These  Pacific  States  never  having  had  any  paper
money  of  their  own,  and  producing  plenty  of  the
material  for  coin,  with  a  mint  for  its  manufacture,  it


THE    "GREENBACK       QUESTION.  343

was  very  natural,  though  unquestionably  selfish  and
unpatriotic,  for  them  to  resist  the  debasement  and
supersedure  of  their  currency  by  the  legal  tender
notes,  which  the  general  government  resorted^'to
for  means  to  carry  on  the  war.  Their  motive  in
excluding  them  was,  of  course,  to  protect  their  busi-
ness operations  from  the  dangerous  derangements,
often  spreading  a  wide  financial  ruin,  that  are  the
common  accompaniments  of  a  cheap  and  abundant
currency.  But  since  only  activity  and  prosperity
are  seen  to  have  resulted  in  the  eastern  States, —
while  depression  and  dullness  have  been  creeping
over  affairs  in  these  States, — there  has  been  a  grad-
ual change  in  public  sentiment  on  the  subject.  Out
of  San  Francisco,  and  especially  in  Oregon  and
Nevada,  there  is  evidently  a  preponderating  feeling
now  in  favor  of  introducing  the  national  currency.
The  principal  arguments  for  it  are,  that  the  States
here  ought  to  share  in  all  the  responsibilities  of
their  sisters  in  the  East ;  if  the  paper  money  con-
fers benefits,  they  should  be  enjoyed  here ;  if  bur-
dens, they  too  should  be  assumed  by  those  that  are
proud  to  belong  to  the  national  Republic.  The
friends  of  the  introduction  also  argue  that  it  wou-ld
make  money  more  abundant  and  cheaper,  and
largely  increase  the  tendency  of  eastern  capitalists
to  make  heavy  investments  on  this  Coast,  and  so
give  new  life  and  prosperity  to  all  business  here.
