, 1880-02-19
PUGET SOUND ARGUS.
GREEMBACKS AGAIN.
"Orcgonian."


the senate on the 9th January on
his motion to divest treasury notes
or greenbacks, OF their legal tender
quality, was severely logical, that is,
he followed his proposition that Con-
gress had no right to issue paper and
call it money, through to the concIu
sion that every subsequent step
taken was wrong, aud that there was
nothing to do but to go back to the
beginning and getlright as soon as
possible; and this he proposed to DO
by divesting the greenbacks of their
legal tender power, with a view to
their being taken up by the treasury
and retired from circulation. de ar
rued that withdrawal of legal ten
der power could do harm to no man
and could not lessen the value OF the
notes in the hands of any holder, be-
cause an equivalent for their face
value is offered in gold and silver
coin, in case any creditor should re
fuse TO eccept them. He mads an
earnest appeal TO the senate "to shut
the door, forever lock it, aud throw
away the key, which admits legal
tender currency to take the place Of
a stable standard, having universal
and intrinsic value" And the old
traditions Of the Democratic party
were appealed to to support this po'
sition.
The views of those who argue, as
Bayard does, for metallic money, are
answered by the assertion that the
retirement of paper currency would
diminish by two thirds its volume
the legal tender money, or.debt pay
ing power, Of the country. 1t is in
sisted further that the scarcity %!
legal tender money would virtually
increase all classes of debts and give
creditors enormous advantages; since
as money would be in small supply
and hard to raise, other forms of
property would diminish in value,
and the man who happened to be in
debt would he crushed simply by the
scarcity of money and the difficulty
of obtaining it. One of the lame
places in this argument is the as
sumption that the debtor class and
the creditor class are distinct from
each other. Nearly every person
who owes money has money also due
to him; and the aggregate of debts
due from individuals must he about
balanced by debts due to them. In
consequence of failure to keep this
in view, there is much error in speak
ing of debtors and creditors as sep
arats classes, one Of which would
have power to crush the other.
1t is, however, undoubtedly the
present judgment Of the country
that the financial status be not now
disturbed. 1t Isl argued that the
country is doing well enough, and
that the srue policy is to let the e
nances alone. This is good enough
under present conditions; but every
student of financial history knows
how changes are likely to occur un-
der conditions like those now exist
ing with us, which nigh { and proba-
bly, would render our present posi-
ton untenable and throw our Gnan.
cial system again into extreme con.
fusion. We must keep an enormous
amount Of gold locked up in the
treasury TO sustain our paper circu-
lAtion. Should there be q time in
the tide OF trade which would reduce
our stock Of gold, and should there
be another season OF paniCs aud bus
insss depression, all Of ubich is sure
TO come sometime, Why should We
nns srpscs 10 sec saspsasi0n Of Eps.
eis payments again, and gold a, :
great prsmiung
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