The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-02-12
THE DISPATCH AND FIAT MONEY.

The Dispatch, as we OF course knew II
would do, promptly oisclaims any and all
sympathy with the Populist party, but
1t holds en- TO the argument OF the eX-
tract that we quoted from 1t. That being
so. the Dispatch should logically be a
Populist journal, for its argument Is the
Populist argument and the argument
of the fiat money man. The argument
means that an act Of the Government
can impart value TO a thing which the
thing itself lacks-a proposition which
the Populists believe in, but which The
Times absolutely rejects.
The Dispatch says yesterday:
eff The Times replies that the green
backs are redeemable in gold or coin. and
| do not profess to be money, then we re-
| Join that all that seems to be necessary
| to making the silver dollars as good as
! the greenback is to make the same pro-
vision for silver dollars as for green
| backs"
This is a little puzziing. What does
the Dispatch mean by saying all that is
necessary 'is to make the same provision
for silver dollars as for greenbacks?'
Does it mean that they should be made
| exchangeable, one for the other-a gold
dollar to be given for silver dollar when
ever 1t 10 asked? If 1t means this we re-
ply that Congress has already done all
| 1t can do to effect this by making the
silver dollar legal tender for debt. That
| is, A. may have received from b. gold
| dollar AMI the act Of Congress requires
| y. 10 receive from him in return a silver
dollar. But 1t is beyond the power Of
| Congress to provide that B. shall here
after give to A. a gold dollar in exchange
| for the silver dollar that A. has If its
suggestion implies this 1T. OF course, i'm
| plies what cannot be accomplished.
II the Dispatch means that Congress
should provide that whoever brings to the
| Government a silver dollar will be given
| a gold dollar in exchange for 1t, we reply
| that this has practically been the case for
| a number of years for the reason that
| the Government was afraid to do other
wise les, It should put gold at a premium
| There has been no law providing for this
however, and, II there were, its logical
and necessary effect, Of course, would
be that the deprecated silver dollars
would draw from the Treasury all the
| gold IT put there, whatever the amount
might be. By one device and another we
might stave off the evil day. but II would
have to come sooner or later, as we see
! II now on us.
But the fundamental answer to the
Dispatches suggestion is this: When the
greenbacks were issued thirty years ago,
they promised to pay dollars. These
might be silver dollars or gold dollars.
| for there was no practical difference then
between the two. Later on, the silver
dollar deprecated. and that made the
holder OF the greenback claim that on
sound business principles whatever
might have been his rights in strict con-
structions Of law. ne should receive the
gold dollar. Recognizing this as the true
state of the case, Congress provided that
| he should be paid gold dollars. And this
provision has made the greenbacks as
valuable as gold dollars. They were
worth the same, because they could be
at any time converted into them.
To make the deprecated silver dollar
exchangeabe at Washington for the gold
| dollar and continue the Sherman bill, or,
worse still, free coinage Of silver. would
make the silver dollar perform all the
| functions OF the greenback and gold dol
| lar, until the silver dollar had been used
| TO draw from the Treasury all the gold
the Treasury then had, and afterwards
all that the Treasury could get from
the country, which it would surely do;
and. therefore. when there was no more
gold TO exchange for II, silver dollars
would become the sole measure of value.
and we should be thenceforward doing
business on the basis of dollars In name,
but dollars worth only sixty-five cents.
This means that persons who had been
drawing an income Of $1,000, would there
after draw an income worth only $3.50 In
fact. as is now actually the case with
English officials In India. and that what
had been before bought for one dollar
would thereafter cost one dollar ana
thirty-nvs cents. What sort Of CONNER