be fair TO accuse him of being
bribed ? Such charges should not
be made without proof. The ques-
ton is one On which men may and
do honestly differ. But what are the
facts ? Silver was practically DEM
onetized in 1853 and not in 1873.
The vast and sudden addition made
to the gold stock of the world by the
California mines between 1849 and
1858, had caused gold to depreciate
in comparison with silver. Silver
bling worth more as bullion than as
coin, could not be kept in circuia-
ton. To remedy this state of thin gs
and to provide small change, Con-
gress in 1853 provided for the coin
age of half dollars and smaller silver
pieces, containing less pure silver
than coins of the same denomination
before Issued. This was done to
make it Improbable to export such
coins as bullion. This subsidiary
silver token money was made le-
gal tender for only S.. Nothing was
said about the silver dollar, the ex-
perience of sixty years having shown
that it was coin not greatly ia
vored by the people. In fact, from
the organization of the Government
up to 1853 there had been onIy