The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1865-03-11

most prudent merchant knows not where
1t will be on the morrow.
Sc fax as these changes are rapid and un.
they discourage and demoralize
commerce. The price Of commodities fol-
lows that OF gold, slowly, if the movements
Of the latter are gradual and uniform, but
fitfally and by anticipation aud excess,
when they are irregular and considerable.
The very life oftra1e consists in successful
anticipation of the prices of goods at a fu-
ture day; and how can such anticlpations
De formed Oh any reasonable grounds,
when gold oscillates 90 wildly as it has
done during the last month, or the last six
months. sometimes changing 20 per cent
in single day, mounting to go in August,
and falling to 100 IN September? Under
such circumstances, all business becomes
a lottery. The prudent and honest trader.
at such times becomes lispirited, and re-
0uces his operations to the smallest COM
pass, Or discontinnes them altogether;
ashamed Of bankruptcy, suddenly finds
himself millionaire. It is idle to saw
that these violent fluctuations are neces-
sary Incidents OF the great contest in which
we are engaged. They are rather the con-
sequences OF throwing up the reins, and
allowing the horses to gallop where they
will, on the pretext that, because the road
has become difficult and dangerous, any
eflectual guidance Of them is impossible.-
What We wan, IL to have the ship held
steadily TO her appointed course, even if
that course be not the mosl judiciously se-
lected. In finance, any policy-even a had
poloy--is better than NO policy at all. One
who has lost his way in the woods, il he
will but travel on persistently in one di-
rection. is sure to come out Of the forest
somewhere, even if he has not lxken the
shortest line for that end; but if he feeb]y
changes his course every hour, he may
travel On in circle until, ut last, he drops
from WEAKNESS and exhaustion. The truth
is too obvious 20 need illustration, that
when the amount of the currency is fixed,
and it's depreciation is but moderate. great
fluctuations in It's value are impossible:
but ii its amount varies by fits and starts,
or It's depreciation IS great, they are inevi-
table. Political or military events, how
ever grave in character, exert compare
lively u t-ihing and temporary effect upon
the circulating medium and the prices OF
commodities. The plain remedy for all the
T financial evils IN which we are now invol-
we'd 10 steady and gradual contraction OF
the currency.
The plan which have proposed for such
contraction is, that certain portion-say
one-titth-ofthe aggregate receipts into the
Treasury from loans and internal taxes,
should be set aside for this purpose ingreen
backs apd publicly burned, provided that
the sum thus destroyed should not exceed
three or four millions q week and that the
faith Of the Government should bs pledged
| fos the Continuance Of this policy, and no
new issue OF ''green backs or any other
iufu OF legal tender should be allowed to
take the place of The sum thus destroyed.
AT the end Of eight or nine months over
l20 millions would thus 10 Withdrawn
| from circulation, and the price Of gold
would fail to about 100. The Feasibility OF
| this plan depends upon the assumption,
which believe to be a perfectly fair one.
that the mere announcement of the adop-
ton Of such policy would 80 invigorate
public credit, and thereby increase the sub
| scription to ,Osns, that the eums remaining
| for expenditure would be, within fort
! u light, IS large as it was before the with
drawal ozone fifth part; that the four
ffths left would equal in amount the orig
inal 6ve-ffths. Let us look At the reasons
for making this assumption:
| !. a subscriber Of 81 GOO TO the loan now
in the market receives for annual interest
thereon &73 IN currency. The real value, or
purchasing power. OF this sum will depend
of course On the price Of gold. With gold
! At 200, his interest money will be worth
$50 30 in coin; if gold should rise to $50, ite
specie value will 90 only $50 20; but if gold
should fall 20 $50. that value will be S4S66.
As matters stand at present he cannot form
even z reasonable conjecture whether the
price of gold six months or even six weeks
hence will be $50 or $50. But if this plan
should be adopted, he will have moral
leertain.y that. il less than six months. the
lipricewin be below $50, and scill stay there.
think the attainment of such certainty
will be strong inducement for him to
double his subscription.
2. The receipt OF heavy orders from Eu-
rope for the purchase Of United States
bonds is now the chief counteracting cause
which keeps down the price Of gold. This
was the principal cause OF the heavy fall
\ OF gold in Septen Der last. Europeans frs!
! began 10 have confidence in our securities
when they first heard that Congress had
instituted and successfully carried out 9
heavy system Of taxatioh-e system which
ought TO have been adopted 1t least two
years earlier. But they BOON lost that con-
fidence again when they learned that We
had either so lnismanaged our Finances
Tor that our necessities had been go great
that gold had risen nearly to go. Now thu
European market has once more turned IN
our favor, in consequence OF Sherman't
s,2cceeaee. the fall Of Savannah. the capture
Of Fort Fisher, and q consequent moderate
decline Of gold here. II the news should
be sent abroad that measures, to which the
public faith was pledged, had been institu.
ted on Systematic plan for bringing down
the price Of gold, and effecting thereby 8
heavy reduction OF our expenditures, the
result. would be like opening gold mint
lin Europe for our benefit.
8. OF those who still doubt the Feasibility
Of this plan, let me ask which would be ca
sier, to borrow six hundred millions for thu
next financial year, according to the bill
NOV pending before Congress, and proba'
bly, to beobliged to piece out even that SUN
By q heavy deficiency bill nine months
hence, or to borrow only i've hundred mil.
lions upon the system now proposed, and
Of this sum to devote one hundred and
! twenty to reducing the currency, thereby
i leaving three hundred and eighty to do the
work It reduced prices, for which six hum
Ill am no slarmist about contracting &
great national debt. On the contrary,
j 6el,ayeanch n daht would do more to tight