The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-08-14


to par and has since remained there. The
Mexican dollar, which contains more silver
not legal tender, is worth but ninety cents.
You can not pay your taxes nor buy postage
stamps with foreign gold coin If the officisis
gress has not declared 1t legal tender.
But the friends Of the :, national
bank system declare that II paper
the coin out of the country. This Is false. As
1 said before, the balances between govern
ter. II we sell to other nations more than we
buy, as we are doing now, we will have the
current of coin flowing to US. II we buy more
is an inexorable law OF commerce which no
legislation can change. But the value of that
can be fixed by iegisiation. The e policy d laid
down In our platform of full legal tender
money made OF coin and paper,
Will be to, bring about specie circulation. No
man Will hoard specie when he can not sell IL
at speculative prices, and he could not II paper
dues. II paper money mad been full legal
tender we would long since have had a specie
circulation In the country and par money.
WHAT THE RESUMPTION ACT MEANS.
The object of the resumption law was to re-
to give the entire field of circulation to the
national bank currency. The friends OF
aIop fhi law ass great fear 5 int
notes, but they have no fear of an over
issue of bank notes. The banks under the
extent of ninety per cent. of all the bonds
they can procure. The republican leaders
have led many honest men TO believe that our
only financial safety Is TO place all bank Issues
on a coin basis, and thus prevent huctuation
in prices, and they call this bed rock when in
fset m Is but % 6Gey that KEEPS
like the tides Of the sea, Is one which will
leave all men who fol ow 1t PROSTATE and
helpless, an easy prey to the money shark
watching knows what
cOEdttion OF all men Will be who follow the
Ia Nv of currency, as well ss the 1sh hawk
XII Ovs what the condition of the fish will be,
whS n the ebb comes, which follow the dow of
the tides.
COIN REDEMPTION MEANS INFLATIoH.
But If there was no such design the policy of
TO the widest imitation. Banking is not done
by individuals for the public good, but Tor the
profit to those engaged In 1t, and there are two
How to make the most money when redemp-
tiOn Is not wanted, and how TO best protect
their credit when redemption Is asked for. II
to us, and then look out for imitation. The
banks will loan every dollar they can lawfully
to the extent of at least three dollars for
every one they have in specie. Prices of
labor and commodities go up; speculation
runs wild, and the people think they have
suddenly grown rich. Thls thing may con-
tinue for some years, but the balance Of trade
turns against us % and the coin in our banks
con demands, and he does 1t. But he must
protect his credit at home, and he knows his
only remedy and safety is in retiring two of
own specie reserve, and he does this by calling
in his loans and retiring his surplus currency,
regardless OF the needs of the country, for his
shrinkage in values, and financial ruin and
pubic distress follow. The men who followed
the the sands, and were left high and dry on the
shore of bankruptcy. 1 need not describe this
ebb and flow OF money, for you have had too
much experience within the past few years, as
well as before the war. You have seen the
sharks devour the helpless fish that were de
luded into these dangerous waSers by the
tempting bats.
And again, think of the frauds that were
practiced under specie basis and redeemable
mans desk was found the detecfor, Which
gave daily quotations, showing the currency
10 range from 100 cents down to l5 cents on the
dollar in value.
SOME STATISTICS.
1 have said that paper money, when
ever we insist upon an issue of government
notes, based on the credit of the whole people,
the ghost of the continental money and con-
federate scrip is at once brought prominently
before the people to convince them that such
notes viii always depreciate. Mr.. Groesbeck,
of Cincinna 1, in his paper upon the subject OF
silver which he read before the bankers con-
vention in New York sometime since, digress-
ed from his subject of silver and brought
those ghosts before that body. He re-
ferred to the depreciation OF the con-
tinental money and the confederate scrip.
he SalQ tnaU all money ike united states
notes would depreciate in time OF war. re-
gret, because of the high standing of Mr.. Groes-
beck, that he should attempt to compare our
United States notes to continental and con-
federate notes The continental notes were
not based upon taxes; the continental govern
ment had no power to levy taxes except by
consent OF the states; and II she had had the
power they had almost nothing to tax. The
confederate notes were not issued by govern
ment at all, but by states in rebellion trying to
establish a government, and when their cause
failed their money would of course be worth
less. Will Mr.. Groesbeck or any other adj
vocate of bank currency redeemable in coin
be candid or honest enough to inform the
country what became of the redeemable
money of the south, every dollar of which
been the fate of the north had 1t not been for
the issue OF legal tender notes by the govern
ment? The banks had been under suspension
OF specie payments for more than IL months,
and no man of business can come to any
other conclusion than This, that the people
had not the greenback act of February, 1862,
enabled them to redeem their notes with
them. We ask for the issue OF notes by
government of more than one hundred years
standing with credit second to none, and with
revenue of near 500, 900 900 per year. can
with man of but little information bringing
forward those ghosts, but u hen one like Mr..
Groesbeck SO for forgets himself as to do so, he
demands some attention. defy any opposers
Of the issue of such notes as we ask for by the
government to point to a single instance,
where the issue was made by responsible gov
ernments; that they ever did depreciate Such
Virginia and North Carolina, when they were
colonies of Great Britain. They never depre-
ciated below coin, al though they remained in
circulation for nearly forty years, aud added
much to the wealth of those colonies. The
first notes issued by the government after the
war began were called demand notes, but when
1T was seen that the government had no coin
10 pay them with, congress made them a full
legal tender, cnd they never deprecated be-
low the vslue of coin, and over $4,000 of them
are outstanding to-day. When coin was worth
2S5 in greenbacks, which were limited legal
tender, the demand note, that was full legal
tender, was worth the same premium in green
backs. Need say more? Can any one doubt
the ability OF our government 10 make her
own notes par with coin to the
extent that the legitimate tradeof the coun-
try needs 10 perform exchanges? Paper
redeemable in coin on business principles led
to the widest imitation and the most ruinous
contraction, and want to call your attention
to the ebb and flow OF currency under specie
basis from 1911 until the issuing of government
notes:
Bank currency In lSll.-.....s 100000
Bank currency in l8l6.-...... 6S,C01,000
Bank currency I'm lS20.-..... 45,OO0,OUO
Contraction from 1916 to
1890. ............ 100000
Bank currency in lS37.-.-.. 14l 100000
Bank currency I'm 1913. ...... 5S,000000