The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-12-13
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
EDfToRlAL OPINIONS OF THE LEADING JOURNALS
UPON CURRENT TOPIos-OoMPmED RvsRY
DAY FoR THE EVENING TELEGRAPH.
'1ur National FInancss-T The Teachings
ell. .t|.... TT. .' Of'IIIkEorv. ..|... ~. .l

a considerable portion of the sessions of
18th Houses of Congress on Wednesday was de-
ibted to the consideration Of the important
Question of the national finances. If those
Ohio clamor for the immediate resumption Of
Tpece payments would study history, they
might learn the danger and impracticability
Of their course. But they are for the most
part mere theorists, superficial people of one
idea, and incapable Of learning either from
history or experience. The more ignorant
they are the greater their pretensions, and
the more noise they make. The newspaper
organs in this city of both political parties,
and portion of the press elsewhere, kept up
constant cry until lately of ON to specie
payments Though some of them have abated
their tone, and show signs of change since
public sentiment and the representatives of the
people in Congress have declared against their
theory, still the radical Chase organ here
keeps up the senseless cry, just as it did the
ION to Richmond cry'' which resulted in
the Bull Run disaster Strange to say, these
Tesumptonists take their ideas, such as they
are, from the same class of theorists in Eng
land who brought that country to the verge
. OF revolution, and who have burdened it with
stupendous debt that can never be paid.
The same causes operated in this country
and in England in causing a suspension of
specie payments. gigantic war in both
cases was the cause. The great revolution in
France that begun in 1889 soon set Europe in
blaze, and England was plunged into a long
and exhausting war as the consequence. Pitt
commenced the anti-Jacobin war in February,
1898, and in February 1897, a Cabinet meet
pg was called in London to deliberate on the
financial difficulties of the country, and the re-
built was specie paymentwas suspended the
next morning. Paper became the currency,
and remained so for twenty-eight years.
h"This admirable system (of currency arose
from absolute necessity" f." the historian Alison
says, and ''it brought England victorious
through the war" No serious efforts were
made to return to specie payments while the
war lasted; for that was an impossibility.
The war ended with the battle of Waterloo. in
June, 1915. Then the bullionists backed by
the bondholders and great capitalists, com
menced to clamor for resumption. They in
sisted that it ought to take place six months
after the war closed. The Government, Yield
ing to this pressure, fixed the day of resump-
tion in July, 1916. In 1915 gold rose to forty
premium We have not sufficient data to state
what the amount Of paper circulation was
Bank of England notes, country bank notes,
Treasury notes, and all-but there could not
e. have been much less than we have now in cir
culation. The efforts to force specie payments,
therefore, Immediately after the war, neoessa-
rily proved failure.
Soon after the Bank of England began to
contract in accordance with the action OF the
Government, agricultural and commercial dis
tress of unprecedented severity commenced.
Mr.. Tierney stated from his place in the House
of Commons that ''the people of England
were suffering more intensely than at any
period since the Norman conquest The
bankruptcies in 1916 were two thousand and
eighty-nine, being an increase of ffty-fve per
cent over those in the preceding year. The
manufacturing; commercial and agricultural
interests all suffered alike. The consequence
was that the Government had to bring in a
bill to postpone the resumption of specie pay
ments for two years, till July, 1878. Under
this Teprieve industry revived and the down
ward course of the country was arrested. In
the first of these years-l8l7-the bankrupt
cies were nearly fifty per cent less than in 1916,
and there was still further decrease in 1918,
the year following. Trade, commerce. and in
dustry of every kind revived when contrac
tion ceased. But the resumptionists were not
eontented with this encouraging state o.
things, and the Bank of England made an
other effort in October, lSl7,t to resume specie
payments.
But this experiment soon failed, and the
Government was then convinced that 1t woulc
not do to attempt to resume at the time fixed
in 1918; consequently bill was brought intC
Parliament and passed extending the time II
July, 1919. Then, again, as the Prince Regen
said to Parliament, ''the commerce and manu-
factures of the country were in the most flour
jshing condition" The Government belnj
disposed to act upon the principle of letting
well enough alone, wished to postpone forcing
process of resumption; but the bulliOnists wer
powerful and carried a resolution in Parlia
ment which was introduced by Mr.. Peel i
May, 1919, providing for a. partial resuml
tion in February, 1920, and for total re
sumption in May, 1921. Immediately on TIA,
passage of Peel's bill severe distress and feaI
full riots began. To use Mr.. AllisOn's eX
pressive language, 'the industry of the natio
was speedily CONCEALED as a flowing stream i
by the severity of an Arctic winter" Tn
Government felt sOrely the effect of contraC
tion, as well as the people; for the reyenu
fell far short of what had been anticipated
1t was not however, till several years after
wards-that is till lS24-that specie paymen
was entirely resumed. Eight years Englan
had been passing through this struggle, an
then in the end what was the consequence
The terrible revulsiOn of 1925, when the mos
unprecedented suffering occurred. The rui
was universal except among the bondhOlder
md the very rich. The foundation of tha
appalling pauperism which pervades Gres
Britain, and has pervaded it ever since, wa
then laid Revulsion after revulsion SUE
ceeded Tor long period, and even to thi
day England reaps the bitter fruit of her mil
taken Pollcy' Indeed, she will reap ii fo
ever through her frightful incubus of nations
debt ana her millions OF paupers.
Such, briefly, Is the history of British II
sumptOn-of forcing payments before I'll
country was prepared for it, and before a no
ton, at least, of its enormous debt was li1u
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