Litchfield enquirer., 1878-10-31
Greenback Ethics.
II. MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, 0ctahar 18th 1Q7Q

Greenback Ethics.
 H.
 MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, ,E h s' October 16th, 1878. ] Ed. Enq.--I am very glad to learn you have made the Enquirer independent of parties This demonstrates that you are on the progress sive side, and that your work is useful You have clearly recognized that the most perfect consistency is in change, that all nature is ever changing, that from the cradle to the grave we are daily getting new views Correcting former one9 which keep us in harmony with the laws of evolution. There are persons who for the purpose of carrying out their ideas of consist ency will stick te an old party, or custom, af- ter itshas Outlived it's usefulness. The time has come when we are proud of being called inconsistent when consistency means always being democrat because the father was; al ways travelling in stage coach, after railway facilities offer; and never leaving the Romish church, because it would be varying from the course of the human family, thousand years ago.
 Now, on the Greenback question: we say contraction of the currency means to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. We have proved it as clear as sunlight, in the case of England, where her contraction put her wealth into comparatively few hands. You know one well established fact will beat thousand theories We can show it, where, in '37, the destruction of currency caused such suffer- ing, where again in '57, the destruction of cur rency produced the same terrible effects, and where again, in '63, the destruction of cGrren- cy caused further disaster of the same kind. Also in the history of the government of Rome, where she had centuries of prosperity on full volume of currency; but finally greedy capi- aiists got control, succeeded in contracting hecurrency at eight different times, thus mak- ing themselves richer, and the poor poorer, and lastly in destroying the government altogether.
 You may say other causes did it. We say this was the leading cause. One hart money man has said, ''we don't want to cut the traces after toiling to the top of the hill, and let her run back down again, if it $ fun to see it." This is just the trouble. From Hayes and Sherman, all the way down, they universally admit that our contraction for the purpose of getting back to ''hard pan" has caused terri ble suffering; but, nevertheless, let us keep right en suffering The patient says, Doctor, your medicine is killing me !" but the exceed ingly wise physician says, ''keep right on suf- fering, we cannot deviate from the practices of our school" In your article of the 10th inst, you say, ''there has certainly been no contraction of the greenback currency" If you will look up the statistics carefully, you will find that between the years 1865 and 1868 there was more greenback currency taken in by the government and burnt, than we have now in circulation altogether, and that not one dollar of this money so contracted has been re. issued* It is contended that over-produc- tion, and not the contraction of currency, is the cause of our financial panics. We say that either at home or abroad, there are always markets, if the people are kept consumers in stead of being made dependent paupers and tramps. The over-productien in France has caused no panic, and simply because they keep the full volume of currency out, and her cur- rency is not assignats either.
 Noone pretends that writing on piece of paper, "This is Horse" makes it so A yard stick is governmental instrument of measure. A currency to regulate exchanges is the whole object of money. No country pretends to have but about forty per cent of coin to float one hundred per cent. of currency; thus the very hardest money man is compelled to have sixty per cent of his currency, fiat money, by the very law of fate Again, when trouble arises, specie payment is suspended, and the whole hundred per cent. becomes fiat, whether we will or nc. Hence it is our duty to become ''candid" and quit all frauds, that produce our panics. Let us have no more promises to pay" :" that have ever proved frauds
 The times and age are steadily and certainly increasing the requirements for circulating medium faster than coin increases, making the very sternest necessity for some new system. Like the inventor who gets his new idea, he does not pretend that the idea is perfect at once, so we do not declare that our fiat mon- ey idea is yet entirely perfect but we do de clare that the idea IS a sound one, and that in some shape it must ultimately prevail Bull lion is not money; it has only commercial value. the money value being the fiat of the government. The commercial value of our silver dollar is eighty five cents, the fiat value makes it the measurement of one hundred ! cents In this instance again, the hard mon eyltes must see a certain portion of the fiat principle, in spite of themselves
 '4ss noA ''can congress give money value to bits of paper the government is never ex- pected to redeem in coin, or in some other ar- tlcle of intrinsic valne ?" We say if the gov ernment properly prepares bit of paper, sends 1t out for service or any other compensa- ton, and has it pass from hand to hand as a means of exchanging commodities. and receives 1t back again for dues, it has done glorious work, and we will have it sent out again.
 EW.B>
 Carl Schuyz admitted in his recent speech at Gin. clnnati that France exception in 73 when the panic spread over all the coin basis countries, Whence we saysas we have tried dishonest money lon, enough let us HOW try the experiment. of some honest money l 'The times that tried mems soles' Pedes- ! trian contests