Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1899-06-15

can party did in catering To the
silver and cheap money movement
by the enactment Of the Sherman
silver law. The Republican party
was playing politics and played
daringly, at il always does. Then
il took the courage and all the power
of the Cleveland administration to
save the nations integrity put in
pawn by the Republicans. Yet sncers
and Pronunciation are all the Re
publican party has for the Cleve.
land administration.
Now to the $4,000. 900 demand
notes: Are Won not mistaken as To
the character Of currency they re
ally were? Does not the very name
demand notes" indicate that they
were PAYABLE On DEMAND and con
sequcnt!y anything but the ire
decmahlc fiat currency you say they
were? Yes, you are wofully mista-
ken. The 500. 900. 900 of demand
notes were issued under the acts Of
July 18th and Aug. 9Th, 1851, and
Feb. 18th, lS62. They were PAYA-
BE IN DEMAND by certain assistant
trcasurers of the United States.
Payable in what? Manifestly moth
ing else than gold or silver. They
We're issued 10 exchange for coin
or TO pay salaries or other public
dues. when redeemed" so the
act reads) they might be reis-
sued or cancelled and new notes
to an equal amount issued, the
power to issue or reissue such notes
ceasing after Dec. 3lst, 1862. The
demand notes were receivable In
payment Of public dues, being on
the same footing as gold in that
respect. The reason is plain. The
Government must pay out gold for
them on demand. But they quick
ly became an embarrassment 10 the
Government. 1t needed gold to
pay bond interest and for other
purposes. As long as these demand
notes were presented at the custom
houses in payment Of duties on
imports the Government was out
that much very necessary gold. So
in the first greenback bill, act of
Feb. 25th. 1862. provision was
made that $50,000.O00 of the de-
mand notes should be taken up as
rapidly as possible and there be
substituted for them ordinary
greenbacks, PAYABLE To BEARER on
ly, at some indefinite time In the
future, and not receivable for Gus
toms duties. These demand notes
being of comparatively small
amount, being instantly redeemablc
in gold, having many of the money
functions OF gold and being more
cheaply transported, took their
value from that exceptional nature.
But the Government wanted to get
rid of them by cancellation as soon
as it found how embarrassing they
were and wanted no more of them
because they required gold to re-
deem them on demand. AS to their
being worth premium over gold
that could have come about through
some such means as this: Suppose
you had $4,000 in gold and wished
to move to New York. The gold
would be TOO heavy to carry on
your person and you didn't care to
risk shipping. You would go to
some convenient bank here and
buy exchange, payable in gold, on
some New York bank. You would
give the banker here your $4,000
in gold and some dollars extra for
his draft on the New York bank for
$4,000. That in effect is making
paper representative of money
sell at a premium over the money
it represents.
No, the demand notes were not
fiat currency proper. Every dollar
of them must have a gold or a sll-
yer dollar 10 redeem them on de-
mand. The Government didn't dare
to Issue any considerable quantity
more of them, because it would
have had to refuse to redeem them
on demand from lack of coin in
those times of uncertainty.