The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-02-10
BASE INGRATITUDE.


! upon the pensioners.
The men who are now drawing a
meager stipend of 81 a month, as a
slender return for the disabilities they
incurred in their country's defense, are
the ones to whom the money lords owe
all their prosperity and power. By
fighting unainchingly to the end,
by their entire disregard of death,
wounds, hardship and disease, by their
utter sacrifice of themselves until vic
tory was won, they gave to the bonds
and the money which these gentry now
WELD so potently all the value that they
have. Had the Union soldiers not
fought as no men ever did beforehand
they not had infinitely more courage
and patriotism than the money
lenders, the bonds and money of the
United States, and all bonds and other
securities based upon them, would have
become as worthless as the Confederate
bonds and money, which were used to
paper rooms and line trunks. and print
advertisements on.
The reports of the New York stock
market during the war tell this story most
eloquently. The values of every dollar Of
money in circulation, Of every bond in
the vaults of Wall street were borne all
the time on the bayonets of the soldiers.
If the army won a victory the values
rose if it suffered defeat the values fell
like mercury before an impending storm.
Let us take the quotations of the value
of a greenback dollar in gold as an illus
tration of this:
The year 1862 opened with the green
back worth 97.6 cents. We had had q
series of reverses following tie battle of
Bull Run, which had sent gold up, but
we had organized a great army, and
hopes of what it would accomplish raised
the price of tie paper dollar to within
% cents of par But it fell cent dur
ing January, and in February was only
worth 9G.6 cents. Then Grants magnif-
cent victory at Fort Donelson sent it up
9S.5 cents. This small advance Of
less than two cents made millions
of dollars for the moneyed men
Of the country. But McClellan's i'll
success on the Peninsula with the
great army from which so much was
expected, the defeat of Pope in front
of Washington, Bragg's raid through
Kentucky against Louisville and Gin
cinnati, the defeat of the first move
ment against Vicksburg, the sickening
slaughter at Fredericksburg sent the
greenback down until its value at the
beginning of 1863 was only 62.3 cents.
But because our men fought SO splen-
didly at Gettysburg, because they en-
dured, marched and battled so magnif-
Gently at Vicksburg, the value of the
paper dollar sprang up to 1913 cents in
August, 1863 The terrible battle of
Chickamauga, the retreat Of the Army
of the Cumberland to Chattanooga, its
being beleaguered, possibly starved into
surrender, depressed it again to 66.2
cents. The victories around Chatta-
nooga raised it again to 643 cents, but
the terrible and seemingly fruitless
slaughter in the Wilderness, and the
possibility of Sherman's being fought to
a standstill or destroyed before Atlanta
beat its price down to 387 cents in
August, 1864. But Sherman's capture
of Atlanta and Sheridan's victory
at Winchester sent it up again in Octo.
Der, to 1873 cents Hoods alarming
raid against Nashville Immediately broke
its price to 42.8 cents, but Thomas's
glorious victory sent 1t up in January
1865, to 46.3 cents. Shsrman's victoriou.
swoop through the Carolinas doomed it il
March to 57.5 cents, Appomattox sem
it to 67.3 cents in April, and Johnston.
surrender kited it to 1877 cents in Nav
Here in less than four months we fine
the achievements Of the soldiers adding
q cents to the value of every greenbacl
dollar, every bond, Governmental, State