The Portland daily press., 1878-08-30
Have We Enough Gold?

In discussing the resumption of specie pay
ments the Greenback papers insist that even
were resumption desirable, there is not
enough coin in the Treasury to accomplish
it. They assume that the whole three hun
dred and odd millions of greenbacks will be
presented for redemption at once. That
assumption is baseless. The entire volume
of Treasury notes could not be collected and
presented in any brief time, even if there
were an object to be gained in making the
attempt. The alleged scarcity of coin will be
found no obstacle. We might as well reason
that no country on the earth has currency
enough for its needs because its volume Of
exchanges in the course of year vastly ex-
ceeds its volume of currency.
There was story told by Chdse's Chroni-
Gle, IA paper that is now greatly concerned
over the scarcity of gold) in the days of its
callow youth, designed to illustrate the bene-
fits of greenbacks, but which is more strik-
ing illustration of the ease with which a
paper currency based on gold can be main
tanned. This is the story:
Mr.. Brown kept tboarders
Around his table sat Mr.. Brown, Mrs. Brown,
Mrs. Andrews, the village milliuer, Mr.. Black,
the baker, Mr.. Jordan, a carpenter, and MIR.
Hadley, the flour and lumber merchant.
Mr. Brown took out of his pocket book
ten dollar note and handed it to Mrs. Brown,
saying:
"Here, my dear. are ten dollars towards the
twenty promised you."
"Mrs Brown handed 1t to Mis-. Andrews,
the mllliner, saying:
sThat pays for my bonnet.
Mrs. Andrews said to Mr.. Jordan, as she
| handed him the note:
"That will pay for your work on my coun-
| ter"
Mr.. Jordan handed it to Mr.. Hadley, the
| flour and lumber merchant, requesting his
| lumber bill.
| Mr.. Hadley gave the note back to Mr. Brown
| saying:
Mr.. Brown passed it to his wife with the re-
marx that that paid her the twenty dollars he
had promised. She paid it to Mr.. BLACK to
| settle her bread and pastry account, who
handed it to Mr.. Hadley, wishing credit for the
amount on his flour bill, he again returned II
to Mr. Brown with the remark that it settled
for that months board; whereupon Mr..
Brown put it back into his pocket took, ex
claiming that he never thought ten dollal
bill would 60 so far"
Thus ten dollar greenback was made tt
pay ninety dollars Indebtedness inside of five
minutes. Who says greenbacks are worth
less?
This is very good. A ten dollar greenbacl
discharges ninety dollars indebtedness. Nov
nobody will deny that gold eagle will d.
the same service. But if ten dollar gol'
piece will! discharge ninety dollars indebted
ness, what comes of the argument that thi
country cannot obtain a quantity OF gol
| sufficient to nav its demand notes? Accord
ing to this reasoning of the Greenbacks
thirty millions of gold will pay three hun
dred millions of indebtedness, and we hav
already five times that in the treasury. N
doubt exists that by 1879 we shall have $780,
100000, a sum amply sufficient for the need
of redemption. We shall then be as well O.
as the Mr.. Brown of the story who pai
twenty dollars Indebtedness with the ten 90
lar note. The gold the Government pay
out will return to it, as in the greenpac
illustration, return to 1t in the shape OF dutle