The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-18

action of the government to that end produced
terrible financial revulsions. Can we expect
to force resumption within shorter time by
government action without disasterp Admit
that we have vast and rapidly increasing
resources, still we have not the capitalized
wealth England had nor the means of con-
trolling the specie of the world. To say
the least, forced resumption in this country
would be dangerous experiment, and in all
probability would cause general bankruptcy
suspension Of trade and universal suffering.
But why force specie payments at all ? Is not
the country prosperous? Are not our farmers
and people generally acquiring wealth faster
than they ever did before? Are not all the
material interests Of the country being wonder
fully developed under the influence of an ample
paper currency? The talk about trade and
business being bad and the people suffering is
a bugbear of the resumption theorists and has
no foundation in fact, as every mechanic,
tradesman, farmer or the government revenue
can show. Nor is there any danger in the
future. We shall go on in the same prosper
GUS career if Congress will let the currency
alone. With the growth Of the country and
the yearly increasing demand for currency we
shall gradually grow up to specie payments
without revnsion or shock to trade.
Senator Morton, however, processes to be
opposed to contraction, and pictures the evils
oft. He reasons that there would be no con-
traction under the operation of his bill, and
that specie would take the place of greenbacks.
That is all very nice in theory; but if the
precious metals should be drained away from
the country, as they are now, to pay the inte-
rest on our securities abroad and the balance
of trade against us, we should soon find our
selves with contracted currency and business
paralyzed. We should be at the mercy of the
foreign bondholders and capitalists, and when
ever they chose to call upon us or the Bank Of
England to put on the screws the country
would be convulsed from one end to the other.
They could drain thirty or fifty millions Of
gold from us at any time, make money scarce
and throw our business men into bankruptcy.
enough in the Treasury to redeem the legal
tenders without injuring trade and sending the
premium up much higher than it is? We
think nQt TEAsg The loss ea such yes. un-
employed sum Would aM5nht to hiahh7 millions,
which might be applied to the reduc-
ton of the Understanding debt. Sup
pose, however, that it could be accumu-
lated, how long after being set free
would it remain in the country under the de-
mand abroad for the interest on our debt and
the enormous balance Of trade against us? Re-
sumption of specie payments would not lessen
the debt held abroad-would rather increase
it-and would hardly reduce our extravagant
importations when costing less. If we import
SO largely now, when the difference between
currency and gold makes the price of articles
SO high, what should we do when the price
would be greatly reduced? By forcing specie
payments we shall, as said before, be at the
mercy of foreigners. Then in crisis there
would be demand for more paper circulation,
and, the legal tenders being out of the way,
more national bank currency would be author
lied. These monstrous monopoles, the bank
ing associations, which now make profit out
of the public of fifteen per cent on their cap
ital, would thus be enabled to largely increase
their profits on an extended national circula-
ton. This, we apprehend, would be the re-
suit of Senator Mortons resumption BILL
Under the present circumstances of the coun-
try the legal tender currency is BEST and it
would be better still If we had but that uniform
circulation. At all events, Congress should
let the currency alone and not attempt to force
specie payments. Let the laws of trade and
the growth Of the country regulate all that
Let well alone should be the motto of our
public men.