The New York herald., 1878-11-01
THE UNI led STATES
Win pay TO bearer
FIFTY DOLLARS.
This note ,s a legal tender for tii,y do,Ia,


with this you can buy anytning you need. whyr
Is 1t account OF the paperf Not at ALL AS paper
1t scarce better than the Confederate rag But the
hith IN the stamped pr mise to redeem tIs paper In
coin gives the purchasing power. / present you
here a piece 0. hno gold, upon which there 10
stamp Whatever Its weight Is equal 10 552ls dollars
give me hundred aud sixty coined silver dol .ars
for H. It's value then does not depend tho stamp,
the faith reposcd in the promise OF the stamp TO
redeem the paper. II an insane delusion shall seizo
this people, and they shall dccrea that the govern
nent must issue ten thousand millions OF paper
money aud ustrust, confusion and anarchy follow, the
ing Guild wnilo this unstamped gold will be eagerly
received IN exchange ior any OF the needs Of man.
Il has a vaiue then quite outside Of any stamp OF
tho government or oil any legislative enactment.
FIAT MONEY.
You may be dcuded by ignorant misguided men
about the legislative powers oil the nation you may
be impiousy old that Congress by its DAT can make
money, as the omGipotent God, BY HIS hat,
made tho light; but all such attempts Will
perish IN confusion. The Congress Can no
more make nal money thar tney can
mnke fat potatoes But the greeub orators point
you the time whon paper money issued BY the
government: when iaborcrs were employed at high
wages and when ali seemed prosperous. and they
tell you that the ssmo prosperity would
return II the government would again
sus sw rh pI: ::
fully met and clearly refuted, then the inhaionists
have the argument Facts, dependent upon truthful
ngnres, will be useful 10 this discussion and they viii
prove that when confidence vanished tne crash came
and labor ceased to be III demand, q greater
4
than In the seeming prosperous days Of 1869 surely
then, II was not the lack OF paper currency whicn
caused the collapse and deprived tho laborsr OF his
hire.
FALSE PRosrERTY
But let Us go back 10 what called the prosper
GUS days oil The war ana sec hos IL The govern
ment. then less than hundred years old. sent more
than million oil able bodied men TO the held. Tho
government needed food und clothes, arms aud am
nuntop, horses and harm css, ships and wagons and
blankets and saddles, aud all me thousan nameless
things needed In the movement OF great armies. la
Dor was 10 Genaud, ana made scarcsr by calling 30
many soldiers TO the field. 10 pay Tor all these
thugs the government issued gresnDacks made en-
legal tender and promised TO redeem them coin rhls
was simply forced loan tolerated by tho exigcpces
ana periis OF the war, aud ~ was right After tour
years. war was conquered by the vaor OF
bur troops Three thousand million OF national
debt had been created, much OF II bearing
high rate OF interest," ana enormous Stato
and county debts had been created in addition sa-
brought 10 face the real situation crash
must come. II grew evident that the securing
prosperity was psroly deiusive, the govern
mont had been living upon its debts, bot upon
rs Income. Statesmen saw that we must gradually
contract the paper currency Ia order to ret 10
healthy condition, and between the close OF the
1858 laws passed tat eud bu, many pre-
ton stopped by law. and tue paper currency
expanded until ~ 1878 !, reached the enormous
OF $3.50, 100 100, thus the currency of 1873
$50 zoo, 600 more than IN 1859.
RESUMPTION
But did this vast volume currency, anoat in 1878,
brig prOsperityY You all know that then came tns
collapse, from whicn are suffering at this hour.
But what to lft tne country from its pros.
1aIion. when Its papor currency was 80 Immense