Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-08-27

law of 1916 kept all bank notes out of
the treasury, the government suffer
ed no loss from the suspension. AS
hard money was locked up, however,
and could not be obtained to pay du-
ties, the government issued $2O,LOO,-
900 more Treasury notes.for that pur-
pose, and to meet payments by the
government, which there was not
sufficient coin to meet. The govern.
ment did not rely upon coin to meet
the demands, and it has never done
SO in crisis, but has always relied
upon paper money in the form of
Treasury notes, as was done in this
instance. Treasury notes have never
failed to do what the government re-
quired, unless the law, as in 1869,
purposely crippled them in providing
that they should not perform all the
functions of gold and silver coin. Pa
per money issued by the government
has always been fruitful in good to
the people. 1t never failed.
1S. When the war with the south
came on did the government in the
war to preserve the Union rely upon
coin? Certainly not. 1t first borrow
ed money of the banks of Boston and
New York. The banks made the loan
ing of this money an excuse for sus-
pending specie payments, hoping to
loan the government their own notes
for six per cent bonds, giving $50 of
them for 500 bond, for their sus-
pended bank notes. This was the de.
gree of patriotism and hard money
devotion that animated Wall street
then. But the government for the
$50, 900, 900 borrowed, paid the banks
adding 10 per cent for its use, and is
sued SEC, 1000, 900 demand notes. These
notes, these banks then suspended
labored to discredit, and would have
done so but that the Secretary of
the treasury ordered the notes receiv-
for duties on imports, and afterward
congress made them full legal tender
money. They were then at par with
gold and always so remained. The
nation could not and did not rely up
on hard money. Had the United
States attempted the suppression of
the rebellion and the preservation of
the Union with hard money, it would
probably failed for want of money,
the sinews of war.
10. In 1862 the government still
placing no reliance upon hard money,
which could not he had, issued the
greenback or Treasury notes, making
them legal tender for everything but
interest on the public debt and for
duties on imports. The great misfor-
tune of the country was that they
were not made full legal tender for
all debts due the United States as all
other Treasury notes had been. They
would then have been at all times at
par with gold, and gold would not
have been needed even for interest
on the public debt, and thousand
million dollars would have been saved
to the people.
These notes conquered the south
and restored the Union, paid off the
army and the navy, built the Pacific
railroads and sustained the country
during four years of long and bloody
war, and have been an important fac
tor IN all the years of peace that the
country has since enjoyed. What
paper money issued by the govern
ment has done for the United States
since 1860, is more than coin has done
for any nation on earth in any hun
dred years since creation. If we were
to Danish the costly national bank
money and use only gold, silver and
Treasury notes, made full legal ten
der, and continued SO to do, we would
become the richest nation on earth in
twenty-five years, and would SO re-
main as long as we continued their
use.
In conclusion we briefly cite to the
fact that the many millions of gold
coin deposited with the United States
treasury, without interest, in ex-
change for government certificates,
made equally legal tender with the
coin deposited, is of itself conclusive
proof OF both the confidence in gov
eminent issues of paper money, and
of the preference for it by even the
owners OF gold coin. Even silver GER
tificates issued by the government,
based upon silver at the ratio of 16 to
l, are current money every where and
readily accepted in payment of debts
and for the exchange and transfer of
all kinds of property.
How's This!