The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-07-14
SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE DISPATCH.

| file TO undertake TO hoat State-pani
notes. Unless so secured, when thu
notes are offered. they Will be refused
and national currency demanded.
WHY not have national currency
enough What is the use OF having State
notes and national notes? State notes nj
mar only AT home, and national notes
GOOD everywhere -Dispatch OF yester'
day.
There is a mixture and confusion here
OF several very important ideas. each
one OF which must be treated separately
for the true bearing OF the case to be
understood Our currency. as now con-
stituted. contains two kinds Of national
currency-that issued by the Govern
ment itself. and that issued by the ma
tional banks. Let each OF these be con-
sidered on It's own merits.
The trainers OF our Constitution never
had an idea that the Government was
! 10 issue its own notes as the everyday
| money Of the people. They expected
that when the Government was short In
collecting It's revenues. II might put out
It's promissory notes 10 its creditors, as
other debtors do. TO tide over the time
during which its Treasury was bare
the notes TO be taken up and cancelled.
however. as soon as the taxes came IN
The idea that the Government was 10
put such notes out as the money OF the
people. grew out Of the supposed neces-
sitv that the war imposed on the Gov
ernment TO extort forced loans out Of the
people for the wars support. The right
Of the Government 10 do this was chal-
lenged. and the Supreme Court or the
United States decided that Congress had
no mower under the Constitution 10 do 1t.
But it was the revolutionary era. The
Republican Congress passed an act au-
thorizing the President. General Grant,
10 pack the Supreme Court with Green
hackers. 10 reverse this decision. He so
hacked II. and reversed II. The country
has become so accustomed TO seeing the
Government exercise this authority OBJ
tanned in this fraudulent and Infamous
manner, that we shall possibly never see
II return to the true doctrine announced
by an unbought and upright Supreme
Court. that the Constitution confers no
power on the Government to issue such
currency.
But. II we cannot rouse the people TO
n return TO their old and happy Consti-
tuition. we may at least arouse them
to an appreciation OF the danger to
their liberties and institutions involved
I'm permitting the general Government
TO exercise a power thus obtained. III
Congress may issue irredeemable promises
10 pav money as and for money. 1t may
Of course, issue as many OF them as 1t
chooses. This places it within the power
Of a Populist and Socialist Congress TO
food the country with worthless paper
promises. which the Government cannot
redeem with gold, and never expected to
redeem with gold when 1t put them out
The currency goes 10 the dogs, and the
people are plunged into all the disaster
and distress that overlook the French
with their "assignats." the people of
the United States with their "Contlnen-
tai currency" and those Of the Confed-
crate States with their Confederate notes.
This result may be brought about by
wild men like the Populists and the So
calists, or by corrupting wealthy men
like Jay Gould.
We ought TO return TO our true Consti-
tuition, as the old and unbought Su-
preme Court decided it to be, and deny
TO Congress all power to issue such
81 currency. II we will not do that, then
let us adhere tenaciously to the PROPOSE
ton that we will not let down the bars
for the Populists. the Socialists and the
Goulds to gallop over the field and tear
up all our sod. We tell the Dispatch
then, that is the reason why we should
not have national currency enough"
As for national bank notes. we see no
reason why there should not be just as
many Of them as the national banks
choose to put out. That for which We
quarrel with the national bank law is
its provision which prohibits State banks
from issuing their notes also. The Con-
stitution never intended 10 authorize Con-
TO do this II also is war measure,
and a revolutionary war measure. Re
peal that prohibition, and the national
banks may so on issuing as many OF
their notes as they choose, and perhaps
they may issue what the Dispatch will
think national currency enough"
1t may be as the Sun probably in
tended to suggest. that in the absence
Of a law by Congress providing for max
ing the notes Of State banks secure.
they would not pass current far away
from the banks that issued them. So
much the better. They would be in
tended for the uses of their neighbor-
hoods. and there they ought to stay.
Before the war the Virginia State banks
had out 100000 of their notes. and as
soon as any of them strayed out Of Vir-
ginia they came right back here as hard
as they could come. But Virginia had
an abundance Of sound currency, and 1t
was a matter of no sort of consequence
TO her whether money was tight" or
loose" in New York. Her people had
an abundant currency which refused to
so 10 New York TO serve stock and
grain gamblers there. Every interest
here prospored, although her currency
was "at par only at home" We can
have the same thing again. If our banks
are only permitted TO use their resources