The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-11-23


upon the failure Of circulating medium, fall back mme.
diaely upon the original principle Of commerce-ex-
change IN knd-this need not be the result FOR
why should MOI a snun box procure pair Of
boot a pound Of coffee, a becfsteakS Why should
gallery and Carpetlag, hosiery and cattle, grain
and broadeoth timber and glass and earthenWare
10 understanding with each other2 Why
should not the different professions and trades accommo
date each other the basis Of honest natural bar
gain without tho aid Of ace and painting and archtec-
ture, arithmetic and dancing law and medicine foreign
languages and iewclry, millinery and the accomplish
ments the classics and old china come to a mutual
arrangement But as people cannot fall back at once
from an artificial medium upon natural one the failure of
the former Is the Cessation Of exchange il tantamount to
a tremendous chasm over which nothing leap,
that every article and material is obliged TO stay
It, own side OF the bank. The grain stll stays in the
Westi there are freigts to be carried terms
and The boats are lying, mere than mile Of smokeless
tunnels, IDLE at the quays OF st. Louis But in the midst
Of this awful standsl Che American mind continues cool
and nothing dsturb lis sell possession The whole affair
Is taken nconN very great ncony enience,
like loss OF your Garnet bag but not as rum ana hard
iy as adversely. The bank "cashes under protest. the
railway concludes TO pass is dividendsLe not to pay
the shareholders iarbng. The "polcy ofsuspenson is
declared throughout the Union.
This GOODNESS is when We examine it, the result OF
constant atmosphere Of risk in which the American trades
man, even N quiet times, lives His ordinary system IS
pitched TO higher point in the scale of risk than that Of
the European is Thls is one OF the remarkable dsclo
sures in which the present panic has resulted it has
brought this factfamiar enough TO the world Of trade
and the well informed word-prominenty forward, and
put II before the eye of the whole public so that
perhaps this commercial crisis, heavy as ii is is not
50 important to the spectator on its account
as on account Of the ordinary state Of things which has
Drought To hgh The uncontrolled issue 81 local paper
money IN the United States has given the whole medium
OF exchange the same uncertainty which corrupt coinage
gave 10 the European medium in the middle ages man
who sells IN article in shop literally does not know what
the thing called money which he receives exchange for
il is worth. a bit of paper is banded him he
poraed Butchers" or " Bootmakers,r he turns
be oye hoGs 70 ha ne no g a5a with
his "Deector'a book which, correspondent says
q is itself comment the whole system''to if he
"a altgUt paykn afpta NO
there II that Under erTgatoSits-tha black list #" Of
broken banks, sapensons and known counterfcs-does
family and suspiciousy Every shopkeeper in the Union
Is thoroughly familiar with this process he repeats it
many times every Gay.
The uncontrolled of local paper money is the
OF this The federal government, while reserves 10 itself
inc privilege OF COMING practically leaves every State Of
ue tnioh 70 paper coinage ol s own the consequence
OF which liberty is the greatest difference Of value be-
tween the notes OF different States And when there is
adherence OF value there IS asowha Is the worst part
OF ita great uncertainty TO what that difference is
that, in fact body in America exactly knows when
he is paid for anything, what and how much is
paid him. five pound note Is FIVE pound
note IN this country everybody knows what ii
is; but a five pound note in America is not a five
pound NOTE. e. absolutely one but with quahca
ton-t Is Louisiana" or "South Carolina or an
tohio, or Missouri or Maine, or an Alabama"
1--WE pound note Tie paper coin of the different Soye
regn:es has al lis different value and its varying value
And as for the express purpose OF increasing the Gncer
tanty in the value OF notes the rivalry of the different
States comes in to make Fictitious ana arbitrary differ
ence, even when there Is none on really commercial
tIouHus me SHOPS ana bOtcs OF III LOUIS reJcCleu
the notes OF limos, even CAB drivers ana
omnibus men would not touch them AT the late
State cattle iair-whyf The notes based
the same stock funds and debt Of their respective States
aud the Missouri stock every bit Illinois stock.
The reason simple state rivalry There bad feel
ing between the two States. The conse uence that
nobody in Illinois would pay the compliment to Missouri
which is implied in that trust in Mssouran stock, which
trust III Mssourian stock implied in taking MSsouran
notes Or what i the thing. everybody In Illinois
thought that everybody else would look at Mssoursn
notes this light and therefore nobody would incom
mode himself by taking what he thought his neiuhlors
would not acknowledge. general idea Is the same as
reality IN such a
Now this state 81 things a. course the monopos
companies take the law into their hand, and reject
everything but bullion. They 10 this because they
without them, TO submit to their terms though this il
sometimes tried without success, and the Mississippi
Steam Company after rs announcement that would only
stake currency obtained no cargoes But The claim y
successful in some FIRST of all, the federal
touch single note Of any bank in the United States
This excites the wrath az the hgh.souled Anne.
rican hnancier, who looks upon this government
rule ~ an Unfair, mean roucy-the view That school
hoy would take Of an extreme and unccnerons pressure
OF the rules OF the game Tins government claim, which
simply amounts 10 claim for the exact sum and no more
less than what l. owing 20 IT, h sgmatized as the
ccssof cyncsn' The popular feeling in America goes
with the paper circulation. ard ieaousy watches an
tempg 20 bring II into difficulties 20 charge with It's
extreme responsibilities II has orcd set Of convention
al rules sort 81 code of honor In xiOn with the pa
per system, II these rules OF the game violated
the sneak and bastard VINO wants 70 have money |
for his notes i rightly served on" The ass0rori'
the Of another state and sends back these travel
tiers that have wandered o. fortunate distance from
their responsible source, home again; the assorern
regarded IN America rather IS gpdswcaer would be |
here He D. looked upon playing unfair tricks with |
the circulating melium. An agent with carpet bag
full Of these exles found his arrival indignant
crowd, summoned ny hostile telegraph, awaiting !
him. and very wisely returned with his carpet bag
unopened and his own person not tarred and Tea |
thered would certainly have been Ind he attempted
visit the bank When a note has gone abroad
II is considered exile for Iionot unhappy, but
bssfu emigrant into regon OF perpetual freedom and
ioythc true negative paradise q the bank note state
Cf transeendcnl aunhiiaton-toal disconnecton with
payment The American bank, on dismisslng is clio
note, sends away with the paernal blessing Of the
Welsh fathcr='My lad, never let me gre YOU face
again but does not accompany ~ blessing with The ira
dtonnl half crown which popularity appended TO the
Welsh one.
II IL easy 70 how such circulating medium must
affect trade Government aid the great mOnOpo-s
insure specie, but The ordinary tradesman depends
nucuatnF, slippery MEDIUM, 81 which he never can know
the exact value when substantially safe, and
which he never sure IL safe How Is
tradcsman 20 regulate his profits under such circumstan
cesf The whole j. risk from beginning to eu1. And
this atmosphere ~ risk the regular atmosphere 81
thc American tradesman. No wonder that with such
education he takes the CONVERSIONS Of his money marke
C0oly.