Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1878-09-26

and as firmly believe we can maintaiuit provided.
always. We act like sensible people and abstain
what do we behold at the very moment when this
great achievement for which the country has been
signing for years. appears assuredi portion OF the
propositions to undo IL oil and to return to chaos
again; SGT Of physicians. when the patient IL the
point OF recovery. aud reqras only repose and the
quiet working OF natural forces prescribing medi-
Cines TO throw him into tits IL is the most
curious spectacle people presented. 1t would
only laughable did 1t not threaten serious
sequences.
What are those schemes and propositions Let us
examine them, candidly. We fnd first, the prOpo-
sltiOn TO replace the money system based upon the
precious metals by the socalled absolute fat money.
During the FIVE years Of depression and distress siuce
1873 many people CROPPED irantcals about for means
OF relief net inquirng into the of their
difficulty or not understanding them. They thought
there must be artificial remedy to it within
the reach OF human ingenuity. That the results OF
the unproductive consumption the imprOvident
wasting of wealth. can be cured only by the produo-
ton OF real wealth in SLOW and steady away did not
strike them promising in their They wanted
some oncker and more Ingenious method of ceiling
rich again. like The achen,ists of the middle
They thought there must be some way 10 make gold
out of dlOss. The first thing that struck them as
promising was an initiation OF orr greenback curien
ey. But when from 1873 TO 1874 the volume OF the
greenbacks was expanded IRON 1856 0OU, 600 to
1882 OOO, 600. it had not the least effect The in
crease stayed in the Eastern banks Then expan
SION OF the national bank currency was thought Of
bank notes. es given. ' But this did not work. In
spite Of the new facilities the bank currency actual
ly reduced itself 1t became evident that the ous
ness of the country would not take and circulate any
more of that money, Tor there employ
for IL Then some ingenious minds hit upon bolder
plan. You have known persons who when they
sick will think 10 medicine help unless it be
particularly strong in color and nasty in They
look upon everything that Is natural with distrust
Thus the scheme OF socaed fiat money was brought
forward, and many wellmeaning innocent people
to have been talked into the belief that this at
last is the true thing.
What is absolute fiat money! 1t is the simplest
continuance III tho world. The government takes
little piece OF paper and says to it, "Be thou dol
lar and then tho government stamp is put upon
the paper and forthwith it is dollar. ive ten.
or a hundred dollars as the may be. Then all
other kinds of money. gold. silver. greenbacks and
national bank notes. Withdrawn and the hat or
only legal tender in payment of debts and govern
Dent dues. Now the present greenback bears this
inscription: The United States will pay the bearer
dollar'--or five. Will not the fat dollar
bear a similar promises Bless you, no. The fiat dol
lar will not promise anything and just that is the
beauty of it. According TO the fatlnoney doctors.
it promised something. The nat
dollar does not promise anything for it is in itself
the performance of the promse-it is dollar The
tiat money promises nothing beyond itself for 1t does
away with all other things. Gold and silver
tiquated stuff entirely unsuitable for this progress
i've ago. and country. The fiat money once out,
gold and silver will more be thought of. We
shall be entirely separate and independent from the
rest Of the world in all financial aud commercial
for it will not be taken anywhere else and 50. like
the poor. it stays all and always with us; and inas
much it costs almost notiing to rake fat money
and we make any quantity OF it to suit ourselves
shall get richer and richer, and there will really
be end to wealth and happiness. That is
what the fiat money doctors promise us.
1t will strike you that this is exceedingly simple
and very fine. but you may have some misgivings
and say, well, this bit of paper may cali itself
dollar put it is after all only bit ofgaper Is there
hat-m0ney man grayely aaswers This is great
country 1t has some forty or fifty Thousand millions
Of this great Of country puts its sap
piece Of paper and thus makes 1t money then that
money is based upon the whole wealth of the coun-
try" That sounds magnihcently, and y0I may
think we'll If this country has forty fifty thous-
and millions worth of property and all that property
is mortgaged security for the value of this fat
money why should not this security be-
COED enough for a couple thousand millions of
MAJ money! Now lot us soc how it will
work. Such promises to pay As greeIbacks and
fat money. 1t will not be necessary to make any
provision for the withdrawal of gold and silver for
the precious metals finding no further employment,
will take leave of themselves. aud go abroad, where
they are wanted. Now the fiat money is master Of
the field 1t goes circulation. and for some time
IL will indeed circulate, Tor II being the only tool OF
exchange left TO you, you will have 10 take Ii ami
it, it will circulate just wanpum. beads ana
clam-shells and leaden bullets circulated for while
currency, in early colonial times. 1t will also
n,aintan certain current value long its vol
ume Is kept Within the quantity that would circulate
in the form OF specie and paper convertible into
clio But YOU must consider that the hat money,
where it is brought forward by earnest iniaonisis
whoae principal object is 10 make money plenty by
issuing enough of it II keep all the boys in easeand
why should nOts-costs nothing. We NAV just
| as well have much little. thousand millions
more or less are no object the government there
by burdens itself with no promise or obligations and
finally the wealth Of the country forty fifty thou
sand millions worth of property stands behind it,
mortgaged as security But presently, when we
have made fat money plenty, We stall find that il
issue. just the greenOacks did and worse.
How it deprpciate like the greenback? says the
| tat-m0ney doctor. with smile OF superior wis
| dom. The greenback, by tho absurd promise
of the government to pay coin for it,
| was kept in constant comparison with coin.
and therefore could depreciate to coin. But when,
by the introduction Of fiat money gold and silver
utterly banished and forgotten, and our money sys
tenn has become entirely separate and independent
from all other money stems OF the world, how car
| the HAT dollar depreciate 10 coini' Let us see
| In the first place, as your fiat dollars grow more
and more plenty their purchasing power will grow
less. just as the purchasing power OF the clamshe
currency in old Colonial times grew less. the supply
| of them growing larger, until finally they brought
nothing at al. Thus the fiat dollars VIII depreciate
TO the articles you want TO buy with them but
idea that by banishing the precious metals from
money system we can cut loose from the money sys
| tenn of the world. aud avoid all comparison of the
absurd We are a commercial nation, and have
large dealings with the world abroad
Our imports and exports 60 into the hundreds OF
1
ports especially increasing beyond all anicipa
tion All we sell and all We buy abroad are paid and
settled for the gold basis The prices of our prin
cpal articles of export, OF agricultural staples
are virtually determined III the foreign market. Now
while We are doing this immense business with the
world abroad ON the gold basis, must il not be evi
dent to the duest understanding that although the
last gold coin may have been banisbed from our do
nestle transactions the value OF the fat dollar in
comparison with gold will be quoted just as the
greenDack dollar was, and that it will DO matter
daily concern and anxiety to every farmer West and
East tho price OF whose products depends upon the
eign marketf Thus. whatever expedient you resorl
to- gold will be and remain the standard OF value as
to the fiat dollar Your fat dollar will be brought uf
before that tribunal to have judgment pronounced
to its worth aud the idea that by introducing here
| paper-money system Of your own you can withdraw
| from the rules that govern the commerce of the
world and change the real standard OF value in your
business transactions, will appear of the nos
absurd and childish conceptions the human brain has
| ever been guilty Of
| At last when your fat dollar having been made
| very plenty to accommodate the people, has run
| down so Low in its purchasing power, and cut sc