The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-11-01
Ghe GateILiaeneer.


Np shuulu tHkel Sst'NNN'S ~@ 5'S'N'y 'H'
,bs ,nbir.t in whatever We may say b,
v,y Of comment, and not treat the matte
lightly. This sort OF plea supposes tha
N, lailley has himself gone into the sub
i.ct with a certain degree Of depth, ant
mn, forth facts or arguments that call io
.1yu, reiutation. We aim always to trea
Mr. LaiIley's communications with due re
meet, The fact that we regard his position
A. one Of the most untenable character
even bordering on absolute vagary, shall
no, pmmpt us to the use Of the "gibes and
ierrs he lcprecates, in lieu Of argument
seriously speaking, We regard n discus
sion Of the Greenback question at this late
,ly as AN anachronism-as something out
of rin,- As the resurrection Of something
that i, dead and buried, The country has
novel on past the cru Of that craze, and
dr.pi,, NIr. I4lidley's assertion about the
present growth of it, we point to the cleo
lion, d last year and this as proof that the
people have substantially eliminated
Crrnbackism FROM our politics. OF course
We reirr to the financial phase Of it,
Mr. Iailley cannot expect us to go over
,he familiar ground, SO often gone over,
every time that he or some other Green.
barker may rcassert their well worn state
mpnt, about the use Of metallic money
about the necessity for more paper money,
and about the necessity for the Govern.
ment monopolizng the issue Of paper
money. What light does he throw to-day
on one single point touchedP Why does
he say tha, the country has only one dollar
oimonpy Tor ten dollars that are needed ?
We ay that such statement is absurd on
its iacr. \ country that Is known to have
bearded away at least S2OO,OOO,OOO OF gold
in the last three years is pretty well sup
piled with the means Of exchanging its
commodities.
But will say Mr. Taidley, this very fact-the
boarding otgold-showsth the fallacy ofmetal
lcmoncy IIewantsmoney that the people
will not hoard, and so much OF it that there
will be no temptation to hoard It. Pray,
Mr. IAidlcy, why do the people hoard
gold? DO they distrust the paper money
that is now ailoat? Or have they an ex-
cess Of money beyond their needs? II we
had no gold or silver, but only paper, what
would the people do with their surplus Of
means II they had confidence in itwould
they not hoard it, the same as now, and II
they had not confidence in 1t what would
be the effect OF compelling Its circulation
through popular apprehension
Tile argument for unlimited paper mon
eyor for irredeemable paper, always de-
ieats itself All money that Is intrinSically
valuable will be boarded, and any disguise
orpretcxt for money that does not tempt
the pcoplcto lay It by is in its very nature
afGion. When France was dismembered
by the German war, and reduced, asst was
supposed, to the very verge Of bankruptcy,
her people suddenly came to the front with
their stores of boarded gold, and furnished
their Government with the means to pay
of its immense indemnity to Germany. II
was that immense reserve Of coin that re-
established her solvency and her prosperi'
ly. Nothing else could have done It.
Mr. Laidley can find no warrant for hit
financial theories in regard to the substitu'
ton Of paper for metallic money in the his
tory OF any civilized country. We car
quote the example Of all really prosperous
nations in refutation Of such theories. Fol
instance, Great Britain has three times a,
much coin as paper, France nearly thret
times as much, and Germany more thar
twice as much. The countries whose credit
il not good, and whose prosperity is al
least equiyocal, such as Austria, Russia
Spain and Italy, are paper money coun
tries, and as such suffer from an irredeem
able volume Of currency that is greatly Ii
excess Of coin.
The United States by means Of her ex'
ceptional agricultural prosperity and the
failure Of crops abroad, has been able tc
dag to herself such an immense volumt
oI coin as to enable her TO bring her paper
nptoa coin standard. But all the world
knows that but for our extraordinary crops
and the great market abroad for them, We
could not have given Our paper money a
specie value.
So impressed were the trainers Of the
Constitution Of the United States as to the
dangers attending the issue OF paper
money under Government auspices, thai
They expressly prohibited II to the States
aud to the United States, and the Supreme
ConFt of the United States has only upheld
The legality Of our present greenbacks un
uef the war power Of the Government
.udse Bradley, in his opinion, expressly
limited the right Of Congress to make pa
per legal tender TO occasions Of great
emergency The flrst draft OF the consti
tatlon of the United States contained q
Provision that Congress should have powel
10 borrow money and emit bills on The
credit Of the United States" The
emission Of bills was struck out By
we vote Of all the States but two. The
l'amers Of the Constitution had felt, IN
@eI' own experience, the evils OF an ire
aeemabIe paper currency, and they wished
"Suani their posterity against II.
Bot all these facts and experiences counl
"' nauelh with people Of the GreenbacL
NaooI, ami we have not advanced them
WIN any idea that they will have any efEect
On Nr laidley or those who hold to hi
views Of irredeemable money. They ar
Io'ae,l to their idols.