The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-04-16

The Financial Problea OF the Country
Necessity or Understanding and Sow
ing IL.
The Loan bill has become q law by the sig
nature Of the President to it. So far the wants
of the government as regards its sccruing debt
obligations are provided for until the next SEES
sion of Congress. The Secretary Of the Treas
ury is empowered to meet the bonds or securi-
ties that will be due by such means ss he may
have, or by changing one form of Indebtedness
for another This ample power conferred on
him is fortunately limited, however, by restric-
lions that will prevent an undue contraction Of
the currency, or any serious disturbance Of the
finances, business or values Of the country.
Had his power not been limited he might bring
irretrievable disasters upon US by attempting
to carry out the bullionist theory he enunciated
in his speeches last year, and 1.-The resumption
vagaries Of those who clamor for the instant
return to specie payments. The only people
IN the community that could be benefited by .
forced contraction Of the currency are the
fundholders. Their property would be in
creased IN value twenty-five to thirty per cent
At once, and the property Of everyone else de-
creased the same amount. 1t is gratifying to
perceive, therefore, that Congress has been suf-
iciently enlightened and patriotic to view the
matter properly, and to resist the powerful
influence of the fnndholding interest Two
important objects, then, have been attained in
the passage Of this amended Loan bili-the
accruing indebtedness has been provided for,
and we are safe for the next eight months from
those evils that would befall us by tampering
with the currency. We may breathe freely and
60 on with our business without fear Of any
great change during this period.
But what OF the futurei How are we going
to establish sound financial and monetary
system that will not create and perpetuate
monopolies, that will not Cypress the people
and be burden upon labor? How shall we
continue to bear the weight of an enormous
debt and provide for its liquidation in such q
manner that the people will not chafe under
it and be tempted to repudiate? What plan
can be devised to make this great and rich
country the financial centre Of the world, in
stead Of being, as we are now, the mere hewers
Of wood and drawers of water to Europe?
These are questions that demand our serious
consideration. Some of them are intimately
connected with the adjustment OF our national
| finances and system of currency, and will press
| upon us for an early solution. Our public
| men and the people ought to begin to educate
themselves about this important matter. AT
present they are ignorant. Their ideas are
very crude and limited. Under former and
very different state of things, anterior to the
war, we drifted along smoothly because we
| had no great national debt, and our immense
productions of cotton, gold and other things,
| drained from us annually, made US easy and
| supplied us with luxuries from abroad But
great revolution has taken place in our iinan-
| cial and monetary situation. II is necessary
| now to have sound and we'll established sys-
| tenn. IF we do not we shall be more than ever
| tributary to Europe and the laboring classes
! of this country will be brought TO q level with
| those of the Old World We have only to look
| at the crude notions on finance which Mr.
Chase, when Secretary Of the Treasury, exhib-
tied, which even Mr. McCulloch, who was one
of the Treasury officials with Mr.. Chase, and
who inaugurated present system, exhibits,
! and which most of our public men evince, to
understand how much this country has to learn,
and how necessary it is that we act about
educating ourselves. A man may be very.
good lawyer or banker and yet be ignorant on
The subject OF national finances. The conse-
auence of not understanding the subject pro-
perly has been that we commenced wrong
when change was forced upon us by the war,
have been going wrong since, and ought at
once to begin upon sound basis 1t is true
we have not felt the evils Of this mischievous
policy very much up to the present time, be
cause the immense production Of the precious
metals and the two or three hundred millions
worth of cotton that has come out OF the South
since the war closed have kept us going swim
mngly along; but We must feel II unless there
be change Imagine what q condition we
should have been in If we had not had these
Two to three hundred millions worth of cotton,
which has been equal to so much gold; equal
in fact, TO Eve years production of the Califsr-
! MIA mines Imagine this, aud then il will be
| perceived what crisis the miscbievous finan-
ciar policy Of Mr. Chase would have brought
upon us. But we cannot drift on much longer
without great danger. We must have radical
and sound change.
The evils most to be feared, III the pccsen
state of things should be continued, wonld b,
from the accumulation and absorption Of the
wealth of the country in the hands Of the few
from monopoiics, from the power of the fund
holders over the labor and productions of tn,
I country and over the government itself, an'
from the inevitable tendency to make the rcl
richer and the poor poorer. England, befor
, the, great European war against France an'
Napoleon. had three hundred and City THOUSAND
landed proprietors Now there are but forty
u Kye thousand Tins wealth has accumulate,