The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-02-07
WAR WEAPONS,
All Cast Aside But Greenbacks-Why
They Remain.

They Remain.
The Continental currency depreci-
ated in value till it reached zero while
the War of Independence was still ir
progress, so that it not only proved al
entire failure, but it failed so 500,
that it could not have been of much
if any, use to the colonies in thei,
struggle. Yet Thomas Paine. distin
guished for his sympathies rather thar
for Judgment and economic learning,
expressed deep gratitude to the
wretchedly printed little pieces OF
paper, which became ragged and
worthless in about the same ratio, and
commended them to the veneratlon of
his countrymen.
It is most natural, therefore, that
the greenbacks, which never sunk
much below 40 cents on the dollar and
have for about nineteen years been at
par, should be the objects of devotion
on the part of a great portion of the
American people. Their issue ban
ished gold from the country, their de-
probation inflicted incalculable loss
upon private individuals and added
immensely to the cost of the war, but
to the popular apprehension the essen
tial points in the case are that the
greenbacks were issued as q part of
war finance and therefore are proved
to have been essential to the salvation
of the Union; being such they must
always be loved and spoken OF re-
specially and perpetuated. This is
little singular, because the actual
weapons with which the war was
fought have been sent to the junk shop
in vast quantities without word OF
protest. The old Springfield rifles
may be ridiculed with impunity, the
old cannon have been broken up and
remelted, the old men.of-war became
coal hulks or were broken up, and no
patriot said word. But to propose
the retirement Of the greenbacks even
thirty years after the war is to attack
the means of saving the Union and
therefore to express sympathy with
disupion. And then, the greenbacks
not the present ones, of course, but
some other ones-were paid to the
soldiers, and why should anyone else
| TeCSiVc SHS UCbGeA nodCy
And still another source OF opposi-
ton to the withdrawal of the green
basks is to be found among the Stat"
money people of various degrees, who
believe it cheaper to issue paper money
than gold and silver, and that the
profit of circulation is divided among
all instead of few if the paper is
issued by the government instead OF
the banks, and of these persons some
are anxious for much greater issues OF
government paper.
The out and out silver men have an
idol that they worship more fervently
than the greenbacks some of them do
not worship the latter; they pride
themselves on being "hard money
men. But as the purpose of retiring
the greenbacks is to make it easier to
maintain the gold standard they, too,
are opposed and can be counted on
for determined resistance to any effort
to stop the ''endless chain" They
would be glad to accelerate the move
mems of the chain; the sooner it has
exhausted the well Of gold the sooner
will the country be on a silver
basis, and that is precisely what they
aim at.
An additional contingent of defend
ers OF the greenbachs is found among
those who fear, not without reason,
that the retirement Of the greenbacks
would contract the currency unless
provision were made for increasing
the bank currency at this same time.
, But there is sentiment in Congress
and among politicians outside of Con-
gress against additional bank cur
rency.
The campaign for the financial edu-
cation of the people must be contin-
ned. Experience has been said to be
good teacher, but its lessons are
often misunderstood. Crises and other
events in the financial world are as un.
Ineligible to a considerable part OF
, the American public as lunar eclipse
is to the Chinese. journal OF Com
r,arce and Commercial Bulletin.