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


the Wall street gamblers. mere
tool TO be used alternately by In.
bulls and the bears very sure to be
the ally Of the bears when the farm.
ers want to sell, and very apt to be-
the ally of the bulls when the farm.
ers want to buy. Seed time and
harvest might even then continue
but such harvest would be like the
victories of Pyrrhus won over Vale
lious. Two of theln~ you'd leave thi.
great brawny agriculture as stiff and
helpless as the Cardiff giant.
But this is not the only leveraSe
which interconvertibillity would give
up to capital. Cap tai would not
then arbitrarily regulate the volume
of currency only but it would control
the value of it also. OF course
SPECIE REDEMPTION
is impossible with such a circulation.
Wheu the currency is of paper, and
that issued by the Government and
when 1t may be six hundred millions
in October, and billion in January,
it Is idle to suppose that any part OF
1t can be redeemed in coin. Evil
IDENTITY that is not contemplated per-
haps not desired. Mr. Ais argues
that the paper would be as good as
coin if allowed to DO the same work
coin does. Undoubtedly he is riglt.
But unfortunately something N IRE
than an act of Congress is required
to enable paper to supply Oh the
uses of gold ana silver No act of
Congress will enable us to make
plate or watches out Of treasury
notes. We can by act of Congress,
make such notes receivable for du-
ties on imports, and for all debts due
to the Government; but there are
debts due from the Government,
which must be paid III coin or
repudiated. The coin required
for that purpose, if not obtainable in
redemption of your paper currency.
must be purchased either from the
government or by those who pay
taxes to the government. So far as
the capabiility of paper or the value
Of coin is concerned, it is all the same
whether the government or the tax
payer makes the purchase. There
is still
OTHER WORK WHICH COIN CAN PER
FORM
and notes cannot. If our citizens
had 40 trade except with each other
II all our commerce was Interstate
aud none international, then all bal
ances could be settled with whatever
Congress light lawfully declareto be
legal tender. But our citizens sell
from six to eight hundred millions
annually in foreign markets. They
purchase as much and more III those
markets. States, cities and corpora
tons have borrowed largely abroad,
the interest and principal, as it falls
due, must be paid in coin or in yonr
commodities at their coiu value. The
commercial world has n clearing
house as well rs the banks NewY ork.
At the latter, indeed, balances may
be paid in greepbacks, but at the
former, they
MUST BE PAID IN COIN.
Paper, therefore, never can be as
coin, unless those who issue the pa
per are required to redeem it in coin.
When it is not so redeemed, coin IS
a commodity, as it has been in this
country for the last fifteen years.
Its value in currency nuctuates, like
the value of other commodities.
What will be the relative value be-
tween the printed and the coin dol
lar, from time to time, will depend
upon many circumstances, bnt chief
ly upon the manipulations of those
spectators, who, a. the different
gold boards in the country, buy and
sell millions Of gold daily, without
seeing dollar oft. Operating al
ternately upon the fears and hopes
Of spectators, at one time during
the war they raised gold up to two
hundred and eighty-iive in currency,
and on the celebrated Black Friday,
the oath of September. 1869, gold IN
two days went from l31 { to 1862, and
in two minutes dropped from lG2 to
1873.
We are rathor scornfully told that
it is not of the slightest consequence
what may be
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN PAPER
AND COIN.
at any particular time. 1t wonld,
inlnel be of less cnnsennence ii the