Greenbackism, Fiatism, Silverism

In a special lettet to the Courier, Henry Clews, tlie great New York financier, gives this excellent exposition of the three isms given above : The greenback craze twenty years ago had many features in common with the silver furor of the present day. It appealed to the weak spots in human nature, and its crafty managers played upon the feelings and prejudices of the working man, and the artisana, and the skilled laborers particularly, who are very easily persuaded that they are greatly underpaid for their services. The promises of abundance of money and higher wages with employment for everybody willing to work, were the alluring baits held out to every man who had a vote. How the fiat money was to be got into circulation after it left the printing press was a part of the subject too remote for inquiry, or was regarded as au impertinent question presumably put by a hard money crank. The idea of something for nothing always appealsforcible tothe imagination of those who have had to struggle for every dollar they have obtaiued. So far as the fiat nioney is eoncerned, the enterprise of the old greenbackers had some points of superiority to that of the modern silverites. In the latter case,' it is part fiat and part intrinsic value ; and the Solons of the modern silverites propose to créate an inverted pyramid, and expect the lower part to sustain the entire weight of the topheavy structure. The scheme of the old greenbacker was moie scientific ; for he made the nation at large a base of his pyramid, leaying inimitable space for its height even to the moon and the stars. There are some interesting points in the parallel between the financial managers, tlie men with the "boodle" who ran the rieenback Utopia, and those who are now supplyiug the sinews of war for the promised land of silver in prospect Peter Cuoper was easy .of approach and liad a ready ear for every tale ol woe. Upoli tilia weiikness the eraf t y tricksters, the neely agents who attended to his canvass, played with never-failing success. It was pitiuble to see, as au eye-witness of some of those scènes dnring the j;reenbat;k campaign has told me, the grand old man Ueing fleeced by those political harpies through the relation of some story of distress in the West, until the check was forthcoming to relieve it. Jones of Nevada, I am told, is very similar in his yielding propensities to Peter Cooper, and will "give up" quite as easily, with this differenee tliat he may become utterly oblivious afterwards as to where it has gone, or to whom Iip has given it. It is said that Silvej King Stewart is almost of the same stripe as his roya brother Jones. I allude to these facts in no unfrieudly spirit, but simply to show the enticing field that is open to modern adventurers in politics; these parasites of the Silver Kings wliose great anxiety is to make use of the unlimited resources of the millionaires for for their selfish pnrposes. But, seriously speaking, though the silver movement has cut a broader swath tbac the greenback adventure, yet when the wind gets out of it, after the Convention, it will be found that it has very little more of the quality of of durability in it than the older scheme of inflation. The solid educational campaign tried the old scheme, and found it sadly wanting. The balloon collapsed long before November, 1870 ; and the schemeing adventurers retired into private life, leaving their candidates in theconscmme, with the memory of a few months' excitement, and sad wailings over departed cash. This historie analogy in finance and politics will, in all probability, preserve its parallelism to the end of the chapter. McKinley will undoubtedly be elected, in which event the gold standard wi be maintained; our international cred will be sustained, oursecurities will fine strong holdf rs both at home and abroai panic will be averted, and a boom wi be inaugu: ated, not only in Wall Stree but througbout our broad land, witli which no old-time revival can compare in point of prosperity.