The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-10-31
Fiat Money In Use.
How nm Irredem able Paper Currency Az
fected Prices and PabIic Opinion in
the Southern STATES.

George Gary Eggleston's entertaining book,
"a Rebels Recolections", which has Just been
republished in an attractive form, contains an
instructive chapter concerning the "money"
with which our "errng brethren" were fur
nished during the Rebellion. The financial
system of the Confederate States resembled
very closely what the theories of the Green
hackers wouli produce if these theories were
once put into practical operation; and we rec
ommend the perusal of the following extracts
from Mr.. Eggleston's financial chapter to all
persons who are enamored or fear that they
will be of the current heresies of the day:
1.-THE financial system adopted by the Con-
federate government was singularly simple aDd
free from technicalties. 1t consisted chiefly in
the issue of Treasury notes enough to meet all
the expenses OF the government. and in the
present advanced state of the art Of printing
there was hut one difficulty incident to this
process, namely. the impossibility Of having
the notes signed in ,he Treasury Department as
fast as they were needed. There happened
however, to be several thousand young ladies In
Richmond willing to accept light and remunera-
tive employment at their homes and as it was
really matter of small moment whose name
they bore, they were given out in sheets to
these young ladies', who, signed and returned
them for consideration.
1t was to be had almost for asking.
Money was so easily got, and its value was SO
utterly uncertain that we were never able to
determine what was a fair price for anything
We fell into habit of paying whateyer was
asked, knowing that tomorrow we should have
to pay more. Speculation became the easiest
and surest thing imaginable. The speculator
saw no risks of loss. Every article of mer-
chandise rose in value every day and to buy
anything this week and sell 1t next was to
make an enormous profit quite as matter of
The prices which obtained were almost fabC-
lous, and singularly enough there seemed to be
no sort of ratio existing between the values of
different articles. L bought coffee at forty dol
lars and tea at thirty dollars q pound on the
same day. My dinner at hotel cost me twen-
ty dellars, while five dollars gained me seat
in the dress circle of the theasre paid one
dollar the next morning for copy of the Ex-
aminer, but might have got the Wing, Dis
patch, Epquirer or Sentinel for half that sum.
For some wretched tallow candles paid ten
dollars pound. The utter absence Of proper
tion between these several prices Is apparent,
and know of no way of explaining 1t exceps
upon the theory that the unstable character of
the money had superinduced a reckless disre-
gard of all value on the part of both buyers
and sellers. facetious friend used to say
prices were so high that nobody could see them
and that they got mixed for want of supervis-
ion. He held, however, that the difference
between the old and the new order of things,
was trifing one Before the war; he said,i
went to market with the money in my pocket,
and brought back my purchases in basket;
now take the money in the basket: and bring
SIN the winter OF 1868 81 Congress became
aware OF the fact that prices were higher than
they should be under a sound currency. If
Congress suspected this at an earlier date, there
is nothing in the proceedings OF that body to
indicate it. Now. however, the newspapers
were calling attention to an uncommonly ugly
phase of the matter, and reminding Congress
| that what the government bought with cur
reucy deprecated to less than one per centum Of
| its face, the government must some day pay
for in gold at par. The lawgivers took alarm
and sat themselves down to devise a remedy for
the evil condition of affairs. With that infan-
tile simplicity which characterized nearly all
the dongs and quite all the financial legislation
of the Richmond Congress, it was decided that
the very hest wsy to enhance the value Of the
currency was to Gepreciate it still further by
declaratory statute, and then to issue q good
| deal more Of it. The act set a day after which
| the currency already in circulation should be
worth only two-thirds of its face, at which rate
| it was made convertible into notes Of the new
| issue, which some, at least, of the members OF
| Congress were innocent enough to believe would
| be worth very near their par value. The meas
ure was intended, of course, to compel the fund
| ing of the currency, and it had that effect to
| some extent, without doubt. Much OF the old
| currency remained in circulation, however, even
| after the new notes were issued. For time
| people calculated the discount, in passing and
i receiving the old paper, but as the new notes
| showed an undiminished tendency to still fur
l ther depreciation, there were people, not few,
| who spared themselves the trouble u making
| the distinction.
| hundred and twenty five for one, or twelve
| thousand four hundred per centum premium
/ when every day made the hOpelessnes5 OF the
struggle more apparent; when our last man was
| in the field; when the resources of the country
were visbly at an end, there were financial the
orists who honestly believed that by mere
trick of legislation the currency could be brought
| back to par?
| "The effects of the extreme depreciation OF
the currency were sometimes almost ludicrous.
one of my friends, a Richmond lady, narrowly
escsued very serious trouble in an effort to
| practice wise economy. Anything for which
| the dealers did not ask an outrageously high
| price seemed wonderfully cheap always. and
| she, at least, lacked the self-control necessary
| to abstain from baying largely whenever she
found anything the price of which was lower
| than she supposed it would be. Going into
market one morning with stimulated ideas OF
prices, as she phrased it, the consequence ol
| having paid thousand dollars Ter barrel o
| fiour, She was surprised to find nearly every
| tbing selling for considerably less than she had
| expected. Thinking that for some unexplained
| cause there was q temporary depression IL
prices she purchased pretty largely IN good
l
for which she had almost no use at sii, and
buying considerably more than she needed o.
other articles. AS she was quitting the mar
ket on foot-for it had become disreputable IN
Richmond to ride in carriage, and the ladiei
would not do it oa any account-she wa
tapped on the shoulder by an officer who told
her she was under arrest, for buying IN mar
ket to sell again. As the lady was well know
to prominent people she was speedily released
but she thereafter curbed her p.-openslty to ouJ
freely of cheap things.
Toward the last, as 1 have alreaov sald, re
sort was had frequently to first princip. 4s, ane
bartering. or payment in kind as it wa
called, became common, especially in those
cases in which it was necessary to announce
prices in advance. To fix a price for the future
| In Confederate money when it was daily be
coming more and more exaggeratedly worth
less would have been sheer folly; and 80 edu.
cational institutions, country boarding houses
etc, advertised for patronage at certain prices
payment to be made in provisions at the rates
! prevailing in September, 1860. In the adver
tisement of Hampden Sydney College, in the
Examiner for October 4, 1864, L find it stated
that students may get board in private families
at about eight dollars month, payable in thi,
way, The strong contrast between the price
| of 1860 and those of 1864 is shown BY q state
ment, 10 the same advertisement, that the stu
dents who may get board at eight dollars
month in provisions can buy wood at twenty
five dollars a cord and get their washing done
for seven dollars and fifty cents dozen pieces
This matter OF prices was frequently made q
| subject for jesting in private, but for the most
part it was carefully avoided in the newspapers.
| 1t was too ominous of evil to be fit topic OF
editorial discussion on ordinary occasions. As
| with the accounts of battles in which our arms
were not successful, necessary references to the
condition of the finances were crowded into a