The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-05-19

ing those first treasury notes. as If
they were ssgreenhaclzs.' q These
men forget that while the govern
ment could at that time manage
$50, 100000 Of demand notes, and
pay them on presentation, it could
not have managed one or two
thousand millions Of such notes.
Had there been no provision
whereby the government would
receive gold only, with which to
pay its interest on it's bonds. we
would have been able to sell no
securities, and our treasury would
have been at once bankrupt. The
issuing of greenbacks was a matter
OF necessity, not Of choice.
THE VALUE OF ''NoTEs.''
Governments differ in no way
from private individuals as to
credit. The country is full Of men
who can issue their promissory
notes for $100, $500 or even 81. 900
and they will pass at par wherever
the signers are known. But if the
same men should put out and have
floating about the country $4,000
of such notes such notes would in
stantly fall below par, and many
OF them would be looked upon as
worthless. Other men could use
5000 worth of such notes and
keep them at par, and vet ruin
their credit by issuing $4,000 or
$4,000 of such notes.
The probability of each individ
ual paying at maturity each note
issued, and that alone, fixes the
value of such notes. Hence it
does not follow because our GOV
eminent was able to keep $50, 00O,-
600 OF treasury notes at par (which
is simply stating that it was able
to redeem that amount of notes on
presentation) that it could also
have redeemed $500, 100000 Of
greenbacks. AS a matter of fact,
1t was not able to. The credit of
our nation became weakened. The
confidence of the moneyed men of
the world in the ability of the ma
ton to pay it's debts became less
and less. The consequence was
that all the promises of our GOV
eminent deprecated in value. Our
bonds deprecated as we'll as our
greenbacks, and for precisely the
same reason. The government
was compelled to pay from I to 10
per cent. for money, which was
only another form of showing that
the credit of the nation at that
time was weak.
We can borrow money now on
bonds for q per cent. interest
more readily than we could place
them during the war at I 80.
Why? Simply because the credit
OF our nation is better now than it
was then. Our greenbacks are to-
day at par, not because they will
be received for custom duties, but
because the government holds itself
in readiness to redeem them in
gold on demand. There is plenty
Of money in the United States at
the present time which is not a
legal tender for debt, either public
or private, but there is not shade
of difference in it's value when
compared with that which is a full
legal tender simply because it can
all be readily converted without
expense into gold coin or legal
tender money.
FINANCE DURING THE WAR.
What can induce any true patriot
to be constantly referring to those
treasury notes" and claiming, be-
cause the government was able to
redeem them and keep them at par,
that therefore it might have re-
deemed and kept at par paper
money enough to have met all the
needs of the government during
the war?
[ was witness to the entire
struggle of the nation during those
fearful times. This government
was saved only by the patriotic
efforts of it's entire body of loyal
citizens. Our ablest statesmen
were taxed to their utmost to pro-
vide means to put down the rebel
lion. They were compelled to try
many experiments. They were
constantly making new history in
finance as well as in war. They
did the best they could. When
they issued those Treasury notes"
they were struggling to avoid the
expense and disasters which would
have attended an inflated currency.
They finally resorted to the issue
of greenbacks, which were to be
redeemed at some future time, as
a matter of necessity. If the gov
eminent could have borrowed gold
enough upon it's bonds to supply
IFS needs If # c0n1H havo or, man