Year: 1875

Senator Christiancy wrote the fol
lowing letter to the "Hard Money
Convention. recently held at Detroit,
expressing his views on that subject:
LANSING, Oct. IL, 1875.
DEAR Sm-Your circular, together
with your letter Of invitation to address
a hard money convention ut Detroit on
the l4th inst, is received.


Though unable from other engage
ment to accept your invitation, it Is
but Just for me to say that 1 fully and
heartily approve Of the object OF this
convention and that to be held at Gin
cinnati, as that object is stated in your
circular.


The evils OF deprecated and depre-
ciating currency. which, while il con-
tinues irredeemable and without any
certain expectation OF redemption, and
yet circulates as q substitute for mon
ey, tends TO drive and keep silver and
gold out Of circulation and out of the
country; to confuse all just ideas OF
real values; to create fictitious prices,
and to render all business calculation
unreliable, thus preventing the invest
ment Of capital in business enterprises,
and producing universal stagnation in
business. while the capital OF the coun-
try and an ample amount of such cur
rency as we have, is locked up for want
of confidence, and much of the produc-
tive industry of tho country thereby
reduced to idleness and the laborer to
poverty and want-these evils are not
overstated in your circular, and cannot
easily be overestimated. III il be pos
sible to overstate these evils, language
is hardly adequate to condemn with
sufficient severity the folly. absurdity
and reckless wickedness OF the scheme,
which-setting aside the common sense
Of mankind and the teachings OF histo-
ry-with an air of seriousness which,
il the scheme had net actually put
forth as basis Of party and political
action. would naturally be understood
as a clever achievement of grave and
solemn wrong-actually proposes to
remedy the evils of this deprecated
currency by issuing more and still
more Of it; and though its present de-
probation is owing only to the fact that
no definite provision is yet made for its
redemption in gold and silver, and
each redemption cannot be relied upon
at definite or early period; yet ac-
cording TO this scheme, all idea of such
redemption is to be at once practically
and forever abandoned; this currency
is asserted to be better than gold, and
il is TO become the calculative medium
of exchange now measure OF value, and
to be made legal tender for all debts
and duties OF the government as we'll
as between individuals. And in con-
nection with and as an essential part Of
this scheme, and vaunted by its friends
as a self adjusting apparatus-regula-
ting or balancing contraction or expan-
sion, and preventing fiuctuation and
panics-this currency is to be ire
deemable at the option OF the holder in
bonds drawing 65-l00 per cent. inter-
est, and this again at the like option
recoverable INTO greenpacks.


All this, il is true, is not specifically
expressed as yet in any platforms, but
il is what is to be understood rs invol-
we'd in those platforms and other sup
porters of the policy of imitation.


l cannot be expected TO go over in n
single letter, upon an occasion like
thus, all the considerations wnicn al
feet the currency and finance OF the
country.


Those considerations are almost in
finite, though all OF them are reducia-
BILE to few plain and fundamental
principles.


Nor can lie expected here to enter
into full exposition OF all the errors
and fallacies, not to say absurdities OF
this scheme. do not claim 10 be an
expert in finance. 1 am neither n cap
italist or banker, nor even n bond
holder. But looking at the scheme in
the light Of plain common sense,
there are, il seems to me, some serious
difficulties TO be encountered in carry
ing it into effect, and some portentous
evils to be- apprehended from the at
tempt


1. Under the operation of such a
scheme / am utterly at a loss 10 see
anything to bring or attract gold or
silver into the country, or 10 introduce
il into circulation, and 1 conclude the
advocates OF the scheme feel the like
infirmity, as they do not show how
gold is to be obtained, and insist that
the greenback currency will be pref
erable, and therefore gold is not
needed.


2. As the Government is to receive
the greenbacks for all duties and other
public dues, of course no gold or silver
will go into the public treasury, unless
under the operation of this scheme, the
paper currency should be at a premi-
um above gold and silver for all men
will pay their debt to the government
in the way they can pay them cheap
est.


3. The paper currency being now
low par as gold, and not redeemable or
convertible into it or its equivalent,
with no metallic currency in circula-
ton, and as, under this scheme, the
Government is not expected to redeem
them in specie or its equivalent at any
particular time or ut all, and there is
to be no prospect of such redemption
except in 3.65 bonds, which are only to
currency, the whole Of this currency
will consist OF mere promises to pay,
which, however, are never expected to
be fulfilled, except by payment in
bonds, which in turn are never expect
ed to be paid, except in the like green
backs. The promises in both cases is
understood 10 be mere empty air.


Cannot any man of common sense
see that under such q system this paper
currency must rapidly deprcciate, es-
pecially when more and more OF it is
| TO be issued? And as more and more
would be required the more il depre-
ciated, to do the same amount Of busi-
ness, and the whole theory of this
scheme involves the idea that the pres
ent stagnation OF business is owing 10
a want Of moro paper circulation, must
not depreciation go on, each mutually
producing and increasing the other.
until both the greenbacks and the
bonds are brought to the dead level OF
utter worthlessness? A small part
i land, unless the expense OF the govern
ment should be extravagantly increas-
ed, but small part) Of this currency
might at first and for q short. time be
worth something in the hands OF indi-
viduals in payment Of dues TO the gov.
ernment But the government itself,
and all its military and civil service,


must soon starve and become bank.
rupt. The empty air OF its promises
to pay. would not long clothe or feed


its military or civil employees or ia


mail contractors at anything like pres


ent rates Of compensation, and more


and moro inflated and extravagant rates


OF compensation would have to be pait


and more excessive and imaginary
prices by individuals in the downward


course OF depreciation, till the bottoms


should be reached, when IL would moi


he received at all.


Al