Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-02-06

flso OF the CIRCULATION OF paper would seem Ill
most a. surely to pressge a sturm in the fnan-
in the barometer denotes q violent change In
the atmosphsrical world. Under such eircum-
stances the skillful mariner will trim his esn,
vass so ss to weather the rough dangers he
may be called upon to psss through. While
the war ragged be had to run fearful risks.
stretching every rag of sail, with our admirsls
lashed to the masthead, and came of victori-
Gus. Now, With our craft safely in harbor, it
would be disgraceful to sink by insisting upon
carrying full sail instead of throwing an anchor
or by neRlecting to trim the ship with proper
ballast after being unladen. Thus far we have
escaped any commercial tornadoes, but if we
should be visited by such calamity-the usual
sequence Of war-it is too obvious that we are
exposed to something of unrecordcd severity.
Any excess of currency adds nothing to &C.
tual values. Calling dollar dollar and half
only brings along necessity for marking up the
price of every excbangable commodity CORE
spondingly. II this were to be done with math-
ematical exactness nobody would be the gamer
or the loser But our circumstances are pecu-
liar. We know and have faith that every dol
lar issu eddy the Government will be actually
redeemed and paid. and probably within hive
years. So that any one can afford on this
hypothesis to invest gold in United States notes
and hold them idle until redeemed for much
less than even the present premium on Id,
and would probably gain much more than SIX
per cent interest according even to the present
rate of discount on legal tenders. Notwith-
standing that the present imitation of paper
ought naturally to carry the price OF gold
much higher than it now is, this all-pervading
conviction largely controls the rate Of discount.
If the public faith on this point should undergo
q change. and the time of specie resumption
appear to be uncertain or postponed, there Is
no power which could prevent the premium on
gold from bounding up to some of his highest
attitudes. Let Congress become weak and
vaclating and we should soon bee our currency
as buoyant soap-bubbles. and with hardly
more purchasing power. During the war, at
whatever sacrifice of present comfort, the peo-
like statesmen. Let US cot suffer in comparison
by an exhibition here of a more contracted Wis
ion when the light is more abundant
The ratio between gold and paper is not the
true one. Producing large surplus Of gold,
it naturally is and forever will be cheaper here
than elsewhere. But We have depressed it by
making it q commodity which We are obliged
to sell for what the world will give. We can
spare it more readily than anything else. The
Government requires gold to be paid at the
custom-house and it paws out an equal amount
at the sub-Treasury. That is the ipfsxible and
perpetual measure Of our wants. Beyond this
nett her Government nor people have any use
for it. Banks have long since removed it from
their vaults. 1t is the cheapest thing we have
to sell So long as this continues we are main
tanning the paper system to the crest advantage
of foreign nations and to our own loss. While
it continues we shall be the subjects Of foreign
plumber and the spoil of gold spectators.
Every mans properly is at the mercy of the
wild waves of an inflated currency.
All our experience shows that excessive is
sues of paper money have been followed by ex-
cessive importations of foreign goods. When
the struggle with Napoleon over it was
not until years later that England resumed
specie payments, during which her material
progress was comparatively stationary, and her
magnificent strides in trade and commerce bear
date subsequent to this period. When the
bank-note circulation OF the United States
was so largely expanded in 1886 imports
reached the large sum of 5 lS9 $50 O35, having
risen from $70,S76, 800 in 1880. At the same
time our exports OF domestic produce were on
ly Sl06 ,0l6 $50 Again, under like crcum-
stances, in 1857 the imports rose to $500. $50
al, having been no more than Sl1S 1877 3 Is
10 1850. At the same periods the excess OF
specie and bullion exported was very large
The net imports of foreign merchandise the
rast year, valued in gold, amounted to S4l7,-
046 SIT of which over $4,000, 900 were 10
dry goods! The close of the rebellion let loose
at high prices a vast amount of cotton but We
exchanged it at once for dress goods. These
facts would seem to show that the higher law of
trade and commerce exercises pitiless rigor
against those nations which tolerate an excess
i've circulation of paper money
1t is often SAID that The United States, IT
the legal tender issues were withdrawn, would
be loser by the auount ofincreased interest
The commercial health of the country is of
ten-fold more value than $24 900 900 to the
Government With incOnvertable paper
healih is i'm possible, but with health We could
easily negotiate all loans for one elxth less in-
terest. The So QUO 900 of national bank cur
rency that would then be convertible, being
over fifty per cent more than we had In 1860,
would be an ample supply for the wants OF
trade. But while we befogeed with pa
per currency redeemnble 10 other paper cur
rency, and that not .edeemable at ali-the
worst conceivable form of iphation-Congress
will make lavish appropriations, and the ex-
pendItures of the Government will be unnec-
essarily explained at every session tar more
than any loss to be incurred on the score OF
interest by funding the United States notes.
As leg islators We come to held money cheap.
Familiarity with millions has bred CON
tempt for paltry sums, and it seems cowardIce
to shrink from any proposal merely because
the figures are larger than would once have
suficed. Put off the day Of payment and We
count large sums as triies, forgetting that each
dollar of every million will cost some one CT
our couDtrymen the sweat OF hard day s
work. 1t is the golden moment for the party
now IN power to turn its attention to the dry
subject of economy and stem the tide flow
ing out from the Treasury, for the day will
onh 8hn vxytlI inf ia, tn ha
rev,ewd by taxpayers. If We can not now
reduce taxation largely we can do much more
by largely reducing our appropriations. LII
we prevent all raids upon the Treasury we
shall entitle ourselves to imperishable graft
tude.
From the facts to which l have already
called the attention Of the House it would
appear to be demonstrated that the simuita-
neous discovery of new aurlferous deposits
in various parts of the world, of marvellous
extent and richness, has rapidly ana forever
depressed the standard value of gold, whether
as currency or as commodity, throughout
all civilized nations, and that of the United
States standard of precious metal used AS cur
rency has been deprecated from time to time,
either by alley or diminished weight. until it
compares unfavorably with that Of other ra-
tiops that while we have already entirely
extinguished or proposes to extingush the
circulation of State banks. We have supplied
its place and much more by the creation of
family of national banks, whose issues alone
are one hundred millions greater than the
circulation displaced-issues everywhere prac-
tically irredeeDable and inconvertable, and
only claiming TO be convertible at some time
or other into other paper currency of still
larger proportions, which the Government
will in some way and at some time redeem. II
it does not choose instead to go more deeply