New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-11-04

He has of course never read the history OF
his own State, nor anything else, or he womb
know that his folly and that of his National
and Democratic colleagues has not even the
poor merit Of novelty.
In 1921 the Legislature Of Illinois, feeling
that the times were hard and everybody III
debt to the full amount of their credit. girded
M its loins and went to work to bring In
prosperity by statute. 1t created State bank
without money, based solely upon the credit
and resources of that magnificent State. IL
was authorized to issue bank bills of various
denominations bearing per cent interest,
and payable by the State in ten years. Inc
Legislature elected all the bank officers from
among the most gifted politicians of the
State, having due regard to the claims OF
locality and the personal needs OF the candi-
dates. The new money, when printed, was to
be lent to the people TO the amount OF
800 head, upon personal" security
that is to say, one voter signed his note, and
another voter Endorsed it. Before the bill got
through the Legislature some "hde-bound
"minions of the money-pOwer," men VINO
could read and write and had a casual ac-
auaintance with the multiplication table, for
told the const quences of such idotic legis-
latiop. but were answered with due scorD by
the statesmen Of the intutive school, who
proved, by the processes familiar to such
geniuses as Ewing and Bland, that the new
money would remain ut par with gold and
silver and to make this sure they enacted
that it should be legal-tender for all State
purposes, and il a private creditor de-
clined to take it on execution the
debtor should have the remedy of replevln
and stay of collection for three years.
They even went so far as to demand, by
Joint resolution, that the United States should
receive these notes as payment for public
lands Colonel Menard, an old Frenchman,
who was president of the Senate, put this mo-
ton to vote in the following words, which
show a cheerful CLEAN of common sense amid
the unacy of the hour: Gentlemen OF dc
Senate, il is moved and seconded dat de
." note of dis bank be made Land Office money.
"Al in fafor of dat motion say Aye; all
against 1t say No. 1t is decided in de al
"frmatf. And now, gentlemen, l bet you
" one hundred dollar he never be made Land
coffee money"
This wild scheme was vetoed by the Gov
ernor and Judges, acting as II council OF re-
vision, but was passed by a brute majority IN
both houses and the bank went gayly on It's
course. 1t may easily be imagined that no
voter who wanted hundred dollars was re-
fused. Any friend would lend an Endorsement
for drink In short time $3OO,OOO was
distributed among the people with no pros
pect of repayment. The money dropped in
stantly twenty-five cents, then ilfty then
seventy below par. Silver fled like a ghost
gold was already gone. To get small change
the people had resort TO scissors, and cut
their dollar bills into halves and quarters. BY
the wear 1924, it was seen that the State could
not carry on the public business with such
rubbish. For IA while they got on by taxing
non-rcsidents with increased severity to pay
State expenses, and by paying the resident
land-tax into the county treasures. The mem
beers of the Legislature, finding their three
dollars day shrunk to one. rose equal TO the
occasion. and trebled their own salaries and
those of the State officers. In this way, the
expenses of the State being trebled, and its
revenues reduced twO-thirds, the end of the
insane experiment was soon reached, and the
State had TO come down to hard realities. and
fund this load of trash in 6per cent bonds.
This edifying story il told by Governor
Ford in his history of Illinois, written thirty
years ago No apologize of the wttest and
most sagacious political economist could more
clearly show the consequences of ignorant
medding with financial questions. Men now
living in that State and neighboring cOmmun-
tiles can remember the progress and the failure
of this crazy scheme. Yet so short are mems
memories in matters of this kind, where the
educated conscience is lacking, and political
prejudices are called into play, that We see
the State of Illinois divided almost equally
between the advocates of real money
and the followers of the fiat delu-
sion. and the State of Indiana completely
ravaged by the Greenback epidemic. If New
York voters ask what this story of folly and
disaster means to us, it means simply this.
The Democratic party is fatally infected by
this financial disease In every Western State
it has become a Greenback party, and in
Pennsylvania to-day its advocates are moving
heaven and earth to persuade the Nationals
that there is no need of two rag-money or
CARNATIONS. III there is Democrat in New
York who thinks Ewing or Butler IN enemy
of the public credit and menace to the pub
lie peace, he has but one course open to him
to lay aside his party prejudices one day, and
vote for the only organization which at this
time can effectually defend these threatened
blessings.
A SIMPLE QUESTION FOE VOTERS