The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-02-12
national 3 1udsasaBssIsof cream,

VIZ. CAEER0F CO.. Publishers
National 3 suds a a EssIs Of Credit.
There are not wanting those who con
tend thst the existing prosperity in the
loyal States is entirely fictitious; that
the financial scheme Of Secretary Chase
msy do in time Of war, Int not during
AZ ers Of peace; and that 8 cessation Of
bOstilities vii be the signal for the com
msncsment Of ; fnsacial crash, which
will carry Distress mo almost every
household.
Nothing could be mere absurd than
this position. Those who advance II, are
not good fnanciers. That the country
will experience some revuIsiOD, during
its traository state from q war, to a peace
basis, We may ez ect; bat anything
similar TO the periodical crashes Of the
past, need not be sppFehsnded.
Oar present base Of credit is a new
one; but it is not ictitiOrs There is no
comparison between the present increase
Of paper money, and that inf alton OF
bank paper and commercial debts, which
caused the commercial revolution of
1890, Of 1867, and Of 1873. They
were ell caused By 81 immense increase
of commercial debts and Of irrsspon-
sible bsnk paper. The precise con-
trary is the case 1o0 1. The increase of
paper il Government payer, which the
people trust instead Of bank paper, which
they do not trust. The New York Econo-
mist, few days stree, gave an illustra-
ton which is true, and just TO the point
A merchant buying wool in Northern
Ohio offered New York bank notes, snd
the farmer refused and said he would
take only greenbacks; another and an
other be tried with the came result, and
h tOgs compelled 70 90 to Cleveland and pay
one half per cent premium far gTesnbaeks
bsfore he could get his ,0eo1 Such is the
popular faith in Government money. 2
Again, this money is Of uniform value
throughout the country, and, therefore
saves the exchange. Bsnton's great object
in trying to introduce gold was to do this
very thing; bat he could put confdenc
In nothing else, IS basis Of value. 8
These Government notes are legal tender,
and consequently do pay our debts,
precisely IS if they were gold. Here,
then, we have three qualities which no
bank note ever issued had, viz universal
faith, uniformity Of value and q legal
tender. We see, then, that what is called
the initiation Of pspeT money has no anal
ogy Whatever 10 those iDflations Of bank
psper or commercial credit which caused
commercial commissions in former periods
Again, there is another feature Of the case
totally different from anything we have
heretofore seen. Il is The constant diHlinu
ton Of dsJts. To all tho commercial con-
Vulsions Of the country, tberspid increase
Of commercial aud private debts has been
The main difficulty.
We have lately examined estimates BY
The sblest fusncicrs, which exhibit the
gratifying fact that the commercial in
debtedness Of the people has been con-
SANITY diminishing. during the last two
years; and that it IS now one-fhird less
than during the years Of 1s59-6O-two
prosperous periods, bat at TIE same time
periods when there was no imitation.
There can be no serious fnancial
crash, where indebtedness is limited, as
81 present; and where the currency is
based upon = solid foundation. The sole
value Of sny representa- I've article, in cssh,
Is t0Iat les behind q. When the Ohio Life
and Trust Company failed, in Cincinnati,
men who hsd deposits there, rushed in to
get their m oney, and there was no money
Of any sort Bat the cashier said
here is = mortgage on land" and the
creditor took that, and counted it no loss.
Wby?. Because he knew that 3 mort
gage on a fat farm st half its value, was
Just as good as money. Behind the Gov
eminent currenoy-5ehind the Bonds
lies tle vast property Of this nation. Is il
the property which existed ten years ego
only? Not ~ all Il is double that to-
day. Isit tie property Of to-day only
No, it is the properly Of the next hundred
years, ,0hsn hat property ,0iU BE- ten fold,
and dbis natioa counting hundreds Of millions.
The industry # this people has accumu-
lated double the coat OF the war, during
the war All know this. They know
that The credit Of this nation rests in their
ol0n right Grms Such facts as that have
revolutionized financial IS well IS politi-
cal ideas; snd this nation has learned
more of financial science and just po-
litical economy than all Europe knew.
The true statesmen Of Europe begin to
acknowledge this. Then let no msn's
fear Of \ revision get the better of his
judgment; bus let him prepare for, and
expect some iuconveniences At the close
Of the war snd By providing for them,
take away half their terror.