The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-08-07
Sss.. Street oa else Finance.

TsT. Styced 0Ea eaRe Finance.
BONNEVILLE, MRS., July 8th, 1879.
Geo. C. Walter, Esq. Ttppah Co., Miss
DEAR STR:- [ have your favor OF
June Dist asking ny news on the fin
ancIai question. | regret that my bus
mess engagements have been such that
[ cOpid not sooner reply, and that now
for the same reason [ can only give yoH
Il hurried and crude outline Of what l
regard as the important points at issue.
Specie resumption IS Il fixed fact. The
The process by which it was reached,
vas n Of oppression. Thousands
were made baukrupts AMI millions
who were made poor were made poorer
while the wealth of a few was largely
increased. We have suffered all the
ills incident to it. Repeal would not
remedy these evils. The best thing
now is to keep u money equal to geld
and silver which only can be done by
making treasury notes ut all times rX
changabla for coin. Tue idea OF fiat
money" I believe has been abandoned
by AL sensible Greenbackers. Il is not
the duty OF Government to give OF !oao,
bat the coming and issuing Of money
shonld be 50 regulated that honest in
dustrv and strict economy may be res
waraed. This is - far as the govern
mcut should 60. Propositions to make
the acquisition Of nl1nAy easy, will nj
ways be popular with uu~tAo"%htfu:
people jast as lotteries are p,Dn'rT, but
when |HcGl;rai without iabpr it Is Of
terer 4 c-Ir+n tlan 81 b As+ia5. ~" W.
have not Il sniff Irn5 c,yat'l.irC DeGinm
is a point so generally oouc:' lel. that
discussion Is unnecessary. The general
governments owes - large daht. ANY
good t~ilaucie managing his own af'irs,
being unable t1 met all his ObligA
tons. wou.i, Il he. could do 81 without
injury to his credit, first pay that part
of his debt bearing the greatest rate OF
interest aud would let as Elrcl AS pos
sible float without interest, WHY
should not the Government 10 the same?
Unlimited coinage of silver, substitn-
tioa of greenhacks for national han%
notes; the Issue of as much mnre green
backs as car be kept ut all times equal
to gold and silver and the application
of al surplus money in the Treasury to
the payment and cancellation of inter-
est bearing bonds, wsu!d, L think b. II
solution of the financial question and
one entirely in the interest of the indus
trious and producing classes Of the
whole country. 1t is argued and be-
lieved by many who would readily unite
in any measure of relief they thought
necessary, that the abun lance OF mons
ey in the banks and the 10 y rate Of in
terest in New York and elsewhere, are
evidences that there is enough money
in the country and that we only need
something 10 bring it into circulation.
Under present circumstances what must
that something be? We can get money
on cotton and Unitsl States BINDS, but
do we want an increase ot either? The
low rate of interest is due to two cauSes
viz: Scarcity of good security or want
of confidence and the accumulation of
large amounts of money in the hands
of comparatively few people. A man
with sufficient energy and capacity to
accumulate a few hundreds or thous,
ands of dollars, can so manage as to
yield a good income, but when the
amount reaches hundreds of thousands
ana millions, he becomes timid and
makes investments more with a view to
security than profit. Money can be
driven out of the money centres by
making more of it aud retiring United
States bonds. Force it to seek some
other MISUNDERSTANDING that will
add to instead of draw FROM the wealth
Of the country. A million of dollars III
United States bonds only benefits the
person Who receives the interest. In
building aud operating railroads and
factories or in agriculture it would give
employment to hundreds and be the
means of support Of thousands. We
should keep in view the difference be-
tween s'upllmited' coinage and free
coinage. Although advocated by so
distinguished a person as Mr.. Stevens
of Ga, 1 think "free" coinage wrong.
IF e~ighty~fve cents worth of silver is
pnt into a dollar, the people through
the government should have the profit
and not the person who happens to
own the silver, To give the holdertof a
Mexican dollar. the right to have it
coined into a legal tender dollar would
be the same as making the Mexican
dollar q legal tender. The silver ques-
ton lie one requiring and deserving a
great deal ofthought. Legislation con-
corning it should be we'll maturel- 1t
may yet be found advisable to increase
the weight of the legal tender dollar.
The Government can afford to coin
without profit. and if a change it should
not be based on thc present value of sill
yer, hut on the increased value that
will be brought abont bv unlimited
coinage. III. NJ. STREET.