The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-04-05
Tbe PiuaueIaI Condition and Pros.
pect OF the Coming season.

There has been nothing so character
istic of the past nine months in BUSH
ness and opinions on public affairs as a
sort of conviction, or dread, or belief.
that some great financial calamity
might, could or should come upon the
country, against which it was the duty
OF every man to brace himself up with
most determined courage and most in
vincible obstinacy. The might be GER
tainly existed, for it always exists, and
the prudence which seeks to avoid It is
certainly proper; but that such calam-
ity should or would come is by no
means SO obvious. Let US examine
this matter, and look into the facts and
the results. There are but two sources
of commercial CONFUSION: First, the
failure of production, which is the real,
positive income of the country. If the
productive labor of the country fails,
even the men of moneyed incomes will
| fail to get them, at least in large de-
gree. If productive incomes were to
| fail TO the extent of one-fifth only, it
would throw every bank in the coun-
try into suspension. The actual pro-
ductive income of the country (not es-
timating middle men, or intermediate
profits), is quite tDo thousand millions
per GnItttm-probably more. With four
hundred millions of this out of exist
ence in any one year. and we shall hear
an outcry from all the commerciafand
manufacturing people in the country.
The second cause of commercial con-
vulsion is the sudden contraction of
credits. The last may be produced in
various ways. The contraction of cred
its; and hence when Mr.. McCulloch an
nounced the policy of contraction lat
that time, in 1865, intended to be pretty
rapid), 1t was simply an announcement
that the credits OF the people should be
contracted, and that suddenly; for the
/ withdrawal of one dollar of currency
withdra wsIsthree of credits. The at
| tempt to do this-though apparently a
| moderate way-produced shock which
| caused an immediate contraction to a
much greater extent than was ina
| gined. The result was to check the
further progress of the scheme.
Looking to these causes of CONNER
cial disorders, each one of them has
been apprehended by public men, of all
sorts, as likely to come. But out of all
the apprehended evils, only one (the
failure of the wheat crop in the central
west) has actually occurred, and this
one the coming season will, in all prob
ability, fully repair. Let us look to
some of the principal facts. First, we
have had a set of political agitators
who claim that the South is not indus
trious because it is not reconstructed;
that the cotton crop has failed; that the
other outcries, which have scarcely a
1 grain of truth to sustain them. Take
the cotton crop for example. This met
| with great misfortunes-unwont
rains, army worms, and various disas-
| ters. Yet, what is the result? 1t is now
known that over tUo millions of bales
of the cotton crop OF 1856 will be brought
to market worth three hundred millions
ofdollars. Corn crops,,w largely plan
ted; but most OF that did fail, causing
want in some parts of the South. But
now where is the evidence of any
want of Industry We don't believe
| the South ever did as much work in
one year as they did in 1866. The idea
that political reconstruction is necessa-
ry to secure industry and its fruits, in
the South, is a monstrous humbug.
We come now to the loss of wheat.
This was equal in the States of Ohio,
Indiana and Kentucky, to twenty mil
| lions of bushels, worth in money con-
/ siderably more than forty millions OF
dollars. This took, mainly from the
Cincinnati market, the use of forty
millions of currency, in the past six
months. This caused a pinch for ready
money in this region, greater than was
probably felt in any other part of the
United States. On the other hand, the
corn crop was large, and hogs marketed
more numerous, partly balancing the
great deficiency of the wheat crop.
claimed as loss of production, in the
diminution of the wooden manufac-
| tories, on account of closing the war.
But this is probably much less than is
generally supposed, while the new
tariff on wool and woolens will revive
the wooden manufacture and greatly
| benefit Ohio. The little State of Rhode
Island consumes thirteen millions OF
pounds of wool in her factories, and we
may be assured that, such is the thrift
and economy of both capital and labor
in New England, that her wooden man
uiactures will go on and increase. We
conclude, therefore, that the production
of the country is not diminishing, but
the very reverse. 1t Is fast increasing.
We come now to the fearful idea
with some of contracting currency. In
the first place, Congress has limited the
Secretary within narrow bounds. In
the next place, after year and a hall
of spasmodic effort, the Secretary has
come out at very nearly the same place
he went in at. He has really accom-
plished little. There are two reasons
for this: Congress Will not allow him
to go very fast, and in the next place
he cannot. The Treasury needs all the
money it can get; and probably there
has not been in financial point of
view so absurd an idea put out, as that
the Treasury shall part with its ready
money illegal tenders) and at the same
time pay interest on themi For this
is exactly what is done when they are
funded in six per cent. bonds. The
last credit OF the United States
Government Withdrawn should be the
legal tender notes. They pay no inter-
est and they are the best money we
ever had. The Secretary should read
Cisco's letter, the most common sense
document on this subject yet put out;
and written by man of wide expert
ence in commerce and in the public
funds. The old practices of medicine,
in DIR. Rush's time, were to bleed and
purge; SO you killed the disease if you
didn't first kill the patient. The mod
ern practice is to strengthen the patient
to meet the disease. McCulloch's plan
is the old practice. Cisco's is the new,
But, no matter what the theory, it is
clear the currency will not be materi-
ally contracted this year. Congress has
made enormous appropriations; great
amounts of public debt become due,
and it will puzzle the Secretary to
make both ends meet, without indulg-
ing in any extraordinary tinkering
with the CURRENCY i=5ef-rtI 7f,sa -
We open the financial year of 1867
with the best possible commercial pros
poets. The people will have ali the
money they now have, to carry on the
operations of commerce. The produc-
tions of the mines exceed anything
known in the history of the world.
More than one hundred millions of new
gold and silver will be placed into the
channels of trade. 1t will puzzle the
whole tribe OF gold spectators to keep
up the price of gold. and specie pay
ments will draw near, by the invinci-
Bile process of strengthening the Gov
eminent and the people. The Govern
meuth has proved itself equal, not only
to conquer, but discipline and regulate