The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-11-08
THE MONEY PANIo--THE CAUSES

kmoney, as at present. tits not confined
to our own State by any means, bu
prevails generally Misery loves Com
pany,' = it is said, and never was it more
fully demonstrated than at present
Our exchanges-North, South-East ant
West-vie with ca oh other in infictin.
upon their readers lengthy dissertation
upon the scarcity of money, and thu
distress which prevails in their CONNER
cial circles. Each, of course, assigns
his own cause for the difficulty.
One general cause, which has operated
to produce commercial distress every
where is, the failure of the crops. In
deed, it is the great cause-all Others
growing out of it, Had we but had al
average yield in field crops the past
season, times never would have been
better. The war which is now going OIL
in Europe has created an extra demand
for breadstuffs there, and Europe has
always looked to America for her sup
plies.
Another leading cause of the distress
which prevails in commercial circles is,
the abuse of the credit system. Our
importations have exceeded our exports.
When money was plenty, American
spectators, young America like ,"
rushed headlong into all sorts of specu-
l%ations. The country was drained of its
specie to pay these foreign importation
bills, and now, when payday has come,
there is nothing to pay with. The vaults
of the Banks are drained of their specie,
and, consequently, are compelled to wind
up, because they have nothing with
which to redeem their issues.
Advantage is taken of the present dis
trcss which prevails in this State, by
fusion Wing politicians, to foster feel
ings ofhostiity among the people against
the Democratic party. The Wing press
es, the state over, are loud in their de-
nunciations of the Small Note Law, and
ascribe to it the cause of all our difficult
ties. This is in keeping with their
former history and policy. Now the
fact is, and every sensible man upon
reflection must see it, that the Small
Note Law has been the salvation of the
people of Ohio. Had it mot been passed,
our people would have been roundly
fieeced by the foreign shaving shops
which are every where winding up,-es-
pecially those which have been doing
a large business upon a small capital
Does any person suppose that our Small
Note Law has caused the failure of the
Banks of New York and Maine? WE
trow not. And yet it has driven the
whole of it out of the State, and q
people have suffered nothing by their
failure. If there is to be a general
winding up of rag-factories, had We not
better be swindled by our own banks
alone, than by those of other States also ?
The idea that real money is any scarcer
now than it was three months ago, is
sheer humbug. The supply of money
has not iminished-on the contrary, it
has increased Our Small Note Law has
driven home a large amount of foreign
bank paper, for redemption, and has put
specie in circulation in return. All that
is wanting to make money plenty is u
usual supply of produce, to call the specie
into circulation. The change cannot be
effected soon, but when it is effected, the
people will have cause to admire the
wisdom of the Democratic policy.
In conclusion, we give the following
remarks of the Cincinnati Price Current,
and commend them to the sober refec-
ton of our readers:
We have a money panic, and there is
a want of confidence in financial and
comm ercial circles. These are facts, the
existence of which no one will deny
Now what has caused this ? Money is
scarce, we are told, but the truth of this
depends on the meaning that is attached
to the word scarce. Literally this is
not true, for if any article is plenty
to-day, it cannot be scarce tomorrow,
unless the supply in the meantime is
diminished. The supply OF n1oney in the
country has not diminished, but, on the
contrary, it has increased. There is
more money in the United States to-day
than there was a year ago, or at any
former period. But if by the word
scarce, it is meant that money canno be
obtained for commercial uses, then we
can readily admit the truth of the phrase
money isscarce,' which is very common
at this time. It follows, therefore, that
the money panic is the result of errors
in trade, or, ifyou please, 'oVer trading
This has been going on for years.
"A while ago we were rushing on with
locomotive speed On the road o fHRro-
gress.n The credit system was |rl
and as debts were being paid .Ael
creation of new obligations, few Ss4emed'
to feel that a day for actual payment
was approaching. Because difficulties
were not experienced then, it was sup
posed that every thing was working
well-that we were growing rich rapidly
and that the surplus capital of the world
was being concentrated in the United
States. The war in Europe would des-
troy confidence there, and build it up
here it would depress. the shipping in
terests of other nations, and advance
those of ours. The state of things that
exist at present, show us to be a short
sighted set of mortals.
HThe result of our progress and of
the war is as opposite to what was
generally expected, as night is to day