Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1846-01-21
Fron tho Galena Jeffersonian
''ExpanSi0n-tO ay---COntractiOn tO-mOr

row."
A politician of the whig school, suf,
ficiently distinguished TO have filled the
Executive chair of great state. upon
as grave an occasion as the delivery of
his Inaugural Address, promulgated as
the doctrine Of his party, that,
"The peoples wants require currcn.
cy capable Of expansion to-day, and
contraction 10 morrow"
There is more in this doctrine of 'cx.
panslon and contraction than meets the
understanding Of the common observer.
1t is in fact The very dividing line be-
tween the federal and democratic par
ties on the currency question. The dem.
"crats are opposed to all airy expan
slons, and all institutions which have
power to create them. They advocate
currency possessing intrinsic val
uc in itselt-emanating from the mint
of,her own Tree government. .and which
never ffuctua,es. Money they regard
as The s,andard-the measure of value.
The price of all other species of prop
er,y should be regulated by it, and its
quantity be fixed by the actual demands
Of business only. They would confae
coinage TO the exclusive control of the
sovereign power where it properly be.
longs, and where II can be furnished 10
the people at its own actual worth. In
short. for all transactions in the ordna-
ry business Of life, they would employ
gold and silver only.
The federal policy, however, favors
a currency of expansion and contrac>
tions-which to-day, by sudden and
large emissions of paper promises to
pay, rouses the most cxtravagant spec
ulations-and tomorrow, by sudden
and unIooked.ior contractions, crushes
thousands. 1t is we'll worth the atten.
ton of the community to look at the
operations of those bubble money facto.
res.
Banks are always controlled by Il
few, and they always also have their
special iavoritcs. One of these wishes
to speculate in some articIe-say wheat
for example. He applies for loan o.
100000, payable IN ninety days. Ia
the secrecy oi the bank paror. the or
der is made. Forthwith agens pas,
r quietly through the county, and buy
up all the wheat, say at SO cents pei
busheI. The wheat is thus transferred
{ to the specula'or aud the money to the
people. Immediately Y the price will
advance. or what is The same thing tht
valuecf,h money will decrease.becaust
there is an excess in the market. Tht
. bare act ofbuying raises the price, a
men always purchase when there is {
scarcity OF given article. The exces!
of money aAoat also acts as stimulus
All are looking for profitable invest
ments. The price of property constant
ly advances, and the most reckless
specuIations are entered into. This il
' 'erpunsion today and the good times
of whiggery. But the ninety days are
running out, and the specula;or mus
E. sell to meet his notc-lhe price o
wheat having perhaps in the mean
while doubled. Suddenly 1t is throw
upon the inflated market, the spccua
tor receives back his 100000. whcl
r he pays the bank. and perhaps s5O,0Ot
z; more as profit. While the market thu
/. suddenly glutted, and the money thu
4 suddenly Withdrawn causes crasl
which sinks every thing as far helov
: as it was formerly above. its true !eve
n This is contraction to m0rroD.' Ever,
e community cursed with banks is con
G stan,ly subject to these fluctuations
|, The few get rich, and the many alway
grow poor
These are the positions of the tw
IS parties upon the currency question:
If and which is right Let the honest an
II rejecting decide.
y The support Of the regular nomina
,. tons is the only sure way of deleatin