The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-08-03
NAsCENT POLITICAL WISDOM.

! The editor of the Morris Reformer pride
slant air of you'd scarce expect one of m
iage," challenges our admiration of such wol
derful precocity His claim of adolescence WI
be disputed by none of his readers Indcc
after reading his marvellous political crudlt:e
few would he inclined, we imagine, as Youn
America goes these days, to put his age b,
yond that callow period when moisture ca
still be detected behind the ears
With dcvimay-care recklcssness quit
characteristic of the average 5-year older VIII
would explode "A can Of nitro lycerine unde
the school house to see the '1un," this Reform
er editor scouts the difficulty suggested by tn
FREE TRADER in the way of large new ISSUE
of grecnbacks that the Supreme Court of tn,
|. 5. has repeatedly decided that such an issu,
would be unlawful. Suppose the Supreme
Court has SO decided" cries our risky youth
"Thcy decided Hayes to be president, but dc
lyOu believe in such decisions? ?" Whether ",
do or not, we should be obliged to abide b,
them nevertheless, though it happens the cour
never made any such decision But the cOuI
did decide, and unanimously too, that the ISSUE
OF greenbacks or legal tender paper by the COY
eminent in time OF peace was without constitu
tional warrant, and the court had to be packc(
by Grant even 10 get Il decision that the stress o
war and overwhelming necessity legalizcd the
issue Of the grecnbacks now afloat Now sup
pose, as the court stands now and always mus
stand while the judges are honest on this ques
ton, that congress should put out S500000,00C
of your "fiat" grcenbacks, inscribed This is Il
Dollar" and rcdeemable in nothing, and Il
week aflerward Wall street should utterly scou,
them as legal tenders and the courts would
sustain Wall street, as they must, what would
your fiat money be worth? Would not such
paper-not even promise to pay and redeem
able in nothing and not lGsa, tender for any
thlng-bc dear at ) cents on The dullarc
As TO the question Of taxing government
bonds, the teaching Of This amazing youth Is
equally fresh and redolent of thickened milk
and lntcrprandial bread and butter "Why
NN'hp' E'NNI JULIUS NUN ldhdliOf anu
yet tax Individual bonds and mortgages ?o
We'll, We suppose it is because the government
OF the United States, in its constitutional sphere,
is above state authority. If the states had a,l-
thority to tax government A per cent. bonds
or per cent, the ordinary rates of state, couu-
ty and municipal taxation throughout tiit
country how much money would the general
government DC able to borrow at 4 pc cent, or
even at six or ten per cent? Tire necessity OF
eXcmpting government bonds from state taxa
ton arises from the duty0f the general govern
mcnt 10 maintain its sovereignty within its
legitimate sphere. State authority to- tax TIE
bonds of the federal government would TJt
equivalent to surrender Of the power to bos
row money, without which, at least in Times o
war or other great public oxigcncy, the very
existence of the government would he lmperil
ed If not destroyed. In short, u thousand rca
sons can be given why 30 government Cal
pretend to maintain It's dignity as such anC
yet place its credit at the mercy of poliuca
power outside of itself Such thing involve
an utter absurdity and is without example OF
the face Of the earth