The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-09-05
TIE CHEAP MONEY CRAZE.

pienty Oh IL y nave Stoo1 Ior disaster 10
business and the robbery of labor in every
instance recorded by authentic history.
The Peoples party platform calls for
"cheap money and plenty of it" when it
cries for Stree silver" and for the SUBJ
treasury scheme. The danger and the
innate dishonesty OF the free coinage of
silver. which picks the pockets of the
whole people for the benefit of the seller Of
silver bullion, has been so thoroughly ex-
posed that no man, who can read and un-
dersrand what he reads, has any excuse as
an honest, intelligent man for further I'D
vocacy Of free silver coinage.
Free silver coinage is primarily utterly
dishonest; q swindle perpetrated on the
American people for the benefit Of the
holder of silver bullion, but even if this
were not true free silver coinage would be
fraught with danger until the commercial
nations of the earth have joined with US
in fixing a common ratio between gold and
silver.
The viciousness of the sub-treasury
scheme, which proposes to initiate the cur
rency by lending the money of the govern
ment to the farmers on their non-perish-
able products. has been proved over and
over again by the disastrous land bank ex-
periments of Rhode Island, Michigan and
Alabama.
The weakness of all these cheap money
schemes is well set forth in the story of
the French assignats as We find it told
in the current number Of the Century.
In 1859 the National French Assembly
proposed to issue paper money based on
the church lands which had been confis-
Gated by the government. This money, to
be called assignats, was receivable In pay
ment for the contiscated lands. The first
issue, to the value OF 400 100000 of francs,
was issued in December, 1890. They bore
interest, and were made payable on sight.
but no interest was ever paid. and subse-
quent issues had no interest provision.
The first issue represented about one-fifth
of the total value of the confiscated lands.
With this solid basis to rest on these assig-
mats nevertheless never circulated at par.
A few months afterwards came demand
for second issue. Talleyrand in a speech
opposing this second issue, said: 1.-THE as
signat, considered as a title of credit, has
positive and material value; this value
Of the assignat Is precisely the Same as
that of the land which it represents;
but still it must be admitted.
above all, that never will any
national paper be upon a par with the
metals; never will the supplementary sign
of the first representative sign of wealth
have the exact value of its model: the rery
title prores rant, and rant spreads alarm and
distrust around It." And again: "You can
arrange it so that people shall be forced to
take thousand francs in paper for thou
sand francs in specie. but you never can
arrange 1t so that the people shall be
obliged to give thousand francs in specie
for thousand francs in paper" Still
again: "Assignat money. however safe,
however solid, it may be, is an abstraction
of paper money; it is consequently but
the free or forced sign, not of wealth, but
merely Of credit" The national
assembly IN September, 1870. despite
the protest of Talleyrand, ordered a
second issue of assignats 10 the value of
so0,0O0000 of francs, bearing no interest.
In June, 1871. third issue of 100000 900
was ordered. This was followed soon af-
terward by fourth issue OF 3O0,000,000
Fresh issues followed enc another in
rapid succession in 1892, and at the close
OF that year an official statement was put
forth that a total of thirty-four hundred
millions had been issued, of which six
hundred millions had been destroyed,
leaving twenty-eight hundred millions in
circulation. Specie had disappeared from
circulation soon after the second issue,
and the value of the assignats began to 60
steadily and rapidly downward.
The consequences of this paper money
imitation in France were fatal to business
and industry of all sorts. The manufac-
tories were closed and vast numbers of
workmen thrown out of employment
Andrew D. White in his history of this
financial episode says:
In the spring of 1891 no one knew whether a
piece of paper money, representing 100 francs,
would. a month later, have purchasing power
OF l1O francs or 30 francs, So or 90. The result
WAS that capitalists declined TO embark their
means in business. Enterprise received u mortal
blow. Demand Tor labor WAS still further di-
miniseed. The business OF France dwindled
Into q mere living from hand to mouth. With
the masses OF the people the purchase OF every
article of supply became spec u ation--a specu-
la;ion In which the professional speculator had
immense advantage over the buyer Saw.
the most brilliant spo.oglst for French revolu.
tonary staissmanshin commerce was dead
betting took It's place"
In the early par; of 1892 the assignat was
80 per cent. below par. In the following
year il had fallen 10 o. per cent below par.
Before the close of 1894 100. 0O0, 90 had
been issued, and the year lT96 opened with
total issue Of a., 900, oo0. 0o0, of which So
01oQo,oo were IN actual circulation. Nv
February Of this. year the tota! issue had
advanced 20 $500 00o, oOo, and the value
had dropped to l-265th part OF their nom-
tnal value. A note protesting 20 be worth
about $40 o! our money WAS worth about
cents.
Then the government offered to redeem
the sssignats on the basis of 80 10 ], for
nsndats. new form of paper money,
which entitled the holder TO take imme-
date possession, AZ their estimated value,
o: any OF the lands pledged by the S.
signats. Eight hundred millions IN man
OATS were issued. 10 be exchanged for the
sssjgusts. and the plates for printing the
latter were destroyed. SIX hundred nil
lioas raore of the Inandats were issued for
the public service. A. first the nanGats
circals'ed 8; as high a. 50 TER cent. OF their