The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1912-05-17
FRAUD IN OLD BILLS
Confederate Money Still Used to
SWindIe Immigrants.
Fret Issue of Currency In South
Problems That Confronted the
Treasury of the Confederacy
During the War.

Boston.-Confederate money is still
a favorite medium of the confidence
man in his dealings with the raw i'm
migrant, though it is hardly a cur
rency to deceive any man acquainted
with the country's history or even
with the negotiable paper money of to-
day. 1t is not surprising that confed-
crate money is so plentiful after a
half a century as to make it more
valuable to the. confidence man than
to the collector when one realizes the
immense amount turned out by the
industrious presses of the Confed-
eracy.
The Confederate treasury kept on
printing paper money almost up to the
fall of Richmond. A note dated Rich
mond, February IL, 1864, declares
upon it's face: 1.-THE Confederate
States of America will pay SO to bear
er two years after the ratification of
treaty of peace between the Confed-
crate States and the United States CT
America" When the Confederate
treasury began business there was a
clear enough perception among the
public men of the Confederacy that
cheap money would be one of their
governments perils. They had been
brought up in the old democratic
monetary theory of a currency com
posed of gold and silver at a fixed
ratio intended to correspond with
their relative bullion value, and paper
money based upon such currency.
Almost exactly fifty years ago the is
sue of $1,000,000 in Understanding
notes was authorized. This was the
earliest Confederate paper money is
sued. By July of that year the treas
ury had exceeded the authorized
amount, and the issue Of double the
original issue was then sanctioned by
law. The smallest denomination OF
| these early issues was $50, for the
treasury hoped that means might be
| found for using silver and gold il
minor transactions. Before the end Of
the year the authorized issue had
again been exceeded, and in spite OF
oft renewed good resolutions the Con
federacy by July, 1868, had 81 100000,
| coo of notes outstanding. For a few
months devoted Confederate patriots
permitted their gold deposits to ge
into general circulation, but sooI
everybody who had gold boarded it o.
sent it out of the country to place
| of safety.
Almost at the very end of the Con
federacy Jefferson Davis vetoed bill
for the issue of $S0,000,000 in papel
and congress passed the measure owe
his veto. The funding plans resulted
in a temporary contraction of the cuI
rency and fall in prices, with tn
consequent enrichment of some of tn
desperate gamblers that hung abou
Richmond and fattened upon the hard
ships of the Confederacy. After eacl
venient presses were set going agair
and instead of q circulating medium
of $175,000,0 900 as the treasury ono
planned, of of $200,000,000 as
planned at another time, the outstant
ing paper money swelled and swelle
until it had exceeded the $1,000 900
600 Of midsummer, 1868.
The banks Of Virginia tried to pr,
, tect themselves and the treasury b
refusing to receive the depreciate
currency, but in vain. When soldier
in the trenches of Petersburg weI
paying $40 for tin plate from whic
to eat their frugal meals, and $500 {
$500 for a pair of boots, the peopl
were still clamoring for larger issue
of paper.
You may still buy crisp, fresh loo
ing Confederate notes at prices var
ing from two cents to two dollars p'
| hundred DOtas