The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-07-10

ABSURD that any class of men should labor to
bring about this result; but that is just what
the Greenbackers are seeking. They must
pursue that course or else provide that the
Government shall distribute its paper cur
rency among the people per capita. This
last proposition they reject with scorn.
What else remains to them but the first?
Mr.. II. NJ. Bearce, one of the leading
Greenbac&ers of Massachusetts, and an edit
or OF the STANDARD, the representative paper
OF the organization in that State, writes
letter to the Boston Journal denying that
the Greenbackers "propose to issue money
directly to the people pro rata," and
further denying that they expect "the Gov
ernment to go into the banking business,
and loan all those who need money green
backs without collateral" This letter, which
is approvinsly copied by Greenback papers
in this State, intimates that the new issue of
paper money is to be put into circulation by
vast expenditure on the part of Govern
ment for public works. All the idle men in
the country are to be employed IN construct
ing buildings and other public works. That
is, the country, already impoverished and
debt-ridden, is to run still deeper into debt
and commit itself to vast expenditures for
useless purposes. The idle men are to be
supported out of the earnings of the indus
trious.
Now who is to pay for all this? Some one
must of course. The laborer must get his
hire. There is an old caricature, published
in France many years ago, picturing a noble
man, priest, soldier, and farmer. The
nobleman says, 81 rule for ALL" the priest,
II pray for ALL" the soldier, 'T fight for
ALL" and the farmer, 81 pay for ALL" That
expresses the truth. The land and the prod
uce of the country must pay for all these
public works. If the government puts up
custom house or a post office costing
many millions of dollars the taxable proper
ty of the country must pay the bill. Some
times these expenditures are necessary, but
unless necessary they are gross extravaganza.
The Government may in time of peace ex-
pend millions of dollars on the forts in Port
land harbor, and the land of the country
pays for it. 1t may spend still other millions
in Improving some obscure stream in Vir-
ginia, and the land of the country pays for
it. The contractors who make thousands of
dollars out of these public works can take
their money and invest it in securities far out
of the reach of taxation. The land of the
farmer which cannot be moved, and the
produce of that land, which cannot be con-
cealed, is held to pay the taxes and to pay
the contractor and the government supervisor
money which these gentlemen hasten to put
in some place where it cannot be called upon
to contribute to the revenues of government.
Now this is the feast to which Greenback
farmers in Maine or elsewhere are invited to
sit down-to sit down and hungrily gaze
while others eat. They are invited to pay
the bills while Others feast and grow tat.
Nearly every article they buy, the clothes
they wear, the coffee they drink, the sugar
they use, the carpet upon the floor of their
houses, must be taxed in order to pay the
men engaged upon public works. There is
no other way, the Greenbackers acknowl-.
edge, to get the paper into circulation. The
Government prints these paper dollars. 1t
can only pay them out for services rendered.
AS its ordinary expenditures are equalled by
its ordinary receipts it must in order to put
out the new money, vastly increase the num-
Der OF its servants. That is, tine number of
office-holders must be trebled or quadrupled,
and their salaries must be increased. Govern
mont. from the very naturn Of tho "a co lrua NC
extravagant in its expenditures must become
still more extravagant. The reduction OF ex-
penses and ofice.holders which has been 60
ing on ever since the close of the war, must
be stopped. The public expenses must be
again increased. And the farmer and house
holder, the owners of real estate, must foot
the bills, while Others may profit by govern
ment employment and contracts, and take
their gains beyond the reach of taxation. 1t
is wisdom for the farmer to remember that
in all these cases "the farmer pays.''