The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-11-21
George Wilson on the G~reenbacks.

the wish of democrats, g~reenbackcrS
and p~opulists that the United States
notes be not retired l have never beer
able to agree, or to see any good reason
for the position that they take. As u
general principle it ought TO be the
wish of everybody to be done with the
entire financial legislation of the war
except the n good thing tiFat was
housekeeping stale bank issues.
Democrats ought not to wish 10 per
petuate a faulty system started by re-
publicans, such as the redeemable
g%reenback system. Every system OF
redeemabIe notes must break down
sooner OF later. Ours has done worse
than TO break down. The interest or
the reserve at about 3 per cent, not
compounded, for the past sixteen years
amount to, say, S173, 000, 900, which
added to the 1862, 000, 900 of Cleveland
debt, made to keep up the reserve,
makes the redeemable notes to have
s'eaten their heads off," and about 33
per cent more, And it has also kept
the miners out of the job of digging
1855, 900 900 out of the ground. And
for every man who works under ground
ten are put 10 work above ground by
him in mining precious metals. Hire
IN one item is enough to account for
many tramps and much poverty. Why
should democrats wish to care for
and carry onward and perpetuate a
system that they in the days of old
democracy repudiated and condemnedP
One of the mistakes of the Chicago
platform was the Endorsement of this
system. Populists do not believe in
one kind of money redeemable in
another, so there is no reason why
they should object to the retirement of
the g~reenbacks, unless it is made the
occasion for increasing the national
debt, bearing interest. The republi-
cans have repudiated their W brat
and so l see no good reason why the
greenbacks should not be retired, ex-
cept that there are interested national
bankers who want them retired in no
way except by funding them into
bonds, and that there are so many
politicians who are not as strong and
fearless as Benton was. 1t has come
to be a sort of superstition with the
people that the greenbacks ought to be
left as they are, and they will not see
the truth even when figures tell 1t.
In the remarkable work of VIM. M.
Gouge, written forty years before silver
vas demonetized, he foretold so closely
what was coming and what has come
that 1t would have made the for
tune of a Jewish prophet or Brigham
Young had they done it. Then he
adds: ''In no small degree will the
public distress be increased by we'll
meant but ill-directed attempts to give
relief. There is a class of politicians
(and they are unfortunately numerous
and powerfully who have for each par
social evil a legal remedy.
They are willing to leave nothing to
nature; the law must do everything.
This is most unfortunately the kind of
legislation that public distress Is almost
sure to produce. Instead of tracing
its cause 10 some positive institution,
The removal of which, though il might
Immediately relieve distress, would
prevent its recurrence, men set them
selves to heaping law upon law and
upon institution. They in
,hIs resemble quacks who apply lotions
o the skin to cure diseases of the
blood, or of the digestive organs, cca
stoned by Incorporate living. The
projects of relief and efforts at correc-
i've legislation will be numberless in
and diversified in character;
out as they will not proceed on the
principle of removing the cause that
he effect may cease they will ulti-
increase the evils they are in
ended TO cure"
The way out of present difficulty
s not in trying 10 compromise on some
me of several millions of plans that
re and have been offered for the
uture, but to undo much that has been
Ione, and not only look, but 60 back
Yards. If the national bank interest
Tlll make any fair agreement for get
ing rid of the redeemable greenbaoks
it. A part of such a fair agreement
yould be that none of them be funded.
,econdly, let the gold reserve be all [
aid out in redemption of these notes. ,
hat Is, let the treasury pay out gold !
stop paying out paper while it has
old, and when The whole amount of ,
old is paid ont cancel an equal amount
f greerbacks. There would then only i
e $246, 000, 900 of greenhacks, of i
'hiph the $40, 000, 900 shogld he re- !
edeemed by the coinage of the 'iseig- !
,rage bullion" in the treasury from !
liver purchases. Then if the senate !
ill stand firm and allow no more i
ond issues the 5000, 900, 900 remain
,g g~reenbacks, instead of having to i
g redeemed, would be in danger of
DING TO n premium. ,
1t ought to be a part of the agree =.
tent that the s'coin" notes be ~
by the coinage of the silver tor
hose purchase they we're issued, aud +,
nat the silver certificates be retired .
leaving the silver dollars Themselves !
the hands of the people. If silver !.
not fit for a circulating medium and .
ill not stand the test of actual circu- =
Ition, then there is no good reason >
by certificates should be issued :,
silver any more than against :
iron, as they who are trying to :
the whole circulation in the form :
bank notes tell ps. Let no s~'eilver :
shrink from the crucial test, If :
liver will not stand the test, then the !.
silver question" is settled. ] have no y
ore doubt that 1t will stand it than | r
ad when the poet read his ode to the /
Don and said, ~''roll on thou ball."
it would continue to roll on, On a.
rely independent of him and his ode. =,
may be truly said that there never !"
rs a country with the ample re-
4roes that OURS has that got itself q
to such a ridiculous snaTl with the h
oney system as ours has. And the al
ason is that there is not q man in the
or house, and has not been SINCE ~
go, who knows or knew the prInoi- "
es of the science of money. "
With $500, 600, 900 of %greebacks left ..
err we should have to wrestle; and "
e chief difficulty would be for the
10 get hold of them, for 81
dyes to it would, under that dread to
"Gresham law be paid in the mr.
worst money"-gold and silver-and Ia
1re gold than silver, for the simple
ison that it costs less to move it. 1t
uld pay this out again and cancel LII
, ~greenhaGks that do pome N at the ne
q of q certain number of millions a th
nth. This loss from the circulation ba
'uld be made mp by imports of money
by the output of our own mines. all
.--l 49,. - 1-N 49,