The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-03-06
Two Greenback Nostrums.

Tho future historian will find IL n weighty,
though thankless task to onumeratc the
fallacies which have by turns received
the sanction Of our Grecnback party. One
equvocal or groundcss assumption after
another has been exploded, until their
shrewdcst leaders have at length taken
refuge in two propositions, on behalf OF
which they have mustered all their rhetoric.
One Of the new theories afiirms that here
tofore the flaw in the case Of legal ten
ders has been their promise to pay, not
in paper, but In something else Thus the
French dsSiOndts were TO be redeemed at
their full value in land, while the COnti-
mental currency bore on its face pledge OF
payment in Spanish dollars. But our pres
cnt Treasury notes, it is maintained, might
be made payable in themselves, like the
paper OF the Bank Of Venice which. it Is
alleged. was not redcemabc yet remained
at par tor centuries. Let Us look little at
this supposititious precedent; and to this
end we may avail ourselves of the facts re-
latng to the case which have been patiently
collected in Mr.. RICHARDSON'S pamphlet
1t appears that the Bank OF Venice grew
out OF a so-called Chamber Of Loans. which
in its primitive form was simply Govern
ment Office for the collection Of forced con-
tribution on which the State coycnanted 10
pay interest. The stock in these loans was
made transferable, but it was at no time
used as currency. These securities, there-
fore, were an exact counterpart OF our inter-
est-bearing bonds and since the interest
upon them was paid punctually in coin, they
were reasonably enough In high credit. as j.
the funded debt Of the United States. 1t
was not until some centuries after the es-
tabishment OF this chamber that IT as
sumed the function Of bank OF circulation
At this epoch all the clipped and worn
coinage Of the world was pour
ing into Venice, as the focus of European
trade. To the serious Inconvenience oil its
merchants. To meet this difficulty, the
State authorized the Chamber Of Loans TO
receive on deposit, by weight, coins Of all
sorts. and to issue notes promising to pay
an amount Of bullion corresponding to the
real value Of the metallic money turned
into the vaults. These notes, therefore, were
nothing more or less than bullion certih-
Gates, which OF course saved the wear of
coin in actual circulation, and insured
uniform standard in mercantile transac-
tions. They were always payable on de-
mand In bullion Of the proper lincness, and
being known to be secured tothc last sequin
by actual specie on hand, they were naturally
at a premium in the debased coinage en-
pl0yed for ordinary transactions. They had
nothing whatever in common with the stock
in the public funds OF Venice and they re-
NAMED in good credit until tho fall of the
republic in 1897. In a word, they CORE
sponded exactly to the honest currency Sc
cured to us by the measure Of resumption
taken on the first day OF this year. So much
for the case Of the Bank of Venice. which can
only have been cited by the Greenback ora
tors in n brazen reliance on the Bpotian IL
norance OF their partisans. And so much
for the notion supposed TO he sustained by
this one precedent, that paper money can ac-
Quire validity by the astute device Of max
ing it rcdeomable in Itself.
The other proposition advocated 10y the
guides Of the Grocnback party is equally re-
futed by actual experience. It is possible,
we are told, to create Misunderstanding
currency which will he perfectly stable, by
the simple cNpedicnt Of making it convert
ible at will into Understanding bonds. We
arc reminded that token coinage, kept
much above its real worth. Why then, may
not token currency be printed upon paper
and made to answer the same end, thus in
surfing some economies by releasing the coin
reserves But this contriNance has al
ready been tried, Tho experiment was made
in our own country during the last war with
England. The act Of Feb. q, 1915 author
lied ALEXANDER j. DALLAS, then Secretary
Of the Treasury, TO issue notes without any
specified date Of payment, but receivable for
all dues TO the United States. All the bills,
moreover, Of less denomination than ono
hundred dollars were to boar no interest,
but were cxchangcabo ON demand in sums
Of not less than 500 for certificates Of fund
cd stock bearing interest at per cent. What
became Of this token currency; 1t disap-
poarod Within "A twclNcmonth Secretary
DALLAS reported that the small Treasury
notes which had been thus made fundabc
| though OF "A convenient denomination for
common use, were habitually converted into
stock almost as soon rs they were issued
| SO much for tho experience VI the United