Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-12-17
TALKING ABOUT MONEY
Charles 8. FaIrchild Addresses the Ne"
England Reform League.

BosToN, December 16.-The annual
dinner of the New England Tariff Ke-
form League was held at the American
House this evening. President Henry
L. Pierce was presiding officer. The
speakers were Hon. Chas. .. Fairchllu'
Secretary of the Treasury under CleVe-
land, Hon. Harvey M. Shepard, JOSIAH
Quincy, Vim. B. Rice.
Soon after o'clock President Pierce
called the meeting to order and MADE a
brief Introductory speech, after which
he introduced the first speaker OF the
evening Mr.. Fairchild. Mr.. Falrchlld
was heartily received, and said In part:
''Those in favor of tariff reform have
still a duty to perform. Our business
friends ask for stability in business, but
they have built up an artificial system,
whereby the business Of the country Is
held up above it's natural conditions.
"Instead Of seeking to do the one
thing requisite to the maintenance OF
their system, they have sought to d.
vert the minds Of the people In every
possible way from the consideration OF
the true subject. They have formed a
lAOlG OIL Noob
I45,..4Oy Uuy OiOStinnS
"It is useloss-to deny that the Demo
Gratis are equally guilty with the Re-
publicans in attempts to corrupt cleo
tions. But within these last few years
business men have contributed OF the
gains which have come to them, as
they supposed through the govern
ment, for the hardly concealed purpose
Of buying elections, contributing OF
their substance to undermine tie foun-
dations Of society.
A superstition surrounds the words
legal tender. II that could be re-
moved all the evils which threaten US
wonld be removed. 1t is common be-
lief that government has a mysterious
power to infuse value into substance
otherwise valueless, or TO add to the
value which already is In substance
by putting 1t in the form Of bank bills,
or of coined money, and calling it legal
tender money.
81 don't think there Is any power In
government to give any value to any
thing by adding the legal tender to it.
In all the legal tender paper money
there has not only been legal tender
quality, but there has also been the
promise to pay. Other monies in other
parts OF the world have had this legal
tender quality and the promise to pay,
and we have found them becoming ut
terly valueless, and yet retaining that
legal tender quality.
During the war in this country,
a Of ho nL.a
the same volume Of business and the
same amount of antecedent debts which
could be paid with that money, IL would
vary enormously between morning and
afternoon. The legal tender quality
had not varied, the need of money had
not varied; the population had not
varied; business had not varied.
"What had varied, was the average
belief Of the American people as to the
ultimate redeemablility OF the promise
to pay. That was the reason that money
had so varied, and the legal tender
quality had been utterly powerless to
retain value in It.
when the United States is no longer
able to fulfill that promise to make good
that credit, then that money must
stand on It's own foundation, and its
foundation will be the value of silver
bullion in the world.
'There is no reason in the nature OF
things why the government shonld for
bid me from passing bank note 10 my
neigebor and him from passing IL on.
There is no more statesmanship-
there Is no more sense in depriving the
American people Of one Of the most USE
full devices of modern times because
someone may sometimes lose by it than
there is in depriving them of other
forms Of commercial credit.
"In the face Of the vast usefulness OF a
good bank note, circulation which will
pass from hand to hand readily, but not
a legal tender, say it is utter imbecil-
ity for the American people to lie down
and say they cannot do that and they
won't do it,"