Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1878-09-05
RutiimenfarY Facts.

1.-The greenbacks are not real money.
They are only promises to pay money. ANY,
body can convince himself of this by reading
the printing on the face of the notes.
Take one dollar bill. 1t does
not say This is one dollar, but ''The
United States viii pay to bearer One Dollar" !"
What dollar is can be learned by referring
to the Revised. Statutes. 1t is specified
amount OF gold or silver of specified fine
ness. %. -.--i '' ~ Id .f
II. The bonds are promises to pay real
money; consequently they cannot be dis
charged by giving the holders other promises
to pay. This would be plain to the dullest
comprehension if the long absence of coin
from general circulation had not confused
peoples ideas as to the nature of money, and
made many imagine that greenbacks are real
money, because they discharge for the tine
being the functions of real money. To pay
the bonds in greenbacks would be as dishon-
est as to pay mortgage with note drawing
no interest
Ill. Real money must have intrinsic value
closely approximating to the value of the
commodities for which it is exchangeable
This intrinsic value is the worth set upon it
by the general opinion of the commercial
world. No one nation can greatly alter this
value. 1t would not be possible, for example,
for Congress to make British soyereigns pass
in this country for ten dollars apiece-their
intrinsic value being little less than Eve dol
lars. Nor would it be possible, taking our
own coinage for another illustration, for an
act of Congress to make five dollar gold
piece legal tender for debt of ten dollars.
Public opinion would be stronger than the
law and it would be disregarded, just as the
law making greenbacks legal tender has
been disregarded in. California for sixteen
years. ra
". Paper money, whether bank notes or
Government notes, is representative money.
1t is an hoeest currency if the promise of re-
demption onfits face is kept, or time. fixed
for making it good, which the people have
faith will be honestly observed. 1t is dis
honest currency if the promise is not kept
and no intention is shown of ever keeping it.
V. The Government stamp does not make
the money. This is forcibly shown by the
trade dollar, which, although stamped ''Uni-
ted States Of America, One Dollar" is current
only at ninety cents. A legal tender law has
some effect in backing up the Government
stamp, but even that will not force the public
long TO accept as dollar something that is
known to be worth less than a dollar The
Treasury has coined over $40, 900 of the
new silver dollars, but with ali its efforts it
has been able to palm off on the people only
about one million of them. AS fast as they
are issued they come back again. as
VI No tricks or jugglery with the curren-
cy-no issue of short-weight coin or bogus
paper money-no violation of National
pledges or fantastic schemes for cutting loose
from the financial system of the civilized
world, will add one dollar to the laboring
mans wages or bring one dollar of honest
custom to the business mans counter. Such
schemes, if carried out, would help nobody
but speculators. They are advocated by
demagogues who presume upon the ignorance
of their followers. Cleveland Herald.