Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-07-09
THE GREENBACKERS.

carries, and, no matter how wild they are,
they all find friendly soil and genial
cline. In time to come it will be as IN
teresting to dig in the political strata OF
Iowa for defunct heresies and bad plat
forms as it is now to dig into the strata OF
Nebraska for the remains of animals OF
the various geological periods. Who will
assume the responsibility and take the
place of Powell, and King, and Hayden
it would be hard to say. Day before yes
terday the Greenbackers dug up skele-
ton of theory known as the greenback
party. The kilograms say that the usual
resolutions were adopted, which means
that the old theories concerning money
and the duties of the Government to its
citizens have been re-adopted. The
national platform that the Greenback
party adopted in 1880, which was the last,
they having none in 1884, in its preamble
enunciated this doctrine:
'HThe associated monopolies, the interna-
tional syndicates, and other income classes
demand dear money, cheap labor, and a
strong government, and, hence, weak peo-
pie. Corporate control of the volume of
money has been the means of dividing So
ciety into hostile classes, of an unjust dis
tribution of the products of labor, and of
building up monopolies of associated capl-
tai, endowed with power to confiscate pri-
vate property. 1t has kept money scarce;
and scarcity of money enforces debt trade,
or11 10 1atf
ders usury, and usury ends in the bankruptcy
of the borrower"
This is the key note to all the theories
of the Greenbackers; the right of the
oppressed as against the oppressor,
as they would term it, and cheap
money, which means fiat money.
They ignore the laws which gov
ern trade and all things connected
Herewith. The money of any country
must take into consideration the money
of all other countries. The purchasing
power of money must always be regu-
lated by the amount of money in coun-
try and the amount of goods and wares
and all things that are bought and ex-
changed. The law of supply and demand
regulates money as well as all other
things in commerce. That is the best
money that has the readiest acceptance
and has the greatest purchasing power in
all the markets of the world and that
the poorest which is lacking most in these
qualities Gold and silver represent the
former, and greenbacks, as greenbacks,
the latter. The value of one is based
upon its intrinsic worth and market
value throughout the world, while
the other is based upon faith in govern
ment. American gold and silver are cur
rent and convertible everywhere, while
American paper money would only be
current and convertible where they were
we'll known and it was known that they
could be exchanged for gold and silver at
the wish of the holder There can be no
objection to paper currency, so long as
that currency is known to represent so
much gold and silver and that they
can be had upon presentation of the
paper currency If such is not the case,
the value of fiat money will be based
upon the chances of its convertibility
into the money of the world, which is
gold and silver.
The convention left the candidates for
the Governor and a Supreme Judge to be
made by the Democrats. 1t is to be
hoped that the Democrats of Iowa will
not make them at the sacrifice of sound
financial views. Greenbacks are not a
panacea for hard times or the problems
of labor and capital.