The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-10-21
THE WILDCAT THEORY.
Mankato, MINI

In the FREE PRESS of Wednesday
evening was published letter from
L. s. Terry, of Vernon Center, giving
his experience with wildcat, rag tag"
money. 1t is an experience that can
be duplicated by every man who did
business of anv kind in those days.
And further, it is an experience which
none of them care to repeat again.
The Revie,o, in a labored editorial of
over a column last night, otries to
brush to one side Mr.. Terry's expert
ence, and would have the public be-
lieve that his idea of wildcat money
is simply.an outgrowth Of his PARTISAN
ship; that if it had not been for the
war there would have been no trouble
with the ''ragtag," "bobtail" money,
and further infers that the fact that a
man might get upon his hands large
amount of this worthless currency
was not the cause of hard times, but
that the lack of railroads in those
days was the cause of hard times, and
says it would be unfair to suppose that
the legislature would not throw
around these banks the same safe
guard that that renders our national
circulation secure.
The FREE PRESS has previously
stated that it believed some states
would enact sound legislation in this
respect. But there are forty-four of
these states, and in sections of the
country where the people are tainted
with "cheap money" views, the legis-
latures are liable to be controlled at
times by majority of that class, and
there is no guarantee that they would
throw the same safeguards around
the state banks that are now thrown
around the national banks.
1t will be noted that none of the
advocates of renewal of wildcat
days have as yet given a single
sound, sensible reason why there
should be forty-four laws regulating
our circulating medium, instead of
one, as is now the case. The consti-
tuition says that congress shall have
the power to coin money and regulate
the value thereof, but it is silent as
to the right of states to issue money.
But, after the ReUieeo has fired it's
entire column at Mr.. Terry's letter,
the letter stands unframed, without
a single statement set aside. Mr..
Terry's veracity unQuestioned and
his showing that wildcat money is
dangerous to the prosperity of the
country, is not disturbed.
But, while the Reuieao is attempting
to lead people to believe that the ills
suffered from wildcat currency were
merely those of the Imagination, or
because there were but few railroads,
let us see what "Ihompson's Bank
Note Reporter, a leading authority of
those days, has to say on the subject.
On Oct. 8, 1859, it pays the following
picturesque tribute to the Democrat
ic monetary system:
The peculiar banking and paper
money currency of this country is the
explosive material in our commercial
troubles. All the science in modern
as applied to fireworks ap-
pears to be interviewer financially in
to our currency factories and even
into the currency itself. There is
in it to resist but everything
to excite confiagratiOn.
In it's issue of Aug. 81. 1859, it also
gave description of workings of the
system which will hardly set
the people wild for its return, not
outstanding the championship of the
same by the learned financial author
Ity of the Revieao. The Reporter said:
1t is surprising how patiently the
people endure the LOSSES, shaves and
3windles incident to the paper money
IF this country. The source of almost
Iii the losses is to be in the fact found
that from 1900 so-cnstitutionalled is