The Portland daily press., 1878-10-16
"Flat Money -

1
might and power, has issued Fiat Money,
which she has already put into circulation to
some extent, and in perfectly good faith. I
have some of it lying before me now as write.
siS Oh paper, very cheap. having that essen
usi qnality OF the proposed greenback cur
rency, and 1t really looks very well. The issue
that have seen, and the specimens have,
represent coins, some of gold, which have the
golden hue, some of silver that resemble that
metal in color
have two twenty dollar pieces, two ten do,-
lar pieces, a piece of dollar and one of a
half dollar. The heraldic bearing is spread
| eagle with the olive branch and the arrows
with the inscription surrounding it, "United
| States of America" Beneath are the words.
"Twenty D." "Ten D., "Oae Dollar. In
| God we Trust "Half D." Here Ia the
Greenback idea worked out perfectly, except
that no act Of Congress has made this currency
legal tender; but Congress can do so as well
as confer that quality upon any other pieces of
| paper. If Congress should do that, Mrs.
| Thurstou would find ready market for her
| paper dollars, until people had paid off their
debts with them, and after that there would be
| no further demand for them. Trads would be
| at orc3 on cash basis for coin with 10 credit.
should like to know why these paper dol
lars of Mrs. TEurston. with an act of Con-
| gress making them a legal tender, would not
be in every respect as valuabls as the currency
| suggested by our greenback friends. They may
| say that an essential part of their scheme is
| that the greenbacks may at any time by the
| holder, be invested in government interest
bearing bonds, and these again may az any
time be exchanged for greenbacks. Very WELL
let that be also part of Mrs Thurston's plan,
| aud then it seems to me the parallel will
| be perfect. The bonds proposed by our
Greenhack friends are to be paid, principal and
| interest, only in more greenbacks; and Mrs.
| Thurs.on might do the same thing Ia either
case there is to be no promise and no coin in
| the system.
Do our friends insist that there is world
| wide difference between the two cases? That
Mrs. ThurstoD, though vastly worthy woman
is without fortune, and with no credit what
ever which depends upon wealth? While the
United States government, which is to issue
the greenbacks is rich and strong and with un-
bounned responsibility; the greenback are
not to be promise to pay anything; they do
| not have the United States bshind them thay
have nothing behind them, except that creditors
shall receive them in full payment of all debts;
| and after the debts are paid, what then? Will
they be Of any value in the purchase of mer-
chandise or commodities? Yes, of some value.
possibly, but of no more in that case than Mrs.
| Thursto0'5 paper dollar would have.
| The United States government is to promise
nothing In any way, except more paper of the
| same sort for interest on the bond. Mrs. Thurs
ton hnf 0ba T..
| terest bearing bonds, payable, principal and
interest in more paper dollars, acd oHly so; aud
| in the case supposed, her bonds and her dollars
| would be in every respect as valuable as those
| OF the United States. Ii the latter should
| promise coin for the interest on their bonds
| these would be far more valuable than those of
Mrs. Thurston, because the government prom
ise to pay coin woald be good, while such
promise from Mrs. Thurston would carry no
credit with it. Bat the greenbscx plan puts
the government on the same plane with her,
because it proposes no responsibility whatever
for its issues, nor does she for hers.
Some one ASKED Mrs. Thurston.
''But are not you afraid your currency will
be counterfelted?"
"No. Why should any one take that trouble:
there is plenty of it, and any one may have as
much as ne wants" Precisely the same thing
might be said by the government while working
the greenback plan. Why should any one coun-
terfeitit? Why should the government punish
any one for doing so? Itcould not by any possibl-
lose anything by counterfets, bscsuse there is
no promise of the government to redeem it.
The old Continental money was a promise of
the United Colonies to pay, dollar for dollar
but ii came to naught. The French assignats
were promise of the revolutionary govern
Inent TO pay and all the con6scated estates
of. the nobility and clergy were set apart as q
fund for redemption. And this property to q
vast amount was sold at auction in ali parts of
the kingdom, and payment was received in
these assignats; yet they weat down to nothing
w
head successfully against all her enemies The
peace of 'S3 by which the colonies became free,
did not help the continental money; and suo.
cessful establishment of the Revolutionary gov
ernment in France did not save the assgnats;
they were perfect aud total collapse.
am just now reading q French account of
most Thrilling passages in the fret revolution,
hy Erckman- Chatrian, in which there are
many allusions to the assignats and descrip-
tlons OF the sufferings of the people coming
directly from their great and rapid deprecia-
tlon. As early as '93, soon after this paper
money was issued the depreciation was ten for
compensate, as it was thought, for the depre-
citation, and the more there was made of il the
less was its value. And all this, though it was
grave ofense to refuse to receive il in COM
mercial or other business transactions
The book introduces very touching story of
a poor woman seventy years old speaking only
German. not knowing q word of French tray-
elling long way to Paris to beg the life Of her
son, a baker, who had been arrested for refus-
ing to sell his bread for assignats. The author
speaks at some length ''deS nldLheureur ourrier
Quon pdydst doee deS asSignats, que les mar
chdnds ne Uouldtent pas receUoir;" of the
wretched working people Who we're paid with
assgnats that the traders woulo not receiye
Notwithstanding the laws making this money a
legal tender.
Erckman-Chatrian says: 'sThe convention
was forced to take energetic measures; it re-
newed the committee OF public safety; il es-
tqhliaba1 a m mil tfaai in
commune" with absolute power over property
and life); sit deoreed a maximum price Tor ali
produce of first necessity; for the days work;
for all products of industry. 1t deoreed the
conscr ption of the entire male population of
the republic from the age of Is to As; it decreed
the contribution in kind of things necessary for
the troops, the seizure of horses for the cavalry
it decreed the suspension of the constitution
and state of siege throughout the country
until the peace"
The convention cut off the heads of the
king and the queen, and destroyed all the fam
lily; 1t seized at midnight in their beds and
everywhere and at all times, all suspected per-
sons of whatever condition, character, and
reputation for virtue, integrity and honor. and
shot them, and decapitated them, and stabbed
them, and chopped them into La0rcedux; il
made the streets and public squares red with
blood, and filled the land with horror and ter.
ror.
The convention could do all this and great
deal more of the same sort, and did it. 1t
issued also decree that there should no longer
be any God; and o decree that assignats
should be money-sood money-to be freely
received every where in trade, commerce and
exchange, as freely and as fully as gold and
silver. The convention could and did fill the
land with misery and desslation; ID destroyed
under the horrible forms of law administered by
brutal lnen, thousands of innocent men, women
and children; but it did not and could not abol-
ish God, nor find protection from his prov-
dence; nor could it change the assignats from
what they were-bits of worthless paper.
Paper money to have any value, must bear
upon it promise of somebody to pay il on de-
mand or at some time; and even then, its value
will depend absolutely on thu supposed ability
of the promisor to fulfill his engagement In
the old days of the State Banks, their bills were
of all shades OF value, according to their credit,
from par to nothing. 1t was all a question of
supposed ability to redeem their promise to pay.
This is an inexorable law relating to this mat
ter, and no earthly power can change it And
yet our Greenback friends seem to De ignorant
of it; and even now, at this enlightened day,
they imagine that our government can mskea
piece of paper absolutely valueless in itself, to
be as good as gold for any sum which it may
express upon its face In printers ink, while 10
has upon it no promise of anybody to pay any
thing whatavar for IL. aXcant othar niaaas of ma