The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-05-27
THE AUSTRIAN CURRENCY SYSTEM.

THE AUSTRIAN CURRENCY SYSTEM
From the ~ y. Herald
RWe published in yesterdays Herald an exhaus-
tive and highly interesting review by our
Vienna correspondent of the system and history
of Austrian currency and finance with COM
parison of our own system with that of Austria.
1t will be remembered by the readers of the
Herdd that we gave shortly after the close of
the war in 1869 series of similar exhaustive
articles on the currency and finances of England
at the conclusion of the long wars with Napo-
leon, and also on the financial history of our own
country during the crisis of a like character.
The teaching of Austrian, British, and Amcri-
can history is the same, and our Vienna cores
pondent shows in his communication what we
have urged over and over again. that it is
ruinous to the best interests of the country to
tamper with and unwisey contract the legal
tender currency. Whenever Austria has
had an ample currency of such
character the empire has been more
prosperous, trade and manufactures have
been more active, and the people generally in
better condition than ut any other pCrOd and
whenever the buliOnists contracted or swept
away this currency FOR the purpose of forcing
specie payments, ruin and appalling distress to
the mass OF the people inevitably followed. The
same ruinous policy in England produced, how
ever, worse state OF things in that country, as
its history, from 1878 to 1924, or even long after,
shows. Our correspondent Justly remarks that
the transfer into gold of public and private Ohli-
cations, contracted in deprecated paper as car
riCd out in Great Britain and as demanded by
the bulliOnists in the United States is to use the
language of Sir James Graham, in his pamphlet
on Corn and Currency" a fraud upon every
debtor, public and private. Yet this would be
the effect of forced resumption here. The
debtor class-that is, by far the largest portion
of the COmmunity-wUuld be ruined, and the
burden of the public debt immensely increased
upon the taxpayers, for the benefit of the Capi-
talsts and bondhoders.
Whether the views of General Butler, which
are advocated by our correspondent with regard
to establishing a permanent paper currency, in
the form of and to be called taxation money, are
sound and practicable or not there can be no
doubt that the present lega-tendcr currency is
best for the country, under existing circum-
| stances, and that it ought not to be withdrawn.
Indeed there ought not to be any other paper
money. The circulation of the national banks
should be taken up and greenbacks issued in
stead. We would then have a uniform and
cheap currency, based directly upon the credit
of the Government, and twenty to twenty-five
millions of dollars year would be paid in taxes:
for with the issue of three hundred millions of
legal tenders in the place of national bank notes.
Il corresponding amount of intereSt-bearing
bonds could be cancelled. There would be no
expansion, and as the population, trade, and
wealth of the country increased this Government
proXimate specie standard. The people would
learn to like this cheap and convenient currency
more as time rolled on, and in the end, when it
would reach par with specie, they would prefer
it, probably, to metallic currency for it would
not be subject to contraction and expansion III
obedience to the ebb and flow of bullion or the
balances of trade with other nations. The his
tory of Austrian finances and currency, as
given in the article referred to, and the views
thereon expressed by the writer, are worthy the
serious attention of the Government and
people of this country.