The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1878-10-31

of the government and the conf
dence the people will have in it thai
will give tD it q value" If the gov
eminent does not endorse or pIom-
ise to pay it, what can the stamp OF
the government add to its vaiuei
Will the government declare thar !:
is possessed of a certain fixed and
positive value, when 10 reality II
possesses little or no value what
ever? And will the government try
to force 1t upon the people a. a ie
gal tender money when the people
we'll know that 1t is comparatively
worthlesss When the people from
Maine to Texas are CRYING for
bread, will the government try to
content them by giving them a
stone? There would be just as
much Sense for a miller to stamp
an empty sack as being one hun
dred pounds of fine -four. with the
view of selling it To an in telligent
person as such as for a government
TO attempt to palm OFF on free and
enlightened nation such worthless
currency as the so-called absolute
paper money which the green back
party propose to issue The claim
that it is based on the credit, wealth
and resources of the nation, is all
bosh. 1t is not proposed by the
reform party that the government
he pledged to redeem it, or guaran
tee that it shall be paid in any man
ner whatever. The government sim
ply STAMPS" it ana declares that il
is and forever shall be equivalent to
gold. That is, the government takes
small piece of paper and declares
that it is equal to five, ten, twenty
or one hundred dollars In goldl
Would it not be just as sensible for
our national legislature to enact
that one pound of iron shall be
equivalent to one hundred pounds of
gold? TO cap the climax OF nonsense,
suppose they should go further { as
the green hackers propose to do with
the absolute paper money! and say
that the one pound of iron ''shall
perform all the functions" of the
one hundred pounds of gold; that
is, the relative commercial value of
iron when compared to gold shall
be as one hundred is to one; that a
person owing q debt of one hundred
pounds in gold can discharge the
same by paying one pound of iron;
and in short, that a pound of iron
in every conceivable form shall be
one hundred times more valuable
than that much gold.
As nonsensieal as such legislation
would appear to every intelligent
person, it is precisely like the pro
posed Legislation making paper
money equivalent to gold by making
it perform as circulating medium
all that gold can perform; that is,
by making it receivable for all -ues
public and private, paying the duty
on customs, &c.
There is no resemblance whatever
between the green nback money now
in use and the absolute paper money
the reformers propose to give us.
The greenback dollar is based on
the credit of the United States,
whereas the absolute paper money
is based on nothing. Whence then
arises the confidence the people
are 20 place in this cheap currencyP
There can he none, because there is
no room for confidence. How can
one individual, a creditor, place
in another, a debtor,
when he, the debtor, will not pay
nor even promise to pay his indebt |
edness9 Individual credit and pub
lie credit are precisely alike. If
the government has been prompt in
its obligations, then the
people will have confidence in it as
a debtor; but if it should absolutely |
refuse to pay or even promise TO
pay it's Indebtedness, all confidence
is lost. There can be no confidence
in an irredeemabIe paper currency.
Such money often has had q forced |
circulation among the nations of
the earth; but no government has
ever been either wise enough or
strong enough to keep such money |
from depreciating; or what is the
same thing, everything which has
to be bought with money, from ap
preciating, till relatively the ire
ieemable dollar comes to be worth
but few coppers, and is finally
kicked out of the country by dis
gusted public in spite of congress
sional enactments or royal DEGREES.
All the combined armies of the
Eastern continent added to the mil
Itary forces of the United States,
led by the immortal greenback gen.
erals, Peter Cooper, Brick Pomeroy
and Ben Butler, would be made
Iuate to force upon the free and en-
lightened people of the United
States such worthless currency.
ANXIOUS.
Lawrenceburg, Tenn, Oct. 25.