Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-05-19
DOLLARS OR DEBTS.
JOHN DAVIS THINKS GREEN
BACKS BEST WAR MONEY.
He Proves that Legal Tender Paper Is
Better than Understanding Bonds,
in Peace or War. He Thinks Dollars
are Better than Debts at all Times.

has been to bring the money question
prominently before congress. The
leader of the plutocracy in the house,
Mr.. Dingley, has introduced a bill
which, among other provisions, pro-
poses an issue of five hundred million
dollars of Understanding U, S. bonds
for the prosecution of the war; Such
bond issue should be bitterly oppos-
ed by all the populists, by large
number of democrats and by few OF
the best republicans.
Instead of an issue of bonds we have
two resources for money, besides the
usual resource of taxation.
First. We can enact the free coin
age of silver and thus change our sill
yer bullion reserves into money, to be
circulated as coin and as silver certifi-
Gates.
And second, we can issue legal ten
der paper, or treasury notes, which
have uniformly been the favorite form
of war money in this country since the
beginning of the war of 1912,
Both these plans of raising money
have been proposed by the opponents
of the Dingley bond issue, and it looks
as if the bond issue plan may have a
hard road to travel, or if it passes, it
will awaken the people anew to the
the Importance of pushing the work OF
education on the money question.
Modern wars of any consequence
have been successfully prosecuted only
with paper money. Napoleon Bone
parte tried hard to reverse this uni
form rule, but could not do so. In a
struggle of eighteen years with the
paper system of England he and his
coin system went to the wall. Napo-
leon retired to st. Helena, and the
British nation emerged from the con-
flict in blaze of glory meyer before
witnessed on earth. 1t had ON foot and
afloat over million men. Its fleets
and armies were victorious every
where. They were masters on sea and
land, the empire encircled the earth
and the British cabinet controlled the
politics of Europe. No nation ever
ended so severe struggle for exist
ence so brilliantly.
Sir Archibald Alison, the great Eng
lish historian of that period ascribes
this marked success of England aud
the downfall of Napoleon, to the paper
system of Mr.. Pitt, the prime minister
of England. 1t met every monetary
requirement, and enabled the nation
to rise superior to every difficulty
This one fact being fixed, in my op.
inion, we should in our present emer'
gency use the very best form of paper
that is attaiuable. And it so happens
that the very best paper, that which is
even better than gold, is the easiest to
attain, and is the least costly to the
people.
There are two sorts of war paper
within our reach, the bond and the
greenback. The bond bears interest.
The greenback does not. That is q
difference. The bond must be sold fol
currency before it can be used. There
may be shave and loss in the ex
change. That takes time and is costly,
The greenbacll is current money the
moment it is issued. That is another
difference, in favor of the greemback
The fact is, the full legal tender note
without interest, circulating freely al
full face value, answering every mon
etary requirement, is the very best
form of war money known, and it costs
the people nothing except the expense
Of issuing the notes. In support OF my
position [ call attention to the follow
ing historic examples:
Mr.. Sidney Dean, in his History o
Banking and Banks, speaking of tn,
bank of Venice, says:
Near the close of the eighteenth
century, while the bank credits wer'
at q premium and in demand, the
bonds of the Venetian Government
were quoted at 60 per cent of theii
nominal value. 1t is clear from thii
that the bank credit had something
behind them moro substantial thai
popular confidence in the government
of the Republic itself" page 49,
The question Mt once arises in full
force and prominence. What was tina
something" behind the circulating
bank credits "more substantial" thar
was behind the government bonds
Both the bonds and the bank credits
had the popular confidence in the
Government of the Republic" behinC
them. The bonds also had the promise
of coin redemption and the profits o.
interest to sustain them. The banl
credits had neither the promise of coin
redemption nor, at that date, the pro
fits of interest to rest on, but "some
thing more substantial" What was
that ''something?" There can be but
one answer. That something more