The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1889-06-21
The Hay-seeds Were Rig ut.

The old greenback agitation will
be remembered by many of us at
least. Some of the people conceived.
the idea that the government could
issue greenbacks in times of peace
just as we'll and just as legally as it
could in times of war. Well the
ereenback people showed a marked
degree of courage in advocating their
principles. for if ever q class was
scored and ridiculed numerically
they were that class. They were call
ed idiots, regulators, friends of the
ragbaby and "what not" Hundreds
of newspapers, presided over by par
ticularly brilliant genius, said that
the idea that the government had the
right to make use of war necessity.
the issuing of legal tender paper in
times of peace, could possibly find
Judgment only in a ratified Drained
ign"ramus. In time the question of
the governments right to issue legal
tender paper at any time got before
the United States Supreme Court.
That judicial body was asked if the
government had such right? 1t an.
swered: Of course it has, and prac.
tically said that nobody but ratified
Drained ignoramus ever would have
questioned the right 1t practically
decided that the "hayseeds," as the
metallist press styled part of the
greenbackers, and the Hedging
inanciers," as the whole lot were
called. were the only people who had
been discussing the question. pro and
con, who had any sense. Then the
learned financial editors and sleek,
sarcastic writer's of people laid away
their pens and quieted their tongues.
But the enmity to government
paper money did not subside. 1t
took new tack 1t began 10 call in
all the greenback currency and to do
all that it could to fasten the people
and their interests to tho gold dollar
1t did its best to bring silver into
disrepute, and altogether there has
been a pretty lively hustle to prac-
tically establish gold as the unit of
value and the basis upon which all
Indebtedness is based: and while this
has been going on the people have
made very little noise about it. The
court said the greenback was all
right, and that seemed to satisfy the
masses. They never seemed to think
that the decision was not gre"nbacks,
but only judicial declaration that
there might be greenbachs. Coinage
of silver has gone on; and there
would likely be grand rumpus if it
was stopped. But coinage of silver
does not necessarily imply that we
shall have more money.
The government can do great deal
to discourage the circulation ard good
standing of silver, and as matter of
fact it has done just that thing. We
may buy a horse, but the purchase
will amount to little if the horse is
dead, Our financial legislation and
decisions are dead horses. The least
that the government could have done
when the court decid that the green
back was all right, was to let the vol
ume of greenbacks in circulation alone,
and the least il can do in all decency
is to encourage the circulation of the
silver dollar which the law provides
shall be coined and DEGREES that it shall
do the same work that gold dollar
does, But the people in order to see
the full fruition of their hopes and ex-
pectations in any direction must de-
termine to carry any movement in
which they are interested to complete
consummation.- Rural.