Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1878-07-25

The greenback conventions all over
the country have declared In favor OF "ab-
solute money" issued by the government,
but never to be redeemed. The greenbacks
we now have are not absolute money
but simply note given by the government,
to the bearer and promising that the United
States will pay its face value. 1t has never
been claimed that the government could
rightfnlly redeem il by another note Of the
same denomination, but that 1t called for a
value equal to 100 cents to the dollar. A
resolution by a convention. or an act OF
Congress that a one dollar greenback
should be equal TO a gold or silver dollar
would have AS little binding force as an &C,
declaring thst two bushels Of oats should
be equal In value to one bushel Of wheat
or corn. On this subject the New York
Times says:
what DO these people mean by "abso-
lutte money: Perhaps they have no clear
idea themselves, but one thing they seem
to be certain about-it Is not to be CONVEX
tible with coin. IL Is no, to consist Of notes
regarded As evidences OF deb, to be paid.
Ii Is not 10 be redeemed OF redeemabie. 1,
Is merely TO be paper dollars, which the
Government has declared shall be money,
and shall be received as such for all pay
ments. not only to itself but between man
and man. This seems to be their idea OF
absolute money" The St Louis Labor
Greenbsck platform demanded that AL
bonds now subject to redemption be i'm
mediately redeemed in absolute money,
equivalent to coin" From this IL Is piai q
that absolute money is not q thing &" be
redeemed, but has itself the power OF re-
demption and final payment, and rs il can
be easily made, and at a trifling cost, IL fur
nishes a very easy and inexpensive method
for viping out Government obligations.
But the Government ought not TO enjoy .
monopoly OF the power to pay debts with
out its costing anything. IL can obtain
valuable consideration In solid supplies OF
one Kind or another, and run IN debt for
payment, and then discharge the deb, with
out returning any value, by merely print
ing lot of nestly-engraved bits OF paper
with backs Of yeidant hue. and passing
them over to It's creditors. why may we not
all trade In the same way? lift is the duty
OF the Government TO furnish the bits OF
paper, with proper devices, signatures, and
limitations OF seals, IL should supply them
to sill corners for nothing, or At mos; the
cost OF paper and printing. inasmuch as IL
obtains them for its own purposes at tha,
rate
When this paper-money delusion Is re-
duced TO its simplest terms, II seems too
silly and absurd for serious discussion. aud
yet there Is underneath IL a fundamental
fallscy that takes such strong hold on the
mind, OF superficial thinkers that Il Is al
most impossible 10 eradicate Il. That fal-
lacy Is, that the authority OF law or the
power OF Government can give value 10
anything that does not possess II. Few
people fully realize that the only absolute
money" is, and must be. a money OF value
containing In its own substance every iots
OF the value for which q is 10 exchange
IL must be worth as much as commodity
among commodities, TO be put TO any use
Of which its material i capable, as IL repre-
sents as money. The stamp which The
Government puts upon IL is OF no further
value or import then TO certify that IL con
tains so much metal OF a certain fneness
and ii Is the value Of that metal thst con.
s'itutes the purchasing power Of the coin
There i no other means under heaven
and among men whereby value can b,
measured but by value; there Is aud car
be no absolute money excerpt money o.
fail intrinsic value. and the ingenuity o.
man, the power OF government, the au
thority oflaw, and even the declaration,
OF conventions are as lmpotent TO Impair,
value TO that which is not valuable as to
give weight 10 that which is not poudera
bic. All substitutes for money, all so call
ed Representatives Of value" serve merely
10 effect exchanges by transferring nina
payment. They serve that purpose com
pletely and perfectly only so long as /, f.
known that they will at any time and al
times command the money for which thel
are substituted. the value which they rep
resent. In the definite and specific form o
. the coin that copmerce has adopted as Il.