The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-03-26
WHY Resune 2

to resume and maintain specie payments may be
summed up as follows:-
/. The power of the Federal Government in a
state of peace and order, to interfere arbitrarily
with the standard of value is at best question
able. If it may do this, it would be difficult to
imagine what IL may not do. In time ofwar, of
intestine coDyuls1oD, OF great and manifest
public peril, VIC hold that it's powMs are
limited only by the clear exigenCles of its
position. II may take innocent men whom it
suspects of treason from their houses. their beds,
and lock them up in prison. unindicted, unar-
ralgnCdr unaCCused, Tor indefinite terms: but it
may not so hold them after the return of peace.
Now. the power to interpose between citizens and
overrule their bonest contracts-to say to A,
"Y ou sold your house, or ship, or farm, TO B for
$1,000 in gold; but you shall give HIM receipt
in iull Tor $4,000 In paper, which he can buy in
open market to1 $4,000 in gold,n is tremendous
assumption. No cons1derate citizen can like TO
see authority strained TO that tension where the
necessity Tor it is not grave, urgent .palpabe.
We presume thnt even Mr.. Stevens-being un-
questonably an able lawyer-would prefer that
the supreme Court should not be required to
adiudge the constitutionallty OF an act involving
such assumption passed in time Of profound
peace. And, if sacn an act could rot iustfably
have been passed in 1859, how can it be justida-
bly, maintained In force in 1867?
IL. The business of the country should rest on
a solid, assuring basis. Now it does not. The
element OF gambling strongly pervades most
commercial transactions. He who is prompted
" DuJ lhlEGll On CItulb VI COlbOD OE PORK, 0OuT
or stocks, silks or wool, says to himself:-"If
the currency should be expanded and depre-
clated before ] sell, l snail make money; If it
should be contracted and appreciated, L shall
lose" The farmer, the manufacturer, the
builder, the contractor, all make new engage
ments IN view of this contingency. In other
words, hiring labor or buying materials where
with 10 produce something that cannot be sold
till months hence, involves a risk peculiar to
the4times, which no prudent person Will assume
without prospect OF extra profit as compensa-
ton We deem this unhealthy, and only to be
endured while it must be.
H. We freely admit that some interests. some
industries, some laudable enterprises, would be
unavOraby Affected by instant resumption; but
we think this injury would be transitory and
more than compensated by counterbalanGng
benefit. At present, it is not prudent to build
houses, nor construct railroads, nor improve
lands unless under circumstances of peculiar
urgency; Tor labor, food, materials, cost 20 10 80
per cent. more dollars than they will after we
shall have fully returned to solvency and a
specie basis; so, thrifty capitalists baton up
their pockets and say, ave will wait till brick
stone, timber, labor, etc. etc., have fallen to
must and will TALL" We believe, for instance
that the Pacific Railroad should be pushed at
the rate OF five hundred miles per annum till
completed; but we cannot urge upon those who
have undertaken 1t to push at present prices.
We believe that ten thousand new houses ought
TO be built forthwith in this city and its suburbs;
yet knowing that house that costs $40, ,000noW
may pIODuDly DC Dulb IOE less IndD DSUUU JWO
years hence, we cannot urge their construction
while our currency, and consequently prices
shall remain as they are. 1t seems to us best
therefore, tor every sound interest that we should
have resumption at the earliest day.
". The present artificial initiation of prices
stimulates smuggling on every frontier and false
swearing at every custom house. 1t necessi
tates very large excess ofimports over exports,
thus rapidly sinking our country more and more
deeply in debt to Europe, and causing a steady
outflow of our national obligations to be sold
for far less than their true value. Manifesty
this cannot go on without producing crash.
The ''balapCe OF trade" is no chimera, buU q,
stern, sad reality, as every prodigal, and every
prOdigals creditors, must know. He who spends
all his income and twenty-five to fifty per cent
more is surely on the road to ruin, and must
arrive there sooner or later according to the
size OF his pile. And II is the same with q COM
pany, community country, as with an ind-
Vidual. And we, the American people, are now
travelling that road. We are to-day importing
many things that we ought to make at home
and we are exporting bonds--that is, giving our
corporate note of hand in payment. We can do
something to Counteract this ruinous tendency
by reducing our internal taxes and increasing
our duties on imports-and we are Tor doing
both promptly and yigoroUsy-but that though
well, is lot enough. Prices in general are tar
100 high with u.s. increasing duties will not
arrest smuggling or fraudulent differentiation,
but tend to increase both. We must have. in
addition to these, cheaper production and lower
prices for home products. In other words, we
ubJ nave resumption,
V. Initiation is creating and diffusing preiu-
dice against the protection OF home industry.
Thousands attribute to the tariff the natural
consequences OF great war and a deprecated
currency. They forget that cotton is 70 cents
per pound, and other elements OF cloth making
unnaturally dear, and grumble that they can't
buy shirtings and sheetings at something like
the prices OF old times True, the wholesale
prices OF these and other fabrics have recently
1alleu 70 to 80 per cent; but the retailers, who
were quick enough to respond to a rise, gene
rally ignore the fall and lin sellng) cling to the
prices of three or tour months ago-laying as
much OF the blame as possible on the manu-
tacturers and the tariff. We note this with inn
patience.
VI. The bulk of our Government shinplasters
are wearing out. They are ragged greasy,
filthy, llleeIble, nauseous. COunterleits on
them are thick as leaves; and the President has
a weakness for pardonng cOunterfeIters that
rObs the law of its terrors. Once the sub-green-
backs were rustling glistenng inslnuating
nuisance The public fingers yearn for the
unfamiliar but remembered feel of old-fashioned
dimes and quarters.
To have this, we need not redeem all the
greenbacks, nor third OF them, but simply
provide that they shah be henceiorth redeemed
! on demand at the Sub-Treasury (or MinO in this
! city. That will make all our dollars real dol
! lars-national bank as well as ereenbacks,
| since the former are redeemable in the latter.
| Then we can cancel the disgusting shinplasters,
! and have national currency of uniform value.
| Then gTeenbacks will be worth their face in the
| Pacific States and the mining Territories, and
will circulate just 80 far as they shall be useful
| and repaired.
Men and brethren, these are the words o
soberness. Heed them while you may.
|
Tho C,onuao.souf Ctou,,Dosr,.,