The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-03-30

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The subject Of the circulating medium
the currency, in its relations to the busi
ness Of the world, has ever seemed utterll
abstruss and incomprehensibls to th'
mass Of mankind. And most modest men
though possessed Of . goodly stock Of gen
eral information and somewhat famii a
with literature and science, have lookes
upon the subject Of finance Is an unknown
field shrouded Ia clouds and darkness
Or if occasionally one Of the crowd, more
adventurous than the rest. attempted tt
penetrate its dark and labyrinthine re-
cessea be soon lost himself in ito mszes
became befogged, confused and disheart
ened and eventually abandoned the pur.
suit IN despair.
Il would seem that the progress Of
events and the devslopements of this war
have had the effect of reducing 6nanciers
to dead level with the common masses
of the unlearned 10 regard 10 money mat
ters. The whole subject has been thrown
into hotchpot and the opinion Of the sci
entifc banker has proved % unsound as
that of the veriest hod.carfier, upon the
most important questions affecting the
business and currency Of the country dur
ing the war. The circumstances surround :
ing the country since the war began have
been peculiar and unprecedented aud finan.
ciers have no precedents to 60 by, and
are much in the condition of the mariner
in an unknown sea without chart or CON-
pass, whose science of navigation will avail
him little amid the rocks and shoals on
either hand and the breakers ahead.
As one amongst many of the strange
financial developments take the recent re-
vulsion, the nature aud effects Of which
are briefly described in the following pa
ragraph in recent money article of the
Cincinnati Gazette. The writer says:
An extraordinary spectacle is present
ed just now n financial and commercial
circles. The country is experiencing a
general revulsion and this is caused by
an appreciation of the currency! Thus it
differs from all former revulsions. In
1887, 1858 and 857. the currency, which
had been inflated, collapsed, aud banks
suspended specie payments. In the lat
ter year the total paper circulation, North
and South, did not exceed $3.50, ,0o0. 900,
but it was upon . specie basis, and the
banks having pat out more than could be
sustained on that basis, suspended; paper
money deprecated, and there was gen.
eral commercial crash. All that was
quite natural It was inevitable But
now we have 5000, 900, 900 Of an ire
deemable paper currency; and upon this
there is panic, aud people are failing.
This currency, too, is appreeiating instead
of depreciating, and colo, instead Of go.
ing out of the country, is likely to flow
into it. Money, too, instead of working
scarce is getting plenty; because, as
prices of commodities fall. less money is
required to do business. Here are all
the elements of imitation, activity, specu-
lAlion and excitement, and yet there is q
panic and general depression. So far as
regards those commo diiies which are in
huenced directly By the value Of gold and
foreign exchange, the depression is oasi-
" accounted for; but the decline IN prices
has been general, and the panic has swept
like tornado, levcling everything before
it.
Now, the writer don't tell US why the
recent crash in prices came upon us un-
der circumstances SO directly opposed to
all former experience, thing which
seems reasonable enough since it has hap.
pened, yet he does proceed to tell us some
thing which we look upon as entirely
reasonable. That is to say, that we sbal
have frequent fluctuations in prices Of
commodities, and more or less specula
tive imitation till specie payments are re
sumed-and let US add even after that.
But here is the rest of the Gazette
money article from which we have al
ready quoted, and which We publish fol
the benefit of whom it may concern:
"Let no one suppose that We have seer
the end Of Initiation and speculative en-
citcment. This can only be reaches
through the contraction OF the currency
and the resumption Of specie payments
neither of which is possible now. viii
the present volume of paper money afoa
speculation is as certain 10 break ou
again, ss it is that the value of commodi
ties, 10 the aggregate, must be adjustet
to the volume Of money. There are Ger
tain leading kinds of goods that the pric
Of gold will regulate, but other sources o
speculation will be found, where price
will cut loose from gold, and investme ent
yielding ten per cent. viii be in Is grea
demand as they were in the early stage
Of the rebellion. Tbere is only one Wa
10 prevent this. and that IL to withdfa,
: portion Of the currency. Two hundre
niiions might be taken out Of the mai
kst to-day, and burned. and the relativ
a