The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1878-10-24

) they thought there must be some way to make
gold out OF dross. The first thing that struck
them as promising was
AN INITIATION CT OUR GREENBACK CURRENCY.
But when, from 1873 to 1874, the volume o.
Inc gfeenbacks was expanded from $3.50, ooo,-
600 to 1852 ,ooo, 900, it had not the best effect
Inc increase stayed IN the Eastern banks.
Then an expansion of the National Bank chr
rency was thought of, and new facilities for the
emission of bank notes given But this d;a
not work. In spite of the new facilities the
bank currency actually reduced itself. 1t be-
came evident that the business of the country
would not take and circulate any more OF THAI
money, tor there was no employment for it.
Then some ingenious minds hit upon holder
plan. You have probably known persons
who, when they are sick, will think no medi-
cine can help unless it be particular strong I'm
color and nasty in taste. They look upon ey-
erything that is natural with dstrust. Thus
the scheme of SO called fat money was brought
forward, and many well meaning, innocent
people seemed to have been talked into
the belief that this at last is the true
thing. What is absolute fiat money! 1t
is the simplest continuance in the world.
The Government takes a little piece of
paper and says to it GO Be thou a dol
lar" and then a Government stamp is put upon
the paper, and forthwith it is dollar, or Ave,
or ten, or hundred dollars, as the case may
be. Then all other kinds of money-gold,
silver, greenbacks and National Bank notes
are withdrawn and the fat or absolute money
put in their places, 1t will be the only legal
tender in payment of debts and Government
dues Now, the present greenback bears this
inscription: "The United States will pay the
bearer one dollar" Or five, or ten VIII not
| the fiat dollar bear similar promise
BLESS YOU, MOI
The fiat dollar will not promise anything, and
just that is the beauty of it According to the
fat money doctors, it was the weakness of the
greenback that it promised something. The
fiat dollar does not promise anything, for it is
in itself the performance of the promise-it is
dollar. The fiat money promises nothing be-
yond itself, for it does away with all other
things. Com and silver are antiquated stuff,
entirely unsuitable for this progressive ace and
country. The fat money once out gold and
silver will no more be thought of. We shall
be entirely separate and independent from the
rest of the world in all financial and CONNER
cial transactions. Our fiat money viii not be
exported, for it will not be taken anywhere else,
and SO like the poor it stays all and always
with us, and inasmuch as it costs almost Moth
ing to make fiat money and we can make any
quantity of it to suit ourselves, we shall get
richer and richer, and there will really be no
end to our wealth and happiness That is
what the fat-money doctors promise us.
1t will strike you that this is exceedingly
simple and very fine, but you may have some
misgivings and say, ''Well, this bit of paper
may call itself dollar, but it is after all only
bit of paper. Is there nothing else of value
behind it ?" Whereupon the 6at-money man
gravely answers "This is great country. 1t
has some forty or fifty thousand millions of
dollars worth of property in it. When the
Government of this great country puts its
| stamp on piece of paper and thus makes it
money, then that money is based upon the
whole wealth of the country"
THAT SOUNDS MAGNIFICENTLY,
and you may think Well, if this country has
forty or fifty thousand millions worth of prop
erty, and all that property is mortgaged as Sc
curity for the value of this fat money, why
should not that security be good enough for
couple of thousand millions of fiat money?
| Now let us see how it will work Such promises
to pay as greenbacks and National-Bank notes
are withdrawn to make room for fiat money.
| 1t will not be necessary to make any provision
for the withdrawal Of gold and silver, for the
precious metals, finding no further employment,
will take leave of themselves and go abroad
where they are wanted. Now the fiat money
is the master of the field 1t goes into circula--
ton, and for some time it will indeed circulate,
for, it being the only tool of exchange left TO
you, you will have to take and use it. 1t VIII
circulate just as wampum, beads, and clam
shells, and leaden bullets circulated for while
as currency in early Colonial times. 1t will
ntato ro,1fx yolI lo,ar
as its volume is kept within the quantity that
would circulate in the form of specie and paper
convertible into specie. But you must consider
that fiat money, where it is brought forward by
earnest infationists, whose principal object is
TO MAKE MONEY PLENTY
by issuing enough of it to keep all the boys in
ease. And why should we not? 1t costs
nothing. We may just as we'll have much as
little. A thousand millions more or less are
no object, as the Government thereby burdens
itself with no promise or obligation. And,
finally, the wealth Of the country, $40, ooo,
900, 900 or $50, ooo, 100000 wort of property,
stand behind it, mortgaged as security. But,
presently, when we have made fiat money
plenty, we shall find that it depreciates, and
will depreciate more and more the more we
issue, just as the greenbacks did, and
worse. Chow can in depreciate like the
greenback 2" says the fiat doctor with smile
of superior wisdom. "The greenback by the
absurd promise of the Government to pay coin
for it was kept in constant comparison with
coin, and therefore could depreciate as to coin.
But when, by the introduction of fiat money,
gold and silver are utterly banished and for
gotten, and our money system has become
entirely separate and independent from all
| other money systems of the world, how cam
the fiat money depreciate as to coin? ?" Let
us see.
In the first place, as your fat dollars grow
more and more plenty, their purchasing power
will grow less, just as the purchasing
| POWER OF THE CLAMSHELL CURRENCY
in old Colonial times grew less the supply of
them growing larger, until finally they brought
nothing at ALL Thus the fiat dollars will de-
preciate to the articles you want to buy with
| them. 'But what of that?' answers the fat
money doctor, ''that does not mean deprecia-
ton, but it means that things grow dearer in
price. When it takes two fat dollars to buy
an article which cost but one dollar before,
then the Government can issue double the =
amount of fiat money for the accommodation
of the people, for it costs nothing, and The
wealth of the country will he annie secnritx-