Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-07-11

They loaned their money to the imperied gov
eminent with low credit; they gather their
reward of large premiums from an impregna-
BILE nation with high credit. Tested in civil
war and fiscal panic. with gold reaching as
high as 2s5 on the 18th day Of July, 1864, and
falling to its present paltry premium of three-
Fights of per cent, and through this ordeal
with an unwavering. fidelity, good faith ends
nowto foreign holders of our bonds at los,
and duty to our citizens demands that they
shall no longer suffer with forced use of paper
driven below par by government, discredit.
long years of stagnation in all branches of
business, entailing loss Of fortunes and casting
diAmay into thousands of households, visiting
want to countless laborcrs, whose cry for
work and bread the golden seats of customs
answer, with the remorseless siren, !" Keen
sacred the national faith. has no longer plea
or defense. With bonds at a premium of s
per cent and United States notes but tnree-
eghths OF per cent. below gold where Is
the man so fastidious as to further insist that
payment of customs dues in gold is longer ne c.
essary to maintain the public faith? Our OBJ
legations to holders abroad have ceased, duty
to citizens at home requires that the govern~
ment they periled and sacrificed life to per-
petuate shall now turn its attention to up
holding its credit with its own people. The
government should now provide for receiving
tor all public purposes what it obliges individ-
uals to take for all private transactions. While
gold was at a large premium nearly if not
quite equal to that on bouds, there was force
in the argument that there should be some
certain, reliable source of supply to the
Treasury of coin to pay the interest on the
public debt; for without it the government
might find itself embarrassed to meet express
obligations; but with United States notes
nearly equal to gold the argument falls and
the disparity should end aieas oEl
The people have been willing to bear with
patient fidelity discrimination against them
selves for the public faith, but they will no
longer brook discriminating burden when it
antognizes the public welfare. The plea,
moreover, cannot be urged that if customs
dues are not paid in coin the government viii.
DE compelled to buy at disadvantage in open
market to provide for coin obligations At
what disadvantage, then, ask The compe-
tition in market of thousands of importers
daily bidding for coin to pay the duties on
their invoices, which of itself kept up and act
i've the premium, would end by liberty to paw
in United States notes, There would then be
but one competitor. The government would
be the sole purchaser and substantially die
tate its own terms, and premium, if any, would
be nominal. Is s.i,ir a. hea 1903 ss.1
The nation cannot longer with credit forego
removal OF discredit on all of its legal~tenderl
notes for the paltry saving of three -eghths of
per cent. on the amount required to pay the
interest on the public debt, and hope to es-
cape general reproach. No fears need be APP
pretended that the government may have to
seek supply of coin abroad. The annual pro-
duct OF cQin in the country is $S4 ,0O0,0 600
The annual iaterest on the public debt is SOL !
H7d HA1 I1udar ha a,c ~
monetizing silver there will soon be an aver
age outstanding of silver certificates in circula-
ton more than equal to the interest due to
holders of bonds by our citizens, and sufficient
OF these could readily be secured for such
semi. annual interest obligations; so that, in
every conceivable aspect, the necessity for de-
nying United States notes their riohtful place
in circulation has departed and it is proposed
now that full value to them shall be impaired.
Both these propositions come to us
In the interest of the principle of an
equality in value of the paper and
coin which constitute our currency,
convertible the one into the other at
the holders will, and all resting upon
the same great level of values, a prin-
ciple lying at the bottom of sound
financial science in government, of
true political economy, adopted and
adhered to as the governing policy of
every nation on earth that maintains
unsullied its honor and its credit be-
fore the world
The reconciliation of silver was in
the interest of this principle, that
gold, single standard of value, might
cease to be a commodity in the hands
of the shylocks and scalpers Of Wall
street for speculation only, and fall
back where it belongs, into circulation
as money on an equality with paper
and silver, and as money alone.
Not less in conformity thereto is
the appreciation of the greenback and
government paper ascending the up
ward scale of values from less than
fifty cents on the dollar to practical
equality with coin, and annihllating, /
hope, forever the margin " incident
to deprecated paper currency upon
which the shylock and the scalper
feed so long as it exists. As the pa
per currency of the government takes
its place beside the coin, the gold.
room closes in Wall street, and the
capital constantly staked on mar
gins and premiums must seek
other and more legitimate investment.
The great war Of 1861 wrought a
marvellous and radical change in
American finance. From system
of State banking based on State
bonds and other securities, often
worthless, floating an issue of paper
for the most part deprecated in
value, from system almost univers-
ally condemned, we have advanced
by the necessities Of war to a paper
currency national in its character and
known aud recognized as of equal
value throughout the States of the
National Union. The exIgencies Of
war gave it to us, and we hold it to
day upon principle we'll understood,
that its ultimate destiny is to be paid
IN coin at the holders will. In the
eye of the law and the decisions of
the courts each note is promise to
pay and to pay in coin. If the people
choose to hold this currency 10 circu.
lation as money, let them do so upon
the principle that it shall be maintain
ed equal to coin in its value. Let us
accept the character impaired to it
| by the Supreme Court of our com
mon country when it says
We do not rest their validity upon the as
sertion that their emission is coinage or any
regulation of the value of money, nor do We
assert that Congress may make anything
which has no value money. What we do as
sert is the governments promise to pay
money shall be, for the time being, equivaicn,
in value to the representative thereof.
| Under the resumption act AZ II
now stands, the gree6back Oh the
1st day of January, 1879, may de-
| mand it's face value in coin a. the
| Treasury of the nation, but s'shall be
reissued and paid out again and kept
in circulation" If maintained on q
parity with coin the SPECTATOR will
find no margin in its exchange al
the Treasury upon which to live and
thrive, and will leave it to pursue