Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-07-26
The Golden Age or Absolute Money.

Absolute honesty and absolute money are
always re,eemnble by the people-who com
pose the Government Advocate.
Ask any leader of the Greenback par
ty-Brlck PomerOy, Ben. Butler, Brit
ton a. Hill-and he will tell you that
absolute money" means kind of pa
per that is absolutely irruleemoJlc.
The Greenbackers say it is the duty of
the government to stamp pieces of pa
per with the legend, ''This is Dollar"
without any promise that it shall ever
be redeemed at all, in gold or silver or
anything else; and that the government
shall set common sense and the Consti-
tuition of the United States alike at de-
fiance by making these irredeemable
pieces OF paper pass in payment of all
debts Tor the value of a dollar in gold
or silver That is what is meant by
absolute money"
The Greenback Labor lunatics, who
met at Sedalia on June 18th, resolved
Cd for the immediate and unconditional
repeal OF the resumption act; (2) for
the issue OF absolute money in grceli-
backs clud tn goid und stirer. to be full
legal tender for all purposes whatsoev-
er; C3) for the immediate redemption of
all L. $. bonds in absolute money" "a
for the issue OF absolute money by
the United States, to be loaned to States.
counties and cities (why not to towns.
school districts, and to individuals also?)
at tro per cent. interest per annun. to
be used to pay their bonded indebted
ness, and to relieve the people from
present taxation
This is not all non half the things
they resolved should be done. But
they stopped short of the conclusion
that follows logically from the princi-
pies they have laid down. If Congress
If the national government has the
power to issue absolute money" in
quantity sufficient to take up the ma
tional bonds and to loan to states coun-
ties and cities at two per cent interest.
to be used to pay their bonded indebt-
edness; it Congress has the power to do
this there can be no limit to its power
to issue absolute money. If Congress
is gOlngtO help states, cities and coun-
ties out of their embarrassmcnts by
loaning them absolute money" at two
per cent. pei annum, what is to hinder
that Congress should authorize the Ma
tional Treasury to loan to every town,
township, school district and individual
at the same low rate, we want to know?
In fact, it Congress can make absolute
money out of absolutely nothing. it
possesses power greater than that at
tributcd to the ancient alchcmists;
Il power like that of Midas, which
changes everything it touches into
gold; and if Congress possesses this
rare power it is its bounden duty to
straightway. set all the paper mills and
government presses to running, and
keep them running day and night until
the pockets of every man, woman and
child throughout this broad land shall
be chuck full and runnin" "vor With
absolute money.
charge lntcres, for il. Never Not
even one per cent, Why should the GOV
eminent charge interest for what costs
it nothing, what it can create" by
simple enactment? Don't the people
own the government and all its rcsour-
ces> absolute money included, and why
should the people pay interest on their
own money? Be pleased to tell us
that.
If Congress has the power to issue
absolute mOney-tO create" money, as
the trainers of the Toledo National La
Dor Greenback platform phrase it-then
the first duty of Congress is to create"
enough money to pay off the national
debt; next, to create enough to pay all
those State, city and county debts
whereof mention is made in the Sedalia
platform, and for the payment of which
1t demands that the government shall
lend money at two per cent. 1t should
then create and send by mail or eX-
press to every citizen Of the United
States enough absolute money" to
make him rich, prosperous and happy.
The national, State, county and munich
pal debts and every man S individual in
debtedness being now paid off, and ev-
erybOdy, meantime, rolling in opulence,
Congress might proceed to create"
enough money to run the wheels of the
government for forty or fifty years; and
by that time, everybody in this country
having his pockets and his Golfers filled
with absolute money and there being
plenty of it in circulation to transact
the business of the country" and sup
ply all the wants of trade" Congress
might turn its attention to helping out
some of the ''effete despotisms' of Eu-
rope-Great Britain, France, Germany
or Russia-by creating enough "abso-
lutte money to pay off their respective
national debts. Congress isn't obliged
to do this, of course, but it would be a
graceful thing to do; and we might be
able to turn an honest penny by Great
ing money and loaning it to the effete
despotisms aforesaid-who know of no
way of getting money except by earning
it-at two per cent, or even less than
that. Greenfield (No) Tedette.