The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-06-28
OUR NATIONAL FINANCES.


to play an important part in the future
of American politics, aud its solution
will record the settlement of the paper
money question to a very great extent.
Upon this issue the imitation mania of a
few years back is to be fought over again
under the guise Of new name, though
the results depending upon the settle
ment are vastly more important now than
they have ever been heretofore. At the
times long years ago when silver and
gold dollars were made legal tender
and medium for the payment of debts,
both national and individual, the guam
tity of silver in the country was, COM
pared to the supply of to-day, very small,
and the difference between the value of a
silver and a gold dollar was not appreci-
able. One was as good as the other for
the payment of debts, and continues to
be so to this day; but an ingenious device
was resorted to in 1873 by the Republi-
cans to destroy silver as legal tender,
which was accomplished without attract
ing much attention, by simply amending
the coinage act in such MANNER as to
omit the manufacture of silver dollars;
after which capitalists at the North gath
cred up those in existence as far as pos
sible and withdrew them from trade by
exporting them, and also by other means,
so that the silver dollar is to-day rela-
lively rare coin. Hence, silver dollars
remain legal tenders, but they are not
within reach, and hence gold is the only
available coin for the payment of debts.
OF late years the yield of silver mines
has been very great, and as the credit of
our government is good, paper currency
is preferable for exchange than fractional
silver, and to-day greenbacks and nation
al bank notes are more valuable for large
transactions than silver, because the
former are so much more convenient
than the latter.
Gold is more valuable than either pa
per or silver money, because it is prac-
ticaHy the only coin currency which is a
legal tender, and as the quantity Of gold
is small its value is likely to increase, if
the resumption of specie payment is to
be effected in 1879, as fixed by law; for
in that event every debtor would have to
secure gold with which to pay off his OBJ
legation, and the government Would also
have to pay its public debt in the same
coin. This would of course increase the
premium on gold, and be very adyanta-
geous to Northern capitalists, but at the
same time destructive of Southern trade
and industries.
The Democratic party of Ohio proposes
to avoid this state of affairs by causing
the coinage of silver dollars to proceed,
and then as silver is so abundant and
debts could either be paid in gold or
silver dollars, the monetary market OF
our nation would feel the change very
slightly, if at all, and paper money would
still retain its value; for being more con-
venient for transportation than silver,
and convertible into it at the option OF
its holder, every one would prefer one
hundred dollar bank note to one hundred
pieces Of silver. The effect of adopting
this policy would be to continue paper
money, but make its value steady and
regulated by specie.
The policy of the National Democracy
will, in all probability, accord with that
of the Ohio Democracy upon the impor-
tant subject of finance, and the reasons
for it are, it seems to us, both plain and
substantial. The Democratic party is
the champion of justice and equal rights
to all men, and representing these great
principles it is bound to advocate such a
financial system as will tend to place
both capital and labor upon the same
footing, so far as medium of exchange
is concerned. To make gold the only
legal tender is calculated in large meas
ure to advance the interest of bankers
and capitalists at the expense Of labor
and the industries which command small
capital, for as the supply of gold is not
sufficient for the demands of trade, the
same coin would have to be procured by
an impracticably large number of persons
to effect the changes and discharge the
debts incident to trade, or an equivalent
in other mediums would have to be rem
dered, and as the limited supply of gold
would be in large measure gathered up
by capitalists, the premium on it would
be considerable, and labor and trade
would be compelled to bear the burden
for which capital would derive the ben.
eft. By making silver also, legal ten
der the supply of the medium for ex-
change will be ample to meet the. de-
mands of trade, and business will move
smoothly on.
The Republicans, with Secretary Sher-
man at their head, will most probably
also advocate the reconciliation of sill
yer, or in other words, the recoinage of
the silver dollar, but will also advocate
making silver legal tender for sums
under fifty dollars, and make gold the
only unlimited tender. The intention of
this measure is fully in accord with the
previous legislation of Radicalism, which
has always sought to build up monopo-
lies and foster the formation of rings for
the purpose of defrauding or expressing
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