Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-11-01


les which Pyrrhus won over Valerius
Two of them would leave this great
brawny agriculture as stiff and helpless
as the Cardiff giant
But this is not the only leverage
which interconyertibility would give to
capital. Capital would not then ar
bitrarily regulate the volume of cur.
rency only. but it would control the
value of it also OF course
SPECIE RESUMPTION
is impossible with such circulation.
When the currency is of paper, and
that issued by the Government, and
when it may he six hundred
hundred in October. and a
billion in January. it is idle to suppose
that any part of it can be redeemed in
coin. Evidently that is not contem-
nlated, perhaps not desired. Mr.. AL
lis argues that the paper would be. as
good as coin If allowed to DO the same
work which coin does Undoubtedly
he is right, But unfortunately some
thing more than an act of Congress is
required to enable paper to supply al
the uses of gold and silver No act Of
Congress will enable US to make plate
or watches Of treasury notes. We can
by act of Congress, make such notes
receivable for duties on imports and
for all debts due from the government,
which must be paid in coin or repudi-
ated. The coin required for shat plIr-
pose. if not obtainablo in redemption
Of your paper currency must be pur-
chased either by the government or by
those who pay taxes to the govern
ment, So far as the capability of pa
per or the value of coin is concerned,
it is all the same whether the govern
ment or the taxpayer makes the pur-
chase There is still
OTHER WORK WHICH COIN CAN PER-
FORM,
and notes cannot. If our citizens had
no trade except with each other; if
all our commerce was interstate and
none was international, then all bal
ances could be settled with whatever
Congress might lawfully declare to be
legal tender But our citizens sell
from six to eight hundred millions an
nually in foreign markets. They pur-
chase as much and often more in those
markets. States, cities and corpora
tons have borrowed largely abroad,
the interest and principle as it tails
due must be paid in coin or IN your
commodities at their coin yalae. The
commercial world has clearing house
as well as the banks Of New York. At
the latter. indeed, balances may be
paid in greenbacks, but at the former,
they
MUST BE PAID IN COIN.
Paper, therefore, never can be as good
us 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 coun-
try for the last fifteen years Its val
he in currency fuctuates, like the val
ue Of other commodities What will
be the relative value between the print
ed and the coin dollar, from tine to
time, will depend upon many circum-
stances, but chiefly upon the manipu-
lations Of those spectators, who, al
the different gold boards in the coun-
try, buy and sell mil ions Of gold DAT
ly, without seeing a dollar of it OPP
Grating alternately, upon the fears and
hopes of spectators, at one time dur
ing the war, they &aised gold up to
two hundred and eighty-fve in cur
rency, and on the celebrated Black
Friday, the 9th Of September 1869,
gold in two days went from 1871 ) s to
1872. and in two minutes dropped from
1862 to 143.
We are rather scornfully told that
it is not the slightest coase lu2ncc what
may be
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN PAPER AND
at any particular time. 1t would, in
deed, be of less consequence if the
relation once established was perma-
nent but a flexible standard Of value
Is as dangerous to handle as flexible
standard of measure. The dollar should
be as definite and fixed as the yard or
the bushel. For twelve years you have
been handling dollars which have al
most constantly appreciated You
say, prosperity has been constantly
shrinking; it would be quite IS correct
to say, money has constantly swelled.
The fact is, every man who has given
his note for six months for any number
of d~lIars has been called to pay in
dollars, worth move tran they were when
he gave his note. The average pre-
MUM on gold during the year 1868
was thirty-nine and fifty-four hun
dredths; for 1869 it was thir.y-two
and fifty-six hundredths: for 1870 it
was fourteen and eighty-three hun
dredths for 1871 it was about twelve
cents. and during the present year it
will probably average less than four
cents, On Monday last it was quoted
In Few york at 2 IL, and now when
your currency has almost reached the
par of coin, you are entreated to sever
all the cords which have drawn it up
and let it sink back into the black
abyss of depreciation, to commit the
volume of it to the arbitrary denomi-
nation of capital and the value of it
to the capricious juggling of spncula-
ton | cannot go with that party [
cannot persuade myself to shut my
eyes to the experience of the venerable