Year: 1878

on the Greenback question. 1t ex.
plains itself:


DEAR ARGUs:-We see in re-
cent issue of your paper list of in
terrogations and answers, which we
understand are in,ended as argu-
ments against the Greenback party.
On my way east last summer, | fell
in with leading men of said party,
and from them | received their claims
and views as political organization.
We find that on this coast. and es.
pecialIy in Washington Territory,
the platform of the Greenback party
has not been fully explained. You
ask, "can the Government pay the
bonds in Greenbacks?" The first
bonds that were taken up were pur.
chased, so we understand, by advan.
cling to the Government coin. There
fore it is reasonable to suppose that
the Government should pay said
bonds in coin, and the interest in
coin also. But the last bonds, many
of them, were purchased of the
Government when currency was
worth not over fifty or sixty cents on
the dollar. There is nothing in JUS
tice, neither is there any act of Con
J gress that we have seen, that requires
the Government to pay the prime pal
Of the last bonds in coin; on Y the
coupons were required to be paid in
coin. Why is it that there is ST.
much sympathy for these wealthy
bond holders and none for the poor
soldier who fought our battles for us
and were paid in currency, and that
too at times when the currency was
at a discount of 40 or 90 per cent?


The following are some of the
demands OF the Greenback party:
First-That the Government re-
deem the bonds as fast as they can.
In fact, strain point if we can stop
the interest on our bonds. If neces
sary, issue more greenbacks, but not
enough to food the country. All
boards of trade and commerce in the
United States well know that there
is no, half enough gold ard silver
coin, when all is gathered up, to sat
isfy the enterprise of the American
people for trade and exchange, and
what can satisfy the deficiency with
more safety to trade and finance.
than currency issued by the General
Government and made Legal Tender
by an act o: Congress?


SecondIy--That gold and silver
coin and greenbacks be thrown into
circulation all together.


Thirdly-That all local and State
banks be done away with, and that
the General Government only issue
bank notes.


You insinuate that Government
cannot make paper money legal
tender. On this | must disagree
with you. The expenses Of the war
of the Revolution, were liquida.
ted with paper money. Also
our last war, (the great rebelIion) a
war of great expense and destruc'
ton. The full demands of said war
were fully met by paper money, on
the back Of which were the words
illegal Tender" IF the brokers ha d
been hung, or had been forced to
take their guns and march to the
battle field, discount on greenbacks
would have been much less than it
was.


For thirty or forty years Of my life,
the only money we had in circnla.
laton was bank bills, issued by local
banks. We hardly ever saw any
coin. Those local banks were gener-
ally great swindles, yet their paper
money all were glad to handle. The
greenback, issued today, is much
safer and far superior to those old To-
cal bank notes, yet they were called
money You at last put the Green
hackers and Communists together,
and intimate that they are relatives;
it may be so, but | do not "see it,"
am sorry if am a Communist; !
had always had an unfavorable opin-
ion of them. l hope, if am a
Communist, that they are not as bad
as you estimate.


Should you be so kind as to give
this place in your columns, l will
write again in few weeks, using for
my subject-''What is money!"


Yours, L. B. H.