Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-09
WHY AM Nd LONGER A GREEN
BACKER OR UNION LABORER,
SO-CAIIED

ANTHONY, KAN, Sept. 8, 1888.
To the Editor of the Eagle
A few years ago l became a Green
hacker because | thought as great
many others in those days, that the
greenbacks ought not TO be Cancelled, as
the government was doing, in order to
prepare for specie resumption. l went
to work to post myself on this theory
and purchased a greenback tract, the
title of which was absolute Money
published by one Britton Hill at st.
Louis. After giving this thorough
reading l was ready to commit
suicide when / would think how
foolish our financiers were who would
destroy the best money we ever had. l
then began to talk as all Greenbackers
do, that the government ought to issue
an absolute dollar, as l never thought
why these greenbacks were SO good and
everybody wanted them. Because the
government was preparing for their re-
demption in coin. l also forgot the fact
that money was commodity and that
when sold a cow or hog which was
the product of my labor and obtained
the money, which was also commodity
or an equivalent, that l had commodity
for commodity. Then | reasoned that
the government stamp was all that was
necessary on piece of paper to make 1t
money. That is, if the government
should say that this is an absolute dollar
without preparing to redeem it that it
would be a dollar, and that would be all
l1k -,
Then when | would be riding through
the country | would have seri-
Gus thoughts about this abso-
lutte money as | would read of bust |
ness men all over this country saying, | |
wish to God we could once get down to |
a specie basis SO one could make caIcu- |
lation how to guess prices in the future |
without having the fluctuations in the |
prices of exchange or money having any
thing to do with future prices. The i'm
porters of goods, all manufacturers of |
goods, bankers, cattle dealers and nearly |
everybody except those in debt.said in
Gods name give us gold and silver as a
basis. then began to think perhaps l
was wrong, as the boys said about the
hen, that she was off her nest, and away
out in the weeds. l happened
of Rockford, ILL.,, in Chicago. We were
both stopping at the Enoch Woods hotel
There we discussed this Greenback the
DRY and he downed me every time as he
resolved it into a question of right, and
and | could not answer it. This is the
way he put the question TO me, said he:
| am farmer. | raise cattle and hogs to
sell. These products l convert INTO
M Tf az sar
mans labor. Now suppose / 60 on in
this way for series of years and /
finally accumulate ten thousand dollars.
Now this amount l can loan out say
eight per cent interest. Now, said ne,
this money, or product. which is the
same thing, represents my labor. 1t is
mine; / have worked for it ten long
years Now, suppose the government
could by some hook or crook or hocus-
Docus arrangement, If it had the power,
confer on some man standing by, the
tight TO create something answering all
purposes as my money which / had
worked so long and hard for and this
,erson could throw his something on the
market and thus depreciating money!
Now has the government right TO do
his; II SO it would be class legislation
md the government has no right to do
his. II the government has no right to
,onfer this on any individual If has not
he right to take it on itself. / saw the
,oint and threw up my hands in a
moment, and in about two years / met
senator Rice and thanked hia for re-
moving the false delusion from my mind.
Vow if the government could do what
he Union Labor people here Think it
an do tissue an absolute dollar
{ would be the end OF all
abor and when the government;
hould need money ell it would have to
10 would be grind little more out, and
ccording to their line Of thought-that i,
here ought to be $50 per capita-when- ,
yer a child was born into the world in
rider to keep up the circulating medium ;
government would have 10 send the /,
arsnts Of the little founding 81. Al
UGH ideas are nonsense, and it has
to make a mar unhappy ard
hink all our law makers are robbers, and {
hat the light crops and hard times are !
racabls to the government. Now, there 1
only one way to make q plethora Of
money in this country. and that Is TO keep {
high tariff on all articles we mauufac- c
are; manufacture what we need and 10 {
I'll. We raise about ninety naill.ons of =