Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-06-05
A Lesson.

Persons who believe that the fat Of
may profit by the lesson which O country
in South America is teaching to all the
world. A telegram OF the Sd from Buenos
Ayres says: "Gold closed yesterday at
293 premium"
What means this statomentp II means
that II citizen Of Buenos Ayres owes q
debt TO any foreign country he will have to
use four dollars worth of the so-called
money of his own country in order to pay
of one dollar due TO citizen of any other
country. II means that the fat greenback-
ism. or bluebackism, or some other delu-
sion, has run riot in Buenos Ayres for
years and has ut last reached the
end which all sound financiers fore
saw from ths beginning. 1t means
an increase OF not merely 293 per cent.
in the prices of all commodities in the un-
fortunate country which has become the
teacher of an objectlesson to other coun-
tries. but of not less than 500 per cent. SO
rapid is the decline in the purchasing
power of such full legal-tender money"
as now constitutes the circulating medium
of Buenos Ayres, that the premium on
gold does not amount to more than half
the rise in the prices of commodities.
A barrel of -four, for instance, worth six
dollars in gold could not be bought for
three or four times the worth of the gold
in the currency Of Buenos Ayres, but
would sell for probably fifty dollars of
this fat money. In q wcrd, the fat of the
Government of Buenos Ayres Is not able
TO set aside the natural laws of finance.
En- uno, disco onnes. As is one country 10
respect TO this matter, so are all countries.
There is no government under the heavens
strong enough to do what our South
American neighbor--ifwe may employ this
word in speaking of Buenos Ayres-hGs
vainly and foolishly attempted to do. US-
GLE SAM is power in the earth, but If he
should undertake the impossible task of
making irredeemable greenbacks "as good
as gold he would soon find himself tread
ing the path which has led Buenos Ayres
10 the brink of bankruptcy. II he should
try 10 make what the fat lunatics term
"full legal-tender money" a substitute for
gold and silver and require everybody to
receive it in the payment of debts, he
would soon learn that his fat was worth
less-absolutely valueless-as trashy as the
money which simpletons expect to make
real money by styling it " full legal-tender
money"
This lesson comes to US from South
America just in time TO save us. If We are
wise. from the evils of the sub-Treasury
scheme, which now threatens to bankrupt
this country. To imagine that the United
States Government could carry out that
scheme without pauperizing itself, and
running its citizens, is TO delude ourselves.
There would be no hope for country
whose inhabitants were so ignorant of the
natural laws of finance-the natural laws
of money--as TO indulge in delusion
worthy Of the inmates of bedlam.
Shall we be told that the Government of
Buenos Ayres ia not rich and powerful like
that of the United States? That fact would
not change the laws of nature TO which we
have Just referred. The evil day might be
@ little longer in coming to this country,
but come il would. "All the Kings horses
and all the Kings men" could not draw us
away from the slough of bankruptcy
towards which the sub-Treasury scheme
would hurry US.