The Portland daily press., 1878-08-03
The French ASsignats Again.

One of the most difficult arguments that
the infationists have to meet and contend
with is the experience in the use of irredeem-
able paper money furnished by the history of
the French assignats. The National orators
and editors cannot meet this argument, as
they well know, and SO they evade it and
misrepresent the facts in the case. It is con-
tinually coming up to plague them, but their
wonderful facility of ignoring facts and Of
drawing inconsequent conclusions from false
premises enables them to make replies plaus-
BILE enough to those who have not acquainted
themselves with the history of this form of
paper currency aud who are unaccustomed
to close reasoning. The Neao Era has just
made another attempt to show that no just
comparison can be made between the French
currency and that proposed by the Nationals,
1t quotes the letter of correspondent of the
Irish World. The letter is a series of mis-.
statements. The correspondent asserts to
begin with that the assignats had for their
basis only the property of the church and the
extled nobility, and goes on to say that even
this properly proved to be good and sufficient
security to satisfy the people and that the as.
signats held their own until Napoleon as
cended to power, when the property of the
church and nobility reverted back to the orig
inal owners.
The correspondent is mistaken. The as.
signats only had for their basis, it is true, the
property of the church and the mobiles. But
hot artv fba -
land of France. 1t did not Prove sufficient
security for the people, because depreciation
soon set in. As early as June, 1893, franc
in coin was worth three francs in paper, and
by March 1906, one franc in coin was worth
three hundred in paper. Nor did the rise of
Napoleon or the calling back of the emigrants
have anything to do with this depreciation.
| Napoleon did not come into power until two
years after the Gssignats were repudiated,
and the Dobles did not return until some
time after his accession; nor were their lands
restored when they did come. The history
| of the assignats is briefly told. After appro-
priating the land of the church and the ex-
| lies the National Assembly instead of bring
| ing it into the market at once when its value
was deprecated, issued bonds on the security
of it, called assigaats as representing land
assigned to the holder. This paper money
consisted chiefly of notes for 100 francs (S2O),
though many of them were as low as five
francs ($1). The issues were increased as
more and more of the property of emigrants
was confiscated. The Government took the
most extreme measures to compel their
acceptance at their nominal value. It
made them receivable for all debts But
their depreciation could not be stayed. The
prices of all commodities went up, until
toward the last it took 2400 francs ($4SO) to
buy dinner in Paris. The Government
tried to fix a maximum of prices. But it
could not compel producers and dealers to
sell, and business became thoroughly disor-
ganized. The loss was incalculabe. In
March 1796, the assignats were withdrawn
from circulation, and redeemed, according to
Greenback notions (at one-thirtieth of their
nominal value) in a new kind of paper called
mandGtS, which enabled the holder at once
to take possession of public lands at the es-
timated value. The naandGts soon fell to
seventieth of their nominal value, though the
Government all the time accepted them in
payment of taxes and of land. At length in
July 1876, the system of paper credit came to
an end, and law was passed that anyone
might transact business in whatever currency
he chose, and that the mandats should be
taken at their current, not their nominal
value. 1t is to be noted that the point of
greatest depreciation was reached at the time
when Napoleon, as commander of the Army
of Italy, was winning his most brilliant vcto-
ries and sending back TO France the enor-
nous plunder of the italian cities. In that
year he sent to the Treasury 50,OOO,O00
francs. The Republic was at the height of
success, its armies victorious everywhere and
levying immense tributes on conquered ma
tions. Yet at that time the paper money of
the Republic was worth but one SEVENTEEN of
its nominal value.
That is the history of an inflated paper cur
rency in France. The currency proposed for
this country by the Nationals has not even
the strength of the French currency, for it is
not based on real estate or on anything but
the "faith' of the nation, faith which
would be broken by the very first issue of fiat
money. The French experiment, far wiser
than that proposed by the Nationals, for it was
based on something, ended in widespread
industrial distress and national bankruptcy.
The experiment of the Nationals, if tried,
must result in the same way.