Year: 1879

A man with q hobby is decided bore
and an unmitigated nuisance. He sees
only that hobby and regards all men who
are less circumscribed in their vision in the
light of public malefactors who are conspir-
ing to sap the foundations of all public
morality or OWL government. The greatest
trouble with man with hobby is that he
persists in riding it in public places-in
filling the columns of the newspapers with
disquisitions most learned in his own esti-
nation, to which is added the predictions
that if the whole people do not mount his
particular hobby, the country will 60, right
speedily, to ssthe demnition bow-wows."


Perhaps the most persistent hobby-rider
in the country is Mr.. David A. Wells. He
obtained some reputation by writing several
works on political economy, which no one
has yet been insane enough to read. But
the fact that he was able to write three or
four hundred pages on such subject ore
ated the impression among many-who
don't know what political economy is, save
that it is too abstruse for the common un-
derstanding-that he was very learned and
sage. He succeeded in convincing Andy
johnson that it would be fine thing to
have truly scientific economist like himself
to exercise a sort of paternal care over the
revenue system, and for nearly four years he
"made himself numerous, IF slang may be
permitted various tracts upon the reve-
nue. system. in which his hobby played the
leading role. Since his retirement from
public life he has persisted in boring the
public with non-official and extra judicial
opinions upon various topics, principal
among which is the finances. His latest
screed was published few days ago in the
New York Tribune. It was even weaker in
point of common sense than any of its
predecessors. 1t is an appeal to the business
men of the country to throw discredit upon
the silver and paper currency of the country,
and make all future contracts on the basis of
gold coin. He declares, with the air of Sir
Oracle, that 1.-The United States supreme
court has definitely acted on this question,
and decided that contracts payable in gold
coin, or other coined metal, of stipulated
weight and fineness, are not subject to legal
tender laws, and will be enforced strictly ao-
oording to the conditions of the contracts -
OF course the courts would thus decide, and
who would question the justice of such de-
cision? If a man contracted to deliver a
thousand bushels of wheat at certain time
would the courts sustain him if he en-
deavored to fulfill his contract by delivering
thousand bushels of potatoes? The propo-
sition would ba absurd. Men have the right
to make any contracts they choose, and the
courts will sustain those contracts. But
Mr.. Wells simply makes himself ridiculous
in the claim he makes that the decision of
tie courts, sustaining the validity of gold
contracts, invalidates payments in legal
tender notes when no specification is con-
tanned in the contract. He need not have
occupied a column of space to demonstrate
that gold contracts will be legal It is COM
petent for mon to pay their obligations in
gold or in greenbacks, in copper or silver, in
rags or old bottles, provided both p ,rties are
agreed. But even Mr.. Wells cannot induce
the business men of the country to discard
a convenient currency, authorized by the
government, for currency not az conven-
lent but which happens to meet the approval
of the hobbyrider from the Nutmeg State.