The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-01-01
COIN AND CURRENCY.
.ditors of the Register:

being an important public question be-
fore our American nation, beg leave TO
offer you the following views on the sub
ject, that is to say, on coin and currency,
for publication in your valuable news
paper.
Everywhere among civilized nations
the two metals, gold and silver, as coin,
are money. They are and represent the
standard values for all commodities.
They are the money the world over, and
thew alone are real money. Currency.
that is paper passing for money, al
though il may serve the purposes OF the
latter, is never true money. 1t consists
only OF certificates of debts issued tor cir
cu!aliOn BY a debtor, who may be
paid with them for debts, with regard
10 which he is the creditor. To the
amount of credit only, the issuing party
commands or enjoys, said certificates pass
for money. If issued by n government
and being legal tender tor public and
private debts, currency represents certi-
ticstes of forced loan. If issued by u
bank, currency represents certificates Of a
voluntary loan. The words on our gov
eminent green backs: "rhe United
States will pay to bearer "a stated sum-
clearly show. that these greenbacks are
nothing but part of our public debt
The United States will pay certain
sum 10 bearer, because they owe 1t 20
him. By giving him the greenback they
do not pay him the SUN, but merely de-
clare it due TO him. BY real money
gold or silver coins-a debt
always is finally paid, by paper money
never, on the part OF the issuing party,
because currency is based exclusively
upon credit ana has not the intrinsic
value of gold or silver. The paper
money of one government or country is
never recognized or treated as current
money by the governments or lnhabi-
tants of other countries. Not even the
most civilized nations are showing such
friendship towards each other, because
paper money represents merely credit
and is no real money.
The Constitution of the United States
speaks of "money" in the following
clauses, viz: "The Congress shall have
power to borrow money on the credit OF
the United States, to coin money, regu-
late the value thereof, and OF foreign
coin, to provide for the punish
ment of counterfeiting the securities
and current coin of the United States,
10 raise and support armies, but no ap-
propristion of money TO that use shall be
for u longer term than two years" NO
money shall be drawn from the treasury,
but in consequence OF appropriations
made by law, and regular statement
and account of the receipts and expend.-
lures of all public money shall be pub
llshed from time to time" "No State
shall coin money, emit bills of credit,
make anything but gold and silver coin
tender in payment of debts.' Our
national fundamental law, therefore,
mentions only gold aud silver as money.
Besides it does not discriminate between
coins made of said two metals,
~ legal tenders for the payment OF
debts. Our National Government, com
PEELED by the necessities of tho late civil
war, waged for its self-preservstion, has
Contracted q public debt, consisting of
bonds and greer backs. The bonds bear
Interest and will be redeemed, both in
gold. The grcenbacks, because they
state no time at all when they shall be
redeemed, are irredeemsble and bear 10
interest. Thus, by their very nature,
the United States bonds are more valus.
bic than the government greeL backs arc.
The former are at par with goi--that IL,
equal to real eioney; the latter are not so.
Justice demands that the government
greenbacks, too, be made equal To &, Ii or
hard money by our Nat oaal govern
meut. But how can this be achieved?
There seems to be only one way lett to
the American Nation to do it, or in other
words, to return to specie payments.
This way Is full resumption
of the whole amount of outstanding gov
Grnment currency, in HARD money, on
and after certain day, and the total can
collation. and destruction of said cur
reRcy.
The question arises now, how can our
National Government, in order 10 re-
deem all its circulating notes at the same
time, ret hold OF several hundred mil.
lions OF dollars in coin? Such an amount
OF gold could hardly be raised at the
same time or only with the greatest in
convenience and damage TO commerce.
But gold is by no means necessary for
the redemption of our Government green
backs. This redemption can and ought
to be effected by silver, and exclusively
BY silver. Hard money-specieo or coin
means according to the Constitution
of the United States both gold
and silver Silver, in harmony with
this our fundamental law, is just and
fully as we'll specie as gold is. Ne in
habltant, therefore, of this free country
of ours can rightly complain, if he re-
ceives silver coins for his government
green backs from our National Govern
ment. But there is silver enough circu-
latins in the world, Of which our Ma
tional Government will be able to Dor
row, without difficulty, the amount re.
uuired for the simultaneous redemption
of all the government greenbscks. Sill
yer, taking the place of said green backs,
could neitherj decline or huctuate in
value, like our present currency does. be-
csuse:silver is real money and recognized
n such BY all commercial nations. To
borrow several hundred millions of dol
lars of silver and TO pay interest in gold
on such q SUN, vii! OF course be ali
unpleasant, but it will be y necessary
and efficient remedy for cur American
Nation to get rid of ihel government
green backs, the most noxious part of our
public debt. If a man in this free coun-
Try OF oors is being paid IN currency nov,
he does not get the full amount due to
him IN gold value, but less, because our
government green backs are irredeems-
Bile, as to atime specified on their face,
and are no real money. By q careful
and thorough retrenchment in all gov
eminent expenditures such = sum of
gold, as will become necessary Tor the
payment, in gold, of tie interest on said
silver loan, can doubtless be spared from
the gold, our National government gets
BY the customs, which always ought 10
be paid exclusively in gold.
Any other course, than a simultaneous
hde1ption of all the government green
~ Md lead only to contraction of