The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-31

1t is now evident that the amendment Of
fered by the Populistic and ultra l6-to-1
element in the Senate finance committee, to
issue grenbacks instead of per cent.
bonds, will fail when the Senate comes to
a vote. That combination is stronger in
the committee than in the Senate. Failure,
however, gives that element an issue as
demagogues. They will say that they urged
no-interest bearing loan which would help
the people as against an interest-bearing
loan which would be burden.
The Journal proposes to consider the as
sumption that an issue of greenbacks will
be cheaper for the people than an issue of
per cent. bonds. The purpose of an issue
of greenbacks without provision for their
redemption in coin at par is to force sus-
pension of specie payments. Senator Tur-
pie, in his speech advocating the silverite
and Populistic amendments, declared, in eff
feet, that the issue of greenbacks proposed
would cause a suspension of specie pay
ments. zone of the results of war is a sus-
pension of payments" is the language of the
senator. 1t has already been shown that
during recent wars, much more costly than
the present, specie payments were not sus-
pended. IL bonds were sold there could be
no suspension of specie payments If ire
deemable issues of paper money were en-
ployed to pay the expenses of the war, there
would be suspension of specie payments.
Which would be the more costly to the
people-the interest-bearing bonds or the
specie-suspending greenbacks? With the
bonds the interest at 8 per cent. would be
paid out Of the revenues. If $3.50, coo 900 of
bonds were sold, the annual interest expen-
diture would be $4,50O,OOO Estimating the
population of the country to be 5000, 900,
the tax to pay the interest on $3.50 900 900
of bonds would be 6 cents per capita An
issue of 150,000,C00 of greenbacks would, as
Senator Turpie asserts, cause a suspension
of specie payments. The greenback would
be the dollar in which wages would be paid
Gold would command a premium, and the
cease to be money To-day all wages are
on gold basis and all purchases of the nee
essaries of life are upon the same basis.
With an issue of $150000 600 of greenbacks
not redeemable on demand, gold would
probably command premium of per cent.
That is. it would take $105 In greenbacJxs
to get 500 in gold Wages would not be in
creased because paid in greenbacks, which
would lose 5 per cent. of their purchase
power; but as matter of fact wages would
be cut down per cent. because the ire
deemable greenback would not purchase so
much of the necessaries of life by per
cent. as the gold dollar in which wages is
now paid. Consequently, the tax" upon the
wage-earner by the issue of greenbacks
would be per cent. of his wages. If he
earns $500 a year, his tax in the depreciation
of the purchase power of wages would be
has paid-up shares of building and loan
stock falling due, he would be paid off in
these greenback dollars worth per cent.
less than the dollars he has been paying
in to secure his shares the past ten years.
If his matured shares were worth $780, he
would be paid in dollars having a purchase
power per cent. less than the dollars which
he paid in. Consequently, instead of getting
$500 as good as he had paid for his stock,
it would take $40 to get the equivalent of
gold
Thus it appears that the greenback is the
most costly loan that Congress could put
upon the market.