New-York daily tribune., 1857-10-24
LETTERS ON THE CRISIS.
THE CURkENCY.


b.1As il 10 esidei ce .f the ack Of subs, antas pro-
p.r;y in the county generally. This pncspeIiy vs
bave The country was rich, and be great
budy oi the peope had go much pro pery % %
nuch money rs they bsve no~.
OF dwellings and warehouses and cultivated lAnds,
Of ,ubie edlices and the products Of the eo Of do
m.snc snimas, OF ships of op ned maes, Of improved
nsci " for suppbiog the vs,ed wants o. naa Of
the fscies OF lovomo,on snd transport in the shape
of railroaes and steam ard nv-r auo coast crsa OF
gclo snd silver the .ket, this people bsver had 30
great an abundance as they have ~ this day..
To fleet all tbis is the ce We owe % for gu ccun~
tis This is consic. rabe, but large portioo OF !.
III be wiped out oy the spooge prob ably "a % great
an extent ss repfessns the K and 10 ss tbs bran
dy and cigsIs, ano other vsnees With which thecooi-
y has been iOnndaied during the late term of gaIjP-
il 9 hLaDCieripg.
IRE auspei sion Ct all ed the baukrup,cy OF many,
of the banks is nothing bit the ra'urai sumins.ice
Of the balk movements Of ths iast seven or eight
Years. IT. LOT 10 Dc wvDdoIea at, and 10 IN. nasara
course d things, wss r'.ut tnat may De iniy sss
d,wnasa 3 Lecessity; and il We hal all rsad In ID.
vsrce oar own statistics thoughfaly even without
reererce TO iaiifs, We should have had d,ihssisy
seeing Row 1t could have been sveitsd Tho Ase et
table gentlemen, ot 6ge ard esperis nee, 0as
the pres. NJ cobdion TO have been avoded oy -
.1pal zion ,f bank loans tar while 10 Nsw York snd
Boston, s.ems etratg de asion Vie @ed IA too hgnS
tf . cou or. hensive survey of the subject
The baiks as whole, ave run en TO the hosl ex-
posor just as Iashly as they did In 1857. Previous
TO the sgitat Of bu question OF the feps"ai g tne
Old UpIted States Bsas Cnart.r sAy iron iSNto
1894 He were moving al.pg uScer easy s,l, wkh
bark c,p,al Of s9oOOC ,OoO, more or less, ssd
a bsrk Ioan Of ab ut $500, ,UOO Co., At he
same time the bsoks held about 20 wv 000
If coin, and . cifcuiiion of thres times the
amount, AID here, let us remark that the properties
of circulation to coin hello by the benks tAkieg the
country through has sel1om varied mach from TIE
proportion Of three to one, hwssso wosn the oAAhs
susperc ed in 1887 has bern 30 centrally snce, and
il il 10 now. After the Uniteo States Is, Sar began
cane tho mania for more bai ks. Between 1871 aod
1887 the u, nliLal bank capital went up from faW.-
eco COO to $500 COCO coo. ard the osns from e3O,-
go eco TO over $500 OOo, OU0 Tbs colo curing ne
same pc roo Increased fo $25 OO0 700 L. 700
and the circulation from 75OOO0 0oO0 TO 100000.
1be pile d.. bt by this time sot too high snd fe over,
ard down cane the wnole fabric VI bsnkiog, aoeg
with everything ese. Dung the 'ime nt'oe " sSeAs
away the rupbrh, which wss hvs OF SIX yssn our
barb cspi,al had gone down TO $S95 OoO0VO IN lSS,
little above wh re il st0~d ten years before, ard the
loa. To about - o 0OO, 600, the c'n 10 bank then
herg over $50 600 0G0 ana the circulation less thaa
$50, 600 OOO. Tne bapke wero ro~ on very soid
bsss srd they kept II for six or seven years. The
hadspipg and comprising process was contihaed, %
that in 1850 The capitol stood even little less Than
did in lS43, say about $So. OOoO OOc wone the ioss
hac been kept down fr the yesis intervening 70 -
ayerege of about $3.50 COO Ct0, rsiog, ho~sves, N
1880 to eomethifg abov. $500 QUO 0Oo Then eams
the California gold. ~ the banking system sook on
til cn cuson rapidly locrsasea, aphl n seven years
mere SAY in Janear,, 1857, ihe bshss bad eJPsndet
thei, nomir al capital from S@0 WO,0oO in lSo0, 70
$3.50 COO CO. and their looms frsu i0O TO over
A. CO. 600 co., their circulation IN tho ~ ue time going
up .rom slOO COG, Geo 10 very nearly $9W0o 600,
while their c in from s4) 0OO 600 - los than 3d..
COO 00 This their ooLoton ai thth ls,; aAnsai
returns to the Treasury Department..
1h.ss figures Disclose ali that need be kpoga about
the banking movement ia this country n order 20 sc
count ter the present protrs,On of our ncecy institu
tions. Looking back a. TIE progress OF thst move
ment, we see that the fsta wncn ass Ieacnso 80
year ago scarcely ess than certain 10 any ssgactous
obserytr But how few such there aIe' This vtev
of the csse does not pec-ssaIly involve oensuro OF
every bark or every bank officer. OF banking In gen
eral for f all banks had been mansgrd ~ we'll -
soue banks have been, the present state Of things
wond not exist There Is comueereti0u 70 b. felt Tor
many honorable and sensitive bakers and hsanGiers,
system s none The lees aIswerable for that feature o.
Tie presen crisis which is greatest and worst e ~,
that i., The suspension Of specie psyusnts.
III. important inquiry nos h what is the essso ths
clesry this. The Banking system must be % nod.
fed s to be no longer ,abe Of perpe1ng tae gsne-
rel prosperity ADDING TO sctual dss,ter, by -
peIsion o. specie pay meLts on the circulating medium
or some thpRs We may be sure People DO this eoua-
ty. a. in every commercial country, will use and must
uft paper money. They will trsds and spscaate,
srd gamble in sto ks, ard stain and oveistran the
creot s,ssem in e,ery way. They .,u % p,anss SvsI
bl.s They will be extravagsns and fail, so1 otten
biesk d. WI with general crssh ss nls. Bet 1n:ss
all this sI mVIe inevitable, and Inevitable
there are other things that are NOT inevitable 400
one Of these things an the most important Of Ill y,
the supper sion Gf spece Payments by the power hat
Ia teIted to farnih The circulating medium, aoe
inevitable. IA.
standard Of solyency and the community mod tell
lett With Lothipg but irredeemeble prom es
to psy i'll their banos when they thought they had
cuiiency equivalent TO c, in Ia vozd, II nos "a
.utsble that the bottom II our affairs shooid vno1y
fan GU. whenever We happen to have severe eo@-
neIciel revulson.
.rs ard 6psnciers will themselves rcscn aissf hsn
present huuilisiiDg elpefi.ncs: R'pm ,S, pSyS
c, a pelhr the banks to separate their 'seae aspeF
uehf from tser depost ana general busaess depart
nett ard by requiring the issues of bills 70 oe repe
ssrtea by 6Isd prvpt iton OF specie-tass pso2cf-
tan beil What eypcIieLce wuu dictate % D, se-
qpste IL might be obe 70 t~o, OF Possio'y oce 70
itIte viii, restraint the aggregate issns proper
toned 10 TIE babk capita. Tne New fo'k vsoO
were broken this time, rot because toey oouso -
r, deem ther bills In spscle, but b ceaso nsy eSe
,nt Y.v their depos;iors coin Ii the ~ ne depart
meLt lad ,tood by rself aoe hsd been we. ~ ~
WITH snscie the great dsastsr Gf deoesspshs " w
cuIr1cy by q suspension would have oesa a''' rns
whatever became OF tbe claims o. aevops.. ~
clam af 6epositer Oh the batk which he Ifass 90
ne eustody Of his funds, 10 Dot 2uone - 60
ourit no. 20 ,tsDo the same foouos hsak nd css
atps medium It,4 ua.r b.;..ea Sssr s 90
..S;s :sSs e.. possSi asSiIs DO ssd ), .hea
xbi h the punnS a,e.- ryafion Of o soupd caneacy
s. sst 5. %, sessssi%ss ssss = e.. c, q
YOU'D sppe 10 its practice the soandssss u
spce, with is capital Of 81: nihees,
ms dis'' his Of It's o~p. lie Icons are made 81
,.,b, ~ ia specie, which in practice means tes nssss
i.h.py ha,fs The sroppsss ci such osnk - the
OF or a, Commercs involves no csbasens.t nsr ds-
raps em.n II the currency. -.
n see ms clear that an esaential modiecsaon sf tbe
N plan Of prot etiDg tho bark is'uss of paesr
OF Q, n.uss be uade, oI se mast sesia anil sgSe -