The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1878-03-13
siLvERY oREEH5AcKERs.

There is now before the public
two distinct ideas in regard to ou
finance. One uf these IDEAS has Sc
cured an initiative victory ia the silver
bill and the outlook for a complete
triumph of the greenback or rag-baby
idea is very fiattering to its adherents'
1t looks very nEs,h as though our next
national contest would be fought be-
tween these tro financial policies, and
their respective adhegents. The East
ern or hard money policy bases its
claim to faper on the following ground,
viz: Our nation has large debt to
carry, to carry debt with ease and
success requires that the credit of the
party involved be sound, else n high
rate Of interest will be demanded, and
n pressure is liable to come through
any little scare of the creditors, hence
the pcIicy of the government should
be one Of the most scrupulous regard
for its contracts, that it may thereby
inspire confidence among capitalists.
This argument is declared to be OF
.nsnecial force in consideration of the
present endeavor to refund the nation
al debt at low rate of interest. This
party construe the promise of the
government to pay its bonds in coin
to be promise to pay in gold. Bonds
are rapidly becoming due. They must
be paid, or refunded, ic. we must pay
our notes or take them up by giving
new notes. If we show disposition
to fulfil our contracts and maintain n
high credit, instead Of paying we can
take up the old bonds with new ones
at a much lower rate of interest, and
thus postpone and gradate the times
of payment so rs to be able to meet our
debts and finally come out sound in
the end. TO secure these ends the
government says, moreover, that we
will resume specie payment in ~, not
that they expect to be able to meet
their Indebtedness at that date in gold,
but because their policy Of strict in
tegrity will obviate the necessity OF
payment in a measure at least. This
policy inevitably tends to depression
in everything; but, say its advocates,
this depression must come sooner or
later as the natural result of past in
hation, and it may as well, come now
even if it does break down large por-
ton of our business men. Many got
suddenly rich by imitation, and many
now, born on a less lucky day, must
be made poor, Opposed to this is the
silvery grcenbackers. Their arguments
when stated squarely, are, that the
contraction necessary to reach a gold
basis, is carried on so rapidly, that
the country is being crippled, business
dwarfed, and community need
lessly driven into bankruptcy. To
pay the bonds in greenbacks and hast
en- the day Of resumption, is legislating
in the interest of capital, which will
suffer no depreciation, while all other
property together with the price of
labor will rapidly decline. One of
their strong points, as made by Hon.
S. f. Norton, of Chicago, may be sta
ted as follows: In the country's need
men and money were wanted. Some
men gave their time which the govern
ment paid for in greenbacks worth,
with gold for basis, less than 90 cents
on the dollar, now let us pay those
who furnished money just as we paid
those who furnished blood, (for their
money is no more precious than our
BLOODY with the same coin. To accom-
plish this let us call the bonds paya-
bic in silver as well as gold, and then
coin largely of silver and the imitation
resulting, will deprcciate gold so that
with gold for basis we shall aproxi-
mately, at least, pay the bond holder
as we paid the soldier. The result of
this will be depreciation in bonds,
an advance in prices, and, consequent
ly, legislation in favor of the masses
to the detriment of bond holding capt.
talists.