Year: 1879

MISS, IN letter 10 US QateQ OCt. 20 says:


"My object in writing is to get some
definite idea of the term Greenback or
Greenbacker. | know it refers to the pa
per money issued by the General Govern
ment, but when a man says he is Green
hacker or belongs to Greenback club,
what does he mean? Does he mean that
he is in favor of Congress making fiat
money, that is, that it shall say that GER
tain piece of paper with the letters and
figures on it showing it to be twenty dol
lars, shall be twenty dollars and a legal
tender, and receivable for all dues to the
Government, without any other basis than
the faith and credit of the United States?
or does he mean that he wants Congress
to issue paper money, say three to one for
every dollar of specie or bullion in the
Treasury of the Government? l sub
scribed for paper last fall called the
Green6ack AdUocate, for the purpose of
getting into the merits of this question,
but | got but one copy of the paper, and
| have not yet learned fully what is meant
by the term Greenbacker. And now |
am such an old fogy that | can't see how
a strict construction Democrat, or any
other kind of Democrat, can be in favor
of Congress making paper money when
there is no grant of power for that pur
pose expressed or implied. We know
that the power to ''emit bills of credit"
was coupled with the power to borrow
money in the original draft of the Consti
tuition, and when the Convention came to
act upon that clause, the words "emit bills
of credit were str cken out by vote of
nine States to two; how, then, can it be
constitutional? | ask for information.
There may be some points about the ques-
ton that | have never COmprehcnded.
And | can't see that an initiation of the
currency would be beneficial or expedient
if it were constitutional"


In answer we would say, that among
Greenbackers, as among Democrats, there
is as great diversity Of opinion in regard
to the currency as there was of languages
at Babel. The doctrine of most of the
is called the "Ohio idea" 1t is briefly
this issue Greenbacks to pay off the out
standing 6 per cent bonds as they fall due,
or to buy gold and silver to pay them off.
The Republican plan is, to pay them off
by selling long bonds at lower rate of
interest In either case, it is but exchang
ing one form of evidences of debt for an
other The advantages of the former are
that it avoids interest, and the evidences
of debt serve for currency. The evil
dences of debt by the Republican plan
would draw a semi annual interest, and
would not serve for currency, though it
L L
made the basis of currency issued by the
| holders and indorsed by the General Gov
ernment. The Greenback Democrats
would keep in circulation the greenbacks
so issued and those now outstanding, pay
| ing them out as other money when re-
ceived into the Treasury for taxes or 9TH
erwise and in no case canceling and retir-
ing them. They would also retire the


National Banks as their charters expire,


and charter no more of them. We are at


a loss to see why the Democratic plan
would violate the Constitution more than


the Republican plan. AS we have said, it is
a mere question of the form of the eviden'


ces of pre-existing debt. We have the


debt on our hands; we should so manage


it as to make it least burdensome to the


people, and, if possible, to derive from i
some benefits to the people along will
the burden.


AS to the constitutionality of the debt il
! its Original creation, we have nothing t.
! do. This is thing of the past, an accom-
plished fact, which cannot be reversed eX
j. cept by reputation. In truth, almost tn
1 whole of it zcas created, not by borrowing
specie, but by emitting bills of credit.


The question might be asked, If the issu


ing of the ''bills of credit" was unconstitr
e tional, are not the bonds into which the
I were converted, unlawful and void?
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