Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-09-25
No. 48

legaltender notes without limit It would
not only be dishonest, as matter of
morals, but it would be unconstitutional
as [ understand the decisions Of the
Supreme court of the United States.
We are commercial people and we
cannot afford, if it were possible, to 60
back to coon skins and tokens for cur
rency, or to ''fat' money, so called.
Can it be that it is left for few hun
cry debtors in this country to make
the great discovery that to declare
piece of paper dollar makes it a dol
lar? Why not declare tia thousand or
ten thousand dollars? Itcosts no more
time or labor. No, my friends, money
cannot be SO made. By the common
consent Of civilized nations coin must
be the basis Of all currency, for it is
the concurrent experience of all ma
tions that the precious metals form the
best basis and measure of all other
values
1t is of the utmost importance to
every man who has anything to sell,
and to every man who is dependent
upon his labor for a living, that the
country should have good sound cur
rency, and that commodities should
have staple value. There is but one
class who can be benefited by depre-
ciated legal tender currency, and that
is the debtor class. To every other
class it must work great injury. To
no man is a deprecated currency SO
uumixed an evil as to the workingman
who works for wages. A deprecated
currency increases everything else in
price, more in proportion than it in
creases the price of labor, and labor is
the last to rise and the first to fall in
price.
Resumption once successfully be-
gun, the present volume Of currency will
be largely increased. When once gold,
silver and the paper currency are of
equal value, the gold now il the coun-
try, and boarded for the time being,
will come into circulation, and [ have
no doubt the whole volume of currency
would thus be raised to nearly or quite
one thousand millions of dollars.
There is quite large class of citizens
who believe that the Greenbacks and
Government bonds should be taxed.
What would be the result? 1t would
necessarily be to reduce the value of
both, and would place in the hands of
the states power to destroy absolutely
the credit of the government. Who
whould invest in government bonds
with power in the states to tax them
at will? No one. It is because he
bonds are free from taxation that they
sell so readily at low rate of interest,
and in any event more is saved in in-
terest now than could by any possibil-
ity be gained by taxing the bonds.
Besides all this, the supreme court OF
the United States has often held that
the states cannot tax the government
securities.
What is now wanted more than any
thing else is to let the currency alone.
Stop agitating the subject and stop
legislating upon it, for the present, at
least, and thus give the country the as
surance that the present condition of
things as to the currency will con-
tinue, and that no wild schemes will
be attempted to impair its value.
There seems to be growing opinion
in this country that it is the duty of
the government to find employment
for all the people. This is great mis-.
take. It seems to have grown out of the
war, then the government was the great
employer, and paid directly to the peo-
pie vast sums of money. The govern
ment ought to interfere as little as pos
sible with the affairs of the people. 1t
is the duty OF the government to make
war and peace, to coin money, to con-
duct our intercourse with other nations,
and to protect the citizen In the rights
guaranteed to him by the constitution
and laws, but it is not the duty of the
government to give employment to the
citizen further than is necessary to en-
able it to carry on its own legitimate
and proper functions. The labor, the
commerce and business of the country
must be and ought to be left to private
enterprise. With the best govern
ment, the best country, and the most
energetic and intelligent people in the
world, what more do We want to secure
enduring prosperity and to enable us
to outstrip all other nations?
True, we have had hard times. and
some distress, but this has not been
confined to our own country. Europe
has felt the hard times much more than
We, and we will find our way out much
sooner than they. And besides all
his the times are not so hard as many
would make us believe. Look on tho
hopeful side, fellow. citizens, for the
worst is past. What we want now
IS confidence to believe in the future
and the hetter times to come We can