Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1878-01-17
THE DOLLAR OF OUR FATHERS.


talkative people in Congress, in the Clubs, in
tavers and tap-rooms, in railway cars, in
caucuses and conventions, and on the street
corners about matters and things which they,
the takers, do not fairly understand. Among
these things whose character and value, work
ings and history, are not as thoroughly under
stood as they ought to be, is "The Dollar of
our Fathers. Somehow, in the flial zeal of
an affectionate and reminiscent generation the
said Paternal Dollar has come to be regarded
with reverence similar to that which is felt
for LIE sabre de mon Pere; and we half expect
TO hear the singing of an emotional song about
this money of the elders which, in a less devo-
tional age may degenerate, as the song about
the Sword has degenerated, into heartless
paraphrase of hooking, meaningless words.
As Mr.. Webster suggested to Mr. Hayne, let
us ascertain our bearings before launching out
npon the cloud -obscured stormy and shore
less sea of debate What was The Dollar of
our Fathers? And how many of them did our
Fathers have! And how many of them could
our Fathers earn! We are aware that the
called Dollar of our Fathers was a silver dol
lar of sovereign value weighing a certain num-
Der of honest Troy ouuces and much esteemed
for its bigness as well as it's scarcity. That is
the theoretical Dollar of our Sires. We do
not recollect, we take retrospective look
toward an earlier and purer day of the Repub
lie, of having either seen, or iown an owner
fmany of these stout "pieces of eight. But
we do recollect certain wallet of our Fathers
made of stout calf-skin with long strap
around the belly of it, and which in seasons of
prosperity would be pregnant of {" bank-bils"
as the old folk used to misname the notes
which were issued by private and State banks
and which were everywhere in vogue. We
recollect something of what these notes did
and what they did not do: As for example,
That when they were the prevailing currency
an apprentice boy, even after the expiration
of one half the seven Years Of lis indenture, |
thought himself in a riotous stream of good
luck if he got, besides his board at the end of |
years labor, as many as ten of these Dollars
Of our Fathers. We remember that in those |
days of shinplasters and private banks of issue
Of which has slipped through the meshes of
treacherous memory, but which was sort of
clearing house and universal umpire for all
New England banks, and at which all ''bills
were receivable if they were good, and dam
gable if they were bad. And sailors wage
was from five to twelve dollars a month: a
stout American servant girl the hired help"
of day Of shamefaced labor, never thought
of more than fifty cents week for daing all
the drudgery Of a household, the week 5 wash
lng included, A woman could buy herself
servicable pair of shoes for fifty cents; mems
boots that would last for a couple of winters
were three dollars pair "a dollar a day
was a mans traditional wage; and in populous
towns could rent a commodiOus house for
fifty dollars year. In those days, III the
W est. land this writer has been in the midst
IF those days.; the Ohio farmer was glad to
sell his corn for ten cents bushel and take
half his pay in ''store goods sugar, coffee,
ea, boots and shoes, hats and blum. Whis- 3
KEY, "Cincinnati Rectifed' sold on the levee !
If that city, by the hundreds of thousands of S
'6ti els, Ipl Jtll CcnIS 8diIDn -tIu THESE are
air samples of wages and prices of goods, i
wares and merchandise 1t was this scarcity Il
# money which enabled the shrewd unscru- t
,ulous peddlers who inflicted themselves upon 5
he verdant population of the interior, notably 5
he West and Southwest, and cheated them S
II trades for wooden clocks, swindled them p
With cheap jewelry, and passed counterfeits -
f the Dollars Of our Fathers upon them and, Il
t is said by the lying tongue of Rumor, baited a
hem with wooden nutmegs and Eastwood a
ams In those days of absolute rrespons- h
iIity in banking and a wholly crude and I'M S
ettled system of issues and exchanges, the t.
ountry was flooded with the clunsily execu- t.
ed Bank notes which it was mere fun for the II
eft handed rogues who came from London ii
nd the Continent under various names and is
isgulses and aliases, to initiate and sell And d
id not these ''Banks" frequently burst? And st
hat was the remedy, when they did explode, b,
5 explode they did, as St Paul said he died, hi
daily?' Nothing. The loser must grin and o,
ear it. And talk of an irredeemable currency, tt
no ever saw the time when these Dollars of ca
II Fathers ''knew their Redeemer' The
otes of the Bank of England are at par be- be
.use of what is called public confidence. The to