The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1869-01-12
RESUMPTION.

--Disasssoxs Results Of Imueaiate Re-
The following is Senator Norton re-
joinder to the second letter Of Horace
Greeley, published in the New, York
Tribune of Friday last:
n WASHINGTON, Jan 4, 1868
Hon, Horace 6resley- eiifqg q \ .ec4j
DxARsSIR--I have always been avcrse
TO newspaper controversies, and this is
The first one into which have been be-
guled. Your second letter like the
irst, proceeds upon the zssnrntion that
by mere declsration Of RESUMPTION the
currency would be brought to par. AID
that such declaration sheai, be made
without delay. This assumption i. I'm.
supported by single fact or argument
1t is eontradicted by all financial ex :.
perience, whether i'll connection with
governments or banks. lHa9 siat1sa-e Il
Yon offer TO prove that RESUMPTION
should take place at once, by saving that
the way for drankard to reform is to
reform At once, and no. at the eul Of two
years and half Pardon me for say
ing that cannc sec the analogy There
would be quite AS much wisdom in say
ing that the child should he born a man
to save time, because the way to reform
drunkard is to reform at once.
As military commander yoi would
attack every fortress ny storm, without
awaiting the slow process Of investing
aud battering down it's walls, because
the way for sinner to repent is to re-
pest at once. Such is your logic
When you gravely tell the country
that resumption at a period in the future.
giving time to the Governm ent and the
people to prepare for it, would cause
more distress than immediate resump.
ton, the proposition seems to require
no answer. 1t would be quite as Ioei
cal te say that it would be safer to
jump down Niagars, like Sam Patch,
than to go down by the incl: ned plane
You say that questions of finance re-
ceived practical solutions in New York
which are not familiar in Indiana This
Is most likely true, and yet there are
some things very well understood even
in Indiana, and among them that
KIN owledge Of stock and gold gambling
is not necessary to a correct understand
ing of the laws Of finance, and that the
less we have of the "pe culiarities'' Of
New York finance in the administration
of the Government the better for the
country.
Your letter contains a strange admix
ture of assumptions by manifesto and re-
sumption by contraction. You say that
the policy of contracting the currency
at the rate Of four millions month
would surely have brought specie pay
nents If it had been continued Yes, if
81 slie currency had been taken up anal
nothing but gold and silver LEFT. You
going on the cerrency grew worse. and
seem not to comprehend the idea, which
yol evidently regard as country no
tion. that the way for the Government
TO bring it's currency up to par, is to
prepare to pay it according to promise
You believe resumption can he brou yht
about by contraction, or by manifesto
without contraction. You treat depre
ciated currency as a vice to be reformed
by good resolution instead of dis
ease to be cured by time and the ap-
plication Of judicious remedies You
believe in resumption by faith and not
by works. An old preacher once, illus
sratin9 the doctrine of salvation by faith,
said "If the Lord bids you jump thro
stone wall, You must jump. Jumping
ing is your business. and going through
the we'll is the Lords
A declaration ,f i'm ne iiate resump
ton would result in disastrous failure,
which would leave the currency in a
much worse condition than it is now. If
it were successful, it would produce
great distress and lasting injury to bust
ness. II the Government had in tie
Treasury gold dollar for dollar with the
greenback currency. it should not do so
at once. To do SO would be crime
against the country.
In Your frat letter. which is not too
old We, to quote, yoI finally made re
sumption Impossible, by making it de
pendent on bond drawing four or five
per cent interest which would sell for a
premium in gold, which the holders Of
greenbacks would prefer to coin, and
into which the currency would be fund
ed. Such bond being impos sible, in
the nature of things, in advance of re
sumption, it would seem unnecessary to
discuss your plan. You made resump-
ton to result from contraction. and con
traction to depend upon a method in