The daily gazette., 1880-12-21
ANTIQUITY OF THE GREEN
BACK IDEA.
HooKKssIN, Dec. 16, 1850.

To THE EDITOR OF THE GAZETTE
AT the close OF a brief editorial of
December 11th you remark "But II
the Greenbacks were issued they would
be to pay.' There are two ways OF
looking at this. Permit me to state
another way.
Please recall Thomas Jefferson's re-
marks as quoted under date of Decem-
ber 9th, in my letter to Andrew U.
Gray, Esq, to wit: "And so the ma
ton may continue to issue its bills as
far as it's wants require aud the limits
of it's circulation will admit. Such
bills (greenbacks) if paid out by gov
ernment to soldiers, congressman,
presidents, mail carriers, and what
not, for services rendered, go into cir
culation as currency, and II bank Dills
and coin were kept out of the way,
would ALWAYS be needed as tools of ex-
change and never need to be paid off.
They would be constantly kept in cir
eulation amongst the people and be-
tween the people and the government
in the payment of taxes, duties, &c.,
to b. paid back again by the govern
ment to the people for service rendered
and so on dd intiBitum. They could
be renewed at any time when over
worn, and thus the loss by wear OF
gold and silver coin would be avoided,
as well as the immense drain of inter-
est that every kind of bank currency,
coin or paper, involves. Such cur
reucy as Mr.. Calhoun said, would also
be "more stable and more safe thar
any bank" because not liable to bt
drawn from the country or affected by
the panics and fluctuations or demands
occurring in foreign nations.
L INUaE hG
the greenba 3ks having to be paid
some persons have expressed thel
7 anxiety as to the method of increasing
their amount as p population increased
, and industries grew to be more wid'
: spread and diversified. We will no
stop to discuss that fancied difficult
/ at present. But let us observe tina
this, greenback, idea is by no means
, new one. 1t was not new even in tn
!, days of Franklin, Jefferson or tn
: other fathers and statesmen of our Re
public who have left their testimony il
its favor,
The ancient nations had their diffica
lies resulting from a currency OF th
precious metals, and Jonathan Dunca
o a writer on moBetary ahdlrs) states ina
one of the earliest plans adopted to SUI
mount the difficulties "was the creation {
a NatIoual currency in each independel
! state, for internal trade aiOnei ana IL
Z distinctive characteristic was the tot;
absence of intrinsic value, which effec
+ ully prevented its expectation"
il Lycurgus, the old Spartan law-giye
founded his monetary laws upon th
Q same principle, discarding gold and eve
destroying, as far as possible, the con
modify value of the iron on which
coined the money of the State.
The old philosopher Plato took IL
same view, recommending double Gu
4 rency in every nation. GA coin," l
). said, "for the purposes Of domestic ss,; .,, e.
y must have value among the members q
y the State, but no value to the rest OF II
world" For using in other States
e proposed D coin of intrinsic value.
II "Iu this way they greatly economics
the use of precious metals, allowing the
10 be wholly employed in discharglr
10 the balances of foreign trade.
rs Weof.ble U nited States in the yearA.D u
Ip 1880, do not even need our gold and siivt
for the balances of foreign trade, and ne
sr will need it for that if we do our dut
but since we have been foolish enough
order our bonds paid in coin, dollar +
)y dollar, ,(they having been bought at abo
30 cents on the dollar) we need our go
OF and silver for that purpose, and dol
to need either to hoard the coin, demon
ms ize or change the silver dollars, or fuI
an the bonds. Let us learn wisdom fro
- the past as well as from the present.
b Truly, j. g. JACKSON