The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1889-10-18
Friday, Oct. IS, 1889.
The Greenbacks.

Unlteu 0ldleS government ueil'e" wv
name of "grcenback' from the color OF The
back Of those notes, which was green, unlike
state bank notes in circulation when the
the greenback appeared. The greenback
first made its appearance in 1862, and grew
ont of the necessities of the rebellion. The
Financier gives the following brief history
of this famous species OF currency, which
has ever been most popular with the people:
sThere have been issued 10 Legal Tender
Notes (greenbacks), 81 GAO, $50, 657, and OF
this there has been redeemed 81 ,293 ,olo,-
931, leaving a balance outstanding June lst,
1889, of 346,CS1 ,0l6.
"2'he first issue was authorized by Act of
Congress February %, 1862 for $3.50 200 ,
OO0. An act of July IL, 1862, authorized
an issue of $3.50, 900, 900 more, and an act 81
March Sd, 1865. authorized an issue oil
$3.50, 1000 more, a total of $45O, OO0 ,OOO.
'The amount now outstanding, S346, 6ol,-
DIG, has been unchanged since the close OF
the fiscal year, June LIST, 1878. Previous
to that, the amount varied at the close OF
each fiscal year; the highest amount out
strndiug having been June LIST, 1864, when
it was SAT ,30O,2l3l0, nearly the limit al
lowed by law. The redemptions have been
by the exchange of old notes for new notes
and giving United States bonds for them.
They are, of course, practically loan from
the people to the government without inter
est. If anybody wanted coin for them,
since January let. 1879, all that 1t was
necessary to do was to present them at the
Treasury; they are paid out again, however,
nv The government'
Upwards of sixteen hundred millions i'll
greenback currency have been issued by the
government, and nearly thirteen hundred
millions redeemed. "The redemptions have
been by the exchange Of old notes for new
notes and gieimg United States bonds for
them.' The following further explanation
by the Financier in connection with the
above is of importance to note carefully
"They ale (the greenbacks) Of course, prac
tically loan from the people TO the govern
ment withom INTEREST," When the black
cloud of rebellion settled oyer the nation,
and England, which had been railing
against slavery, FASTENED to change hei
scorn for sympathy and give support TO the
shareholders confederation by acknowledg-
ing it belligerent government, and supply
it with war ships and arms, and the French
Emperor seconded the good Offices of Eng
land to The utmost of his ability, the people
loaned the U. S. Government "withou
interest" these $50 millions to prosecute the
war. Capitalists did not come forward ir
that dark hour with their millions offering
them 10 the government as they did later or
when by the aid Of the peoples greenback
loan Without interest the nation began to make
Roadway against its enemies. Then th'
capitalists began to come forward with The
greenbacks they had collected in trade ane
offer them 10 the government in exchange
for bonds bearing six per cent interest pay
able in gold.
war ended we find those bond holders per-
suading Congress TO not only pay the inter
est on them In gold but the principal also
And to double their value, in 1878 the samt
crafty, greedy ring, trepanned the United
States to Join the nations that aided in thu
effort to destroy the government, in demon
citing silver, which at one blow cut off one
half the money supplying metal Of the grea
commercial nations Of the world, thus plac-
ing the industrial, producing classes more
completely in the power of the money ma
nirulatng class of these countries.
The magnitude Of this crime will be made
clear, when we remember that it is the credi
of the United States which now and Away,
stands behind the hundreds OF millions o.
bonds, and has raised per cent interest
bearing bonds to a premium of % per cent,
which stood behind the non-interest money
of the people, the greenbacks, and could and
would have raised them up TO gold and
silver standard, as soon and as readily as the
same power raised the bonds. That great
credit rests on the power of the government
to tax every dollars worth of property in
the United States (the richest country in
undeveloped resources in the world and
lay an import duty payable in gold on every
package of goods that enters her ports from
foreign countries. This is the power and
the vast wealth behind it, that has sent its
bonds up TO such premium, and was able
to have redeemed in gold and silver, every
dollar in greenbacks, without reissuing a
single bond at heavy interest, after the
close of the war.
In place of the National Bank notes that
were issued on bypothecated bonds, TO sup
ply the necessary currency, the government
could have issued greenbacks in exchange
for every series of bonds as they fell due,
thus cancelling the debt and stopping the
constant drain of interest which has drawn
from the pockets of the people since the war
not less than two thousand millions, which
went directly into the pockets of capitalists
of our own and foreign countries. This
drain of interest could have nearly all been
saved to the people and remained in the
hands of the producing clrsses.
With more than six hundred millions Of
gold aud silver piled in her vaults and the
mines producing annually nearly hundred
millions more, the same system is being
pursued of paying interest to capital for bor-
rowed money. Mr.. Trenholm, Comptroller
of the treasury, in his report 10 Congress,
al its last annual session recommends that
the remaining 1916 ,6S1 ,016 Of the peoples