The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-02-01
310litical.
op.s.a y. Ion. s. F. Cary.

exact position of the democratic party, or
rather the PEOPLE of the West, as distln-
puished from the bondholder's party, on the
questions involved in our national finances,
that ii ought to receive extensive circulation
as democratic campaign document, though
its author, previous to his election to Congress
by the workingmen of Cincinnati. was recog-
nized AS republican. The speech only shows
tlat iir. Cary has risen above mere party pol
itics and become an earnest patriot which
naturally allies him with the democratic
party.
We make room below for Il few extracts
from this able speech showing the plan which
which Mr.. c. advocates, necessarily emitting
the cogent and overwhelming arguments by
which this plan i, enforced. Our readers will,
of course, at once recegnize it as the financial
scheme first broachcd and advocated by Geo.
H. Pendleton of Ohio with whom, it is need
less to say, Mr.. Cary is, in this matter, in per
feet accord
The first step in the right direction will be to
circulation a:,d simultaneously issue an equal
quantity of Treasury certificates or legal tenders.
The people having this circulation would be en-
sbled to pay Off $300000,OO0 of debt and save
SIS, 100000 of gold interest. We will thus
shorten the road to specie payments by reducing
the interest-bearing debt.
We told ti,at tie national banks being re.
luired to keep "A reserve for the redemption of
their notes withlrdws from circulation ten, ff-
r ~ l. II H.,
see no reason why this reserve should not be kept
in the pockets of the people, to be used or not as
their necessities require They will be quite as
safe custodians OF their reserves as the banks.
BY retiring the S300,000,00 of national bank
notes and issuing, in addition to that amount,
S2l5,GOO,0 900 Of legal-ender notes, the 5,O00-
900 OF five-twoSty bonds now redeemable could
be paid. This would only add S215, 900 to
our present circulation, and this would be $780,
O0O0O less currency than when the ruinous poll
ICY OF contraction commenced This would not
only give us q better currency, las much better
~ substance A. bot,er than shadow but would
save the people from taxation to the amount of
%l3,0O00ON. surprising gold to be forty per cent.
premium. would as speedily as possible rid
the country of this bank monopoly. With such
q network Of moneyed institutions throughout
the country, their political power by combination
would be irresistible. To suppose they would
not combine to secure their own selfish ends is
70 regard ths :, more than human.
Some are afraid of watering the currency"
as they are pleased to call a further issue of
grecubacks, aud tmsrender il yalueless by dilu-
ton. Money win not deprecate greatly if well
secured, and tho people can better stand a I" wa
tering' OF their currency than of their gold
bearing eeads, as Is now the policy OF the Secrs-
tdry OF the Treasury. And besides, rs we have
shown, The volume of currency will not be as
large it has been. "
IN the two grcy. clements necessary for a cir.
culating medium, uniformity and stability, legal
tender notes have the advantage of gold. Gold
rs exported legal lenders are not. Coin is con.
stantly huctuating and unstable Any political
disturbance or war on the other side of the
ATLANTIC which made gold indispensable would
Immediately affect its volume here, and every
farmer, mechanic, merchant, and manufacturer
to the renOtcst corner Of the Republic would
feel the pre4ure. And this would especially be
the case now thai 900 900, 900 of our bonds ars
in Europe. With legal tenders as our national
currency no such calamity could beiall us. We
learn from the last message OF the President that
since lS49 the coin product Of the United States
amounted e II! 100000, and that the exports
Vi me pluoious .v..ls during the same period
was S74l,0OO,OO0 These figures do not give u
very iattering exhibit of the stability or fixed
ness OF gold currency. Nor docs it by any
means follow that an increase of legal.tendsr
notes will advance the price of gold, which is in
fact a mere mottcr of merchandise like cotton
railroad stocks, and whiskoy. Gold has not nd.
vanced or receded as the currency has been con-
tracted or expanded. On the 1st of September
1860, it was at premium of forty-f per cent
when our paper circulation was 1854, lbs, 000
while on the lst Of November, 1867, it was forty.
.a.cGe per cent, when the paper circulation was
Seoo,0OO,OVO less than OH September l. 1868
The natural ebbing and flowing Of the price of
gold Is in proportion to its demand for export TO
settle foreign balances of trade. Ii we would re-
move tho c9+;c: 80, aid The South in securing
large crap for export, and send abroad our bread
stuff to settle these balances, and If pcrchance
We could fad balance in our favor. then gold
would be imported and it's price would approxi.
9na;e aaare nearly 10 legal tenders.
The way TO get back specie basis, then, is
not by contracting our currency, bat by import
ing less goods from abroad and sending larger
1nstollments of our production. We must
courage labor, increase production, diversity our
home industr'"s develop our agricultural and
mineral resources, aud Thea, in spite of the money
changers and gold-gamblei's Of Wall street. and
with Sl,OU0,OOO,000 of greenbuclis, coin would
approximate III value to our national circulating
medium.
In slditioa 70 hopolicy proposed of Withdraw
ing ara cmcelia the national bank circulation
and SUI, yinr simultaneously the vacuum with
4r.asasy cert icatcs, and increasing the amount
saiiiacnt!v to w. the $5lj, 900 900 of bonds
now -.- ould provide that the Treas
urt certificates should be convertible in sums of
SlNu OF more into bonds at Just rate of interest
say Lor h's ps. cent, subject to taxation as
circ- p,upI y. ard 'cepuyertble into Treasury
crt,Gat-s at a.. pleasure ef the h-.ler. And
L.. l. Z y I. ~.