It is a serious question what dispositio...

It is a serious question what dispositiou to make of eontined crimináis. Experimenta show that it is not humane to shut theni ap with nothing to do, wbile on the other liaud it is dearly evident that the work they do should not compete much with hmiest laborers I who have not committed crime. It is a right of the laborer that the state shall not uaeleasly meddle with hiin to destroy lus chances for good wages. But a bilí now up before the legislatura is to lay out $-10.000 in new machinery at the : Ionia )iris.ii] for making cheap furniture. This turning of crimináis of the state who pay no taxes, no rents, no grocers' hills, into hot competitors with all furniture workers who do pay taxes, rents, bilis, etc., is onjust. If they must work at furniture, let it j be all by hand and not all by machinery, which turna out such Booda of cheap stuff. The state doea nt need to make monev from jail birda at the ex]ense of every honeat man who has a dollar inveated, or who worka in a furniture faetory. The best way to treat these convicta is to make tliem work at the hardest toil which is paid the least outside prison walle. Let them break stone, work in chain ganga on our roada, or something like that. Let the counties who pay for their keeninp: get sonie direct benefit from their labor in good roads, which wonld be a laating public benefit. Referring to a statement made not long ago n these columns, that any curreney not redeemable in gold and silver is a failure, a reader asks what the greenbacks are redeemable in. By the manner of his communication he implica that tliey were not redeemable in coin. Well, what is a greenback, anyway? Look at it carefully the next time you get hold of one. We do not mean to insinúate that money is a scarcity with you. We hope that you are more fortúnate than most people at the present time. But in handling currency, you will find that most of it in circulation is gold and silver certificates and national bank notes. But read the next one you get hold of and you will find that it is simply a promise to pay money. AVhat kind of money? The greenback or United States Treasury note is a note issued by the government to pay, on demand, the sum of money named on its face. It is not real money, but credit money, a promise to pay money. And the money it promises to pay is the money that was in use at the time it was issued. The money in use was gold and silver coiu when the United Treasury notes were issued. The money they proinised to pay is gold and silver money, not iron money, or copper money, or fiat money. To redeem these prouiisory notes of the gpverument, the national treasury holds in reserve $100,(1)0,000 in gold and silver coin. Three times that amount of notes are in circulation, but the credit of the government is so high that they are at par. There was a time when the credit of the government was not so good and they were worth only forty cents on the dollar. Like ordinary notes ot hand given by individuals or business firms, they rest on the solvency of parties making them. With the important exceptions of being especially prepared in convenient form for circulation and to guard against counterfeiting, and issued under special national laws, greenbacks are like ordinary notes of hand. National bank notes are also credit money. Gold and silver certificates are representative money. They are certificates of gold and silver on deposit in the treasury of the United States, payable to the holders of the certifícales on demand. They represent the coin in circulation, serve as money and are redeemable in coin. Owners of canning establishments are contracting for 2-lb. tin cans for .fl.87, for which they have had to pay heretofnre $2.25 per hundred. The McKinley Iiill lias ruined the canning industry in the United States, y ou see, n't you? Respectfully referred to the Adrián Press.