Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-10-24


them as promising was
AN INITIATION CT OUR GREENBAcK CURRENCY.
But VIXEN, from 1873 to 1874, the volume 81
| the greenbacks was expanded from $3.50 900,
900 to 1882 ,ooo, 900, il had not the best effect
The increase stayed m the Eastern banks.
Then an expansion Of the National Bank cur
rency was thought of, and new facilities for the
emission OF bank notes given But this did
not work. In spite Of the new facilities the.
bank currency aetna ~ reduced itself 1t be-
came evident that the business of The country
would not take and circulate any more Of that
money, for there was no employment for il
Then some ingenious minds hlt upon a holder
plan. You have probably known persons
who, when they are sick, will think no medi-
cine can help unless it be particular strong IN
color and nasty in taste. They look upon ey-
erything that is natural with distrust Thus
the scheme OF SO called fat money was brought
forward, and many we'll meaning, innocent
people seemed to have been talked into
the belief that this at last is the true
thing. What is absolute fiat money! Il
IS the simplest contriyance in the world
The Government takes little piece of
1 paper and says to it: /" Be thou a dol
lar" and then a Government stamp is put upon
the paper, and forthwith il is dollar, or hve.
or ten, or hundred dollars, as the case may
be. Then all other kinds Of money-eold
silver, greenbacks and National Bank notes
are withdrawn and the fat or absolute money
put in their places. Ii will be the only legal
tender in payment of debts and Government
dues. Now, the present greenback bears this
| inscription: "The United States will pay the
bearer one dollar, "-er FIVE, or ten. Win NO,
the fiat dollar bear similar promiseP
BLESS you, MOI
The fiat dollar will not promise anything and
just that is the beauty Of 1t According 10 the
fat money doctors, it was the weakness of the
greenback that it promised something. The
hat dollar does not promise anything, for it is
in itself the performance of the promise-it is
dollar. The fiat money promises nothing be-
yond itself, for it does away with all other
things. Gold and silver are antiquated stuff,
entirely unsuitable for this progressive and
country. The hat money once out, gold and
silver will no more be thought of. We shall
rest of the world in all financial and CONNER
cial transactions. Our fiat money will not be
exported, for it will not be taken anywhere else,
and so like the poor it stays all and always
with us, and nasmuch as it costs almost moth
ing to make fiat money and we can make any
quantity OF II to suit ourselves we shall get
richer and richer, and there will really be no
end to our wealth and happiness That is
what the iat-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 call itself dollar, but il is after all only
bit OF paper. Is there nothing else of value
behind it ?" Whereupon The fat-money man
gravely answers: "Ths is a great country. II
has some forty or fifty thousand millions oil
dollars worth of property in it. When the
Government of this great country puts it.
stamp on piece of paper and thus makes i,
money, then that money is based upon the
whole wealth of the country"
THAT SOUNDS lIAGNIFIcENTIY.
and you may think Well, if this country has
forty or fifty thousand millions worth of prop
erty, and all that property is morgaged as Sc
curity for the value of this fiat money, why
should not that security be good enough for q
couple of thousand millions of fiat money ?
Now let US see how il will work. Such promises
to pay as greenbacks and National Bank notes
are withdrawn to make room for fiat 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 and go abroad
where they are wanted Now the fiat money
is the master of the field Ii goes into circula-
ton, and Tor some time ii will indeed circulate,
for, it being the only TOOL of exchange left 10
you, you will have to take and use it. Ii VIII
circulate just as wampum, beads, and clam
shells, and leaden bullets circulated for while
as currency in early Colonial times. 1t viii
also maintain a certain current value as long
| as its volume is kept within the quantity that
would circulate in the form of specie and paper
convertible into specie But you must consider
ot fIat here &c ri -
earnest inflationists, whose principal object is
TO MAKE MONEY PLENTY
by issuing enough of ii TO keep all the boys in
ease. And why should we not Il costs
nothing We may just as well have much as
little. A thousand millions more or less are
no object, as the Government thereby burdens
itself with no promise or obligation. And,
finally, the wealth of the country, $40, ooo,-
ooo, 900 or $5o, 900, ooo, 900 wort of properly,
stand behind it, mortgaged as security. But,
| presently, when we have made fat money
plenty, we shall find that it drpreciates, and
will depreciate more and more the more We
issue, just as the greenbacks did, and
worse. GLOW can in depreciate like the
greenback 7" says the fat doctor with a smile
of superior wisdom. 'tThe greenback by the
absurd promise of the Government to pay coin
for it was kept in constant comparison with
coin, and therefore could depreclate as to COIN.
But when, by the introduction Of fat money,
gold and silver are utterly banished and for
gotten, and our money system has become
entirely separate and independent from all
other money systems of the world, how can
the fiat money depreciate as to coin?" Let
us see.
In the first place. as your fat dollars grow
more and more plenty, their purchasing power
viii grow less, just as the purchasing
POWER OF THE cIAMsHELL CURRENCY
in old Colonial times grew less, the supply of
them growing larger, until finally they brought
nothing at all. Thus the fat dollars will de-
preciate as to the articles you want to buy with
them. "But what of that2'' answers the nat
money doctor, sthat does not mean deprecia-
ton, but it means that things grow dearer in
price. When II takes two fiat dollars to buy
an article which cost but one cellar before.
then the Government can issue double the
amount of fiat money for the accommodation
of the people, for ii costs nothing, and the
wealth Of the country will be ample security
for couple of thousand millions moren And
SO it goes on and on; and, in this case, under
| the lead of the fiat-money DOCTORS it will GO
on quickly, until the story may be repeated of
| the wheelbarrowful Of money carried to market
| and the purchase carried home in your vest
pocket. But the idea that, by banishing the