The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1869-02-04

patTlOtlc DOHuuOiueio "oN
bonds as good as gold, and would not
seek to realize gold for them, could we
hope that OF German and English and
French friends would have the same
cheerful, trusting, amazing confidence
We fear they Would not. And we veh,
ture the opinion that, if our currency
were releemablo in gold, our foreign
friends who bought their bonds as low
as thirty.nine and not over seventy.hse,
would slyIy send them back again and
realize their profit at once in hard cash.
Of course they woodland Would they
not have reason to do so.
Have not such of them as were hold
ers of Pennsylvania securities, been
compelled to take their interests, hon.
estly payable in gold, in paper of which
was required variously 149 to 2SO to
pay 100 cents in gold? And then,
did they not have to take the prlncl-
pal in legal tenders, when their debts
became dues And did not New York
repudiate the payment of her interest
in gold and pay in paper also? And
have foreign lenders forgotten how they
trembled lest they shonld lose all their
investments by reputation in this hon
est old county Of Allegheny which trolls
up" 1000 Radical majority? And
were not foreign bondhnldcrs told by
the Radicals again and again, in the
late canvass, that the Democrats were
the party of rcpudiation, and have not
these shrewd Shylocks seen by the vote
that the Democrats are very nearly as
many as the party that elected Grant
the party that pays everything of course !!
Therefore, in view Of all these teach
ings, and all these warnings, would not
the foreign bondholders make haste to
realize the gold for these $50 millions
of our securities, if our currency were
made equal to gold? And in that case,
does any one suppose that they would
not take that $50 millions of specie out
Of the country as quickly aud quietly
as they possibly could? "
This is but bnc Of the obstacles to
the resumption Of specie payments. If
the bonds shall not be redeemed, the
interest will not be diminished-and
not only not diminished, but increased
one.f fourth in gold value; And does
any man think we could pay the pres.
ent amunt of taxes, or anything like it,
in goM Gould we stand one hundred
and fifty millions more of taxation p
And how would this sharp and sudden
resumption affect those who have money
to pay on contracts running, cay for five
years to come; and made which the cur
rcncy was irredeemable paper? Would
they not be compelled to pay in gold
or convertible paper? Or would Mr..
Morton make their creditors take de.
pretiated pdpef as those who held gold
contracts had to do six or seven years
ago? Perhaps he would if he could, but
could he?
There is but one way to return to
specie pdyments, and that is the honest,
legitimate, though perhaps little ts:
dious way. That is to redeem the bonds
in greehbacks- of theHi-ahd then
use the taxes; which must be made to
yield hs mitch as at present for ten years
to come--to redeem the greenbacks-
buying them in at their value in gold
this is the only way the thing can be
done so that it will be we'll done, so that
there will be no relapse into paper mo-
ney, when once we get rid of it: Any
other plan than this would be spas
modic and partial, and would leave
things worse than they are now, when
we shall fall back; as we surely would
fall back, into the old course. We
would say to Radical currency thinkers
that they cannot return to our good old
financial condition without somebody
being hurt. The bondhol'iers may be
hurt little, ::,n.e people are sure to be
hurt very materially. They have much
to suffer yet before permanent recov'
ery can take place. Why ifa man dis.
locates limb, to put it back into its
place costs infinitely more pain and suf.
feriiHHs than the throwing Of it out Of
i't:s; its; p'l,ace, caused him. And yet there
is no other way to relieve the patient