The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-12-23
Various Plans for Specie Re-
sumption Discussed
sspatOr MOrtOn's Plan Explained.
CONCLUDED


dence to- day in the perpetuity of the
Government than ever before. Il
has been tried as no existing Govern
rnent ever has, and in the midst of
the deadly struggle, when its life
seemed to hang upon a thread, re-
vealed the existence of a credit and
of vast resources that astonished the
world. At the beginning of the war,
aud before, it could not borrow a dol
lar In Europe, and can scarcely be said
to have had any credit; and this was
one of the things relied upon by the
conspirators In their calculations as
to the amount of resistance it could
make to the rebellion. Its resources
never developed so rapidly as now,
were never so we'll understood as
now, and the faith of the people In
the destiny of our country is greater
than ever before. While there are
very few men in the country who
doubt the ability of the Government
to pay off the whole debt, l have
never met with one who doubted its
ability to redeem or pay off the legal
tender notes. In regard to the re-
demption of these notes it has never
been a question of ability, but of patr-
pose; and to say that these notes can
not be paid until the general credit
of the Government is improved by the
expenditure of some hundreds of mil
lions in the purchase of bonds that
will not be due for years is to 1y into
the face of common sense and insult
the intelligence of the people.
IF, as | have before said, there is an
l.. IL
listing between the legal tender cur
rency of the country and Its public
securities, by which the value of its
securities can never get beyond that
of the currency in which the business
of the country may be said to live,
move and have its being, then the APP
plication of the gold to come into the
Treasury for the next five or ten years
to the purchase of bonds could add
but little, if anything, to the value of
the rest of the bonds or the currency.
But one thing is certain, that, while
nobody doubts the ability of the Gov
eminent to pay the notes by making
reasonable preparations, if the Gov
eminent neglects or abandOns the
currency, under whatever pretence or
disguise, and applies its surplus reve
nues to the purchase of bonds. with a
view to improve the value of the rest
of them, and thus legislate for the
benefit of a class, the only class In
this country doing we'll enough and
better than any other, the currency
will sink from that hour and the very
foundations of good faith will be
shaken. Such legislation would be no.
toriously and wickedly partial and I'M
just. What would be thought of great
railroad corporation that should refuse
to pay its overdue floating debt and ap-
ply its current revenues TO liquidation
of its long bonds, under the pretence
that it would thereby improve its
ability to pay its floating debt? But
such legislation would be as stupid as
it would be wicked; for the depressed
the bonds In its close embrace. While
our overdue paper, drawing no interest
and for which no time of payment is
fixed aud no preparation made, must
necessarily be deprecated, as it now
is, still that depreciation would be
far greater but for the general faith
existing among the people that the
Government will speedily make ar
engagements for its redemption. When
this faith is broken the currency will
sink lower and sink rapidly. The
Secretary of the Treasury, In his last
report, after making an able argu
ment to show the evils of a depreci-
ated currency, begins his discussion
~ to the means of returning to specie
payments with the following state
ment:
The Secretary still adheres TO the opin-
ion so frequently expressed by him that
country. until it appreciated to the paper
standard, was the true solution of our
financial problem.
But, as this policy was emphatically
condemned by Congress, and it is now
too late to return to it, ne recommends
the following measures as the next
best calculated to effect the desired
result:
Here the Secretary reiterates his former
opinion tpat, by LARGELY contracting the
paper currency, the rest of 1t would be az
preciated to par.
How such contraction could have
this effect he has never shown, and
the opinion results from misappre-
hension of the causes which depre-
ciate the paper currency. Suppose
the greenback currency was contract
ed down to 100000 900. could the re-
manning S100,O00O00 be brought to
par in any other way than by making
arrangements to redeem it? You can
not pay a debt without paying it; and
every trick or device to bring the cur
rency up to par without making pre-
parations to redeem it according to
the promise on its face would be alb
IL
is deprecated because it is overdue
and dlshonored-draws no interest
and there IS no time fixed or prepara-
ton made for its redemption; and
these causes would depreciate it If
there were but 81 200, 900 of it afioat.
The effort to force deprecated and ir-
redeemable paper up to par by making
lt scarce and pinching the people, is
like an attempt to enhance the price
of unwholesome provisions by pro-
ducing famine. The means he sug.
gests for returning to specie payments
are wofold-the first is to legalize
specific contracts to be executed il
coin. | voted for bill for that pur.
pose last session without much con.
sideration, and have since become
satisfied 1T was an error. The unwa.
ny would be enticed into such con.
tracts by the crafty, and those in
Strengthened circums stances or under
heavy pressure would be forced into
them.
No man can safely make contract
to be executed in coin, while the cur.
rency is deprecated and the financial
condition of the country is fluctua.
ting. Such contracts, where not
brought about by coercion and fraud
would be in the nature of gold gam.
bling-the one party trusting thai
gold would be at a large premium
when the contract was due, and the
other that it would command little OF