Maumee express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1837-1838, 1837-12-23

land reduced to one-fourth its presents
value, whilst the provisions Of the same
law will add four-fold to the value of the
salaries Of our public servants; Thus
giving to our president annually, instead
Of twenty-five thousand dollars. (he no
minal amount he now receives.) one hun
dred thousand dollars, and the other le-
dcral officers, down to the lowest post
master, in the same proportion. Does
not every person see that, under the pro-
digal expenditures now making, few
years appropriations will transfer to the
pockets of the officers, agents, contrac-
tors, and retaineIs OF the general govern
ment, the whole specie capital of the
United States :? Is it not now true, that
our federal officers are growing rich on
the distresses and embarrassments of
those who support and sustain them !?
and are they not at this moment receiv-
ing ten per cent. over and above that
paid to our state officers, where the law
gives equal compensation2 @ a1,
One argument used to sustain an ex-
elusive metallic currency, is, that it
would give stability and uniformity Of
prices, prevent overtrading, keep down
speculation, and save us from embarrass-
ments and revusons in trade. Can
this be true! Would not the evils be as
likely to take place under a limited, as
under an enlarged circulation To ef-
feet these objects, is it not necessary
that we would have, under the control
of weil-regulated financial system, a
circulation capable of contraction and
expansion, so as to meet the wants Of
the commercial, agricultural, and manu-
featuring interests of the country
Would not the same embarrassments
take place under circulation sunk down
to specie currency, by an unnatural
diversion oft from its accustomed chan
nels, that we now have under a redun-
dant currency2 or can the amount Of
circulation control the evil complained
of? If you make ten thousand dollars
control fifty thousand dollars worth Of
property. by sinking the value of proper
ty and raising the value ofmoney, | can
not see how there will be less over-tra-
ding and greater uniformity in prices
in the one case than in the other. re-
peat that it is not the amount of circua-
ton that produces these evils, but the
want of power to control, and judgment
in the application of our means, by those
who have the management OF our finan-
cial system.
All must agree that both our CONNER
cial and agricultural wants require a
circulation capable of expansion to-day
and contraction tomorrow. The supe.
rabundancc of our productions in Ohio
may this year require five or ten millions
of dollars more, TO put them into mark.
ct, than may be necessary at the next
and one of our sister states may fall
short to the same amount; and this state
of things may be reversed at the close Of
each succeeding crop. The capacity
OF our financial system for the transfer.
ring of funds from one portion of the un-
ion to another, to meet these fluctuations
in trade, is, in my opinion, the only sure
remedy. ot s...t
! Different measures have been pro.
posed, to meet the demands Of trade
and to regulate exchanges. Eighteen
months ago it was positively asserted by
the secretary Of the treasury, that this
could be effected through the lnstrumen-
tality Of our state banks, with greater
advantage to the people than it had ever
Heretofore been done. We are now
told that this experiment has entirely
failed, and that there is no other speci
fc than that of sub-treasury system
under the direction and control of the
treasury department. a
! To enable us to decide upon this sub
ject, it is necessary to look back on the
history Of our government, and see
what remedies have been successful il
days gone by. At three different peri
DDS in our history. there have been grea
disorders in our currency. The frs
includes the period from, the close of tho
revolution to the adoption Of the con
stitution in 1889: the second include.
the six years between 1912 and 1918
and we are now in the third. Of tht
first, it has been said, and truly said
that the constitution itself sprang from
the disorder Of the currency. " At tina
time the government was literally with
out credit it could not pay the inter
est on the public debt" there was M
, confidence in the promises Of the go
!, vernment, nor any between individuals
all business operations were suspended
and rebellion and civil war threatened