The Washington union., 1857-12-03
asF sat "a fs4sq 90 rrOa, The n Y EySaibs rOs
THE DAWN OF THE GOLDEN AGE

THE DAWN OF THE GOLDEN AGE
o.. might suppose nom the specie statement Of this
ong that the river PHctolus through Wall street.
"a that our banks were built upon the sands of its
~ali.u bed. More than twenty-five millions are now
- a their vaults Six OF them hold over million
~ the Manhattan, 81 0o2 900; Mcrchants 81 SOL
o0o America 81 OIL 600; American Exchange, u, 49,,
oOo Commerce So o59 900; Metropolitan 81 ,2sl, ,ooo
With the Metropolitan Bank certificates the banks held
s.eday over thirty millions Of clearing house funds an
.Oo,rent condition Of strength without precedent.
When shall have better time than the pres
~, d abandon the sham and adopt genuine and exclu
1--we sDece currency Never for the simple that
h.,ter could not exist The fadity with which the
.nsitiou TO such currency may be made few words
will illustrate. Tk se}a
The hanks In the State hold now, viii say $16,-
ooo ooo of coin The banknotes aoat SIS, 900 900
sorooe all the banks justly responsible Tor this cir
,Ia,ion the whole of it would now actually rsresaa
-, 4, other words the whole OF IL would be already
,,se currency for by law the bank notes are not
nnv scud by stocks for ultimate payments but they
are the inst claim on the assets Of the hanks a,l g
n "a true our present paper currency does ot-thc
whole Of IT, strictly speaking represent coin The banks
that hold the gold not the banks that have Issued the
ot Of the paper And yet the present Tor recent prsc
flee Of the banks Of receiving and paying out all State
the whole ejaculation 1t is the same practice that would
prevail II they were by law, jointly responsible for the
whole circulation. Glg HsA
Iit not apparent them that with only the specie that
We Enow Of as being employed In business, should
endure no shock in the Transition to specie curencg
1t an error to suppose many people evidently do
that twenty five millions of gold and twontyye millions
Of paper make together fifty millions Of currency, and
that the paper moiety would advance prices runousy
for when the paper Is out the gold Is shut up and the
gold will not out till the paper is shut upin other
words destroyed mixed currency Of gold and paper Is
nat unlike two buckets In well--when one comes up
t the other goes down empty; both never full at
the same time. The poorer currency always dispaces
the better The effect therefore, upon prices Of destroy
ng the twenty-five millions Of that s the rea-
tive value OF labor to specie, and property to specie
he as well ascertaned now If it had already burned
man works now for a dollar day. He is paid pa
per dollar He prefers specie He goes to Mr. Becbe in
Wall street. who takes off (say per cent, and gives
him 90 cents in coin The specie value Of the man la
bor il lust 80 cents So il Mr. cornerot sells house for
$40 OoO and gets paper money for that amount he sells
his paper money per cent discount and there you
have the specie value of his 50 300 Nosuch
unous difference in prices the men threat
en- The discount paper money indicates exactly
the worst TINT could happen to general prices In 1887
paper money was say 10 per cent below specie
Gle value of labor M quoted paper at dolla then
So cents And II the paper money had all been burnt up
in night the specie value of labor the next morning
would still have been SO cents If paper money
now all burnt up tonight, the specie value OF labor, II
worth oday one dollar in paper would be, tomorrow
morning. Just half cent less than dollar.
is clear enough that, after the extinction of bank
notes. there would be just much specie before no
less and that there would be just much labor before
no more There would be just the same quantity of
wheat houses farms, ships before Their
relative quantities being unchanged, why should the rel
ave value of these things and specie measured each by
the other, be in any degree changed
Then why not restore banking to its legitimate duty
the loaning of money and give the people specie cur
ency Why should not banks to be the great
borrowers and absore OF capital they have been Of
late and become what they should and in theory profess
to bets providers the benefcent agencies by which la
Dor is honestly married to capital and made prolific!
The editor Of the Green Bay Advocate took tramp
the other day after lost horse and in the of his
rambes the home Of Ebenezcr Williams, the
"Dauphin of France - The house sits upon the bank
of river which is there quite high, and commands a
prospect up and down the stream. In front Is
of trees and the banks slope gently down to the water
terminating in grassy meadow, fvorite resort for
horses and cattle 1t is perhaps not as commanding
situation, yet much resembles Mount Vernonthe house
Of chief in fact In the is neglected field, and
westward stretches large marshy prairie Before visions
of thrones and regal splendor besct him. here lived in
this sylvan spot Eeaser Williams the Indian missionary
What wealth Of quiet rsaken for the poor tinse
and glitter Of day > notoricty
r. N
The banks of Canada and Of the adjoining British prov
nces did not suspend specie payments during the recent
The directors Of banks consulted and