The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1878-11-09
The Financial outlook.

FINANCE having been made TO DO duty
on the part of the republican party, aud
having served all its possible use to them
in creating false issue for their benefit, it
may be expected that party will now drop
it with as much haste as they conveniently
can and substitute from this on what is In
tended for the key note Of 1880, namely
Grant and the bloody shirt A solid north
aud solid south are terms which are now
hippantly used by most of the republican
press as being condition of great signlh-
canoe and awful import and about to.over-
shadow all other questions, great or small
These remarks, however, are merely an
aside--inadyertantly dropped, in following
the natural tendency of republican tactics
and we turn again to the real question
which the condition of the country expects
and desires to have answered. Speaking
upon this subject, the New York World
has the following just and sensible observa-
tons:
When the dust Of Tuesdays elections
has settled down all over the country, as it
soon will, and republicans have got
tired of shouting themselves hoarse
in the way OF mlsrepresenta-
ton, it will begin to be seen that there are
three elementary Inquiries Respecting the
money circulation OF the country which
must be fairly, patiently and inteligently
discussed before our legislation, state and
national, can be set on basis which shall
bad fair to be even reasonably permanent
and satisfactory. The coming, creating
or making of money is of course matter of
positive law, and to that extent all money
is fiat money" In representative gov
eminent like ours the people make their
money because the people make their laws.
We shall never get out of the predicament
in which unsound financial theories put
into practice during the civil war have
landed us until we resolutely turn back, 30
far as money is concerned, to a candid and
broad consideration Of what the law was
before the civil war. In considering this
we must bear in mind that every voter OF
to-day who is thirty years of age was only
twelve years Of age when our existing
battle-born financial system began. Mer
who were twenty-one years old in 1860 are
thirty nine now, and now as grown men,
therefore, have never practically known
in their own country any money
whatever but the FIAT paper" money
created by the national government. This
money had no basis but utility in exchang
ing commodities and services and 10 trans
ferring mot paying) private debts. 1t die
not even discharge such public dues al
foreign imposts and interest on the nation
al debt The whole OF the voting genera
ton which is now in middle life must By
study, which we may call co operative, an(
by mutual discussion, re-eXamine on
whole financial ediice from turret t
foundation-stone In this re-examinatiol
no real and beneficial progress can possIbl
be made by mere denunciatiOD, or by sue
confounding of epithets with arguments an
of abusive terms with logical statements a
we have recently seen and heard. Their
are three questions which lie at the thresh
old Of this great study,
/. What shall be the quality Of on
money? Is it to be exclusively metallic, o
partly metallic and partly Of paper, or ez
clusively of paper2 Ifof paper, in Who'll
or in part, shall that paper represent COL
absolutely or silver absolutely, dollar fc
dollar, and that in coin always producibl
on demand2
2. What authority shall coin or Great
uud issue this money? IF it is to be mt
tallic money the constitution has answere
the inquiry. But how if it is to be of p'
per, in whole or in part2 Is the Fsder
government still to be bank issuing pa
per, either directly,as with the greeuback
or indirectly, as with the national ban
notesP And if not, then shall we go baC
TO the state banks Of the QRte-belLum per
cd, and repeal the laws now on the book
which tax such state institutions out of Q
hope OF resurrection
3. Whether the money be metallic
OF paper or a mixed money; whether it
specie or currency, or credit currenC
based ON coin. or q credit currency base
on nothing visible and producible at a
what shall be its volume or what the nun
Der of its units? Shall the quantity be
five or of seven or of fourteen hundrt
milliOns2
AL these inquiries are matter for seriol
and general consideration and for intel
gent legislative discussion And the pro
lem will not be satisfactorily solved eth
by ritualistic kneeling down before NJ
Sherman's two-faced resumption law, or
mere parrot-like denunciations either
gold money or of silver money or of fiat D
per money.