New-York tribune., 1869-01-01
ODD for pssumntiop. because we thought you

being accustomed to crawl through c'O
hollow fence-lOg into an inviting heiu' ""e
considerably astonished wben-the los naVihs
been turned since bis last visit-he found NM
se,f coming ont of it on the same side OF inc
fence "a when he went in; but l understand
tbot he never repeated the abOrtive experiment
III. II mould, Usucccssal, cause more distress
han Immediate ReSumption.-Mr. Senator 40
not sugar-coat my prescriptions! tell tne
farmer frankly that Resumption implies lower
prces for produce. / tell the artisan, the Ia
borer that it means lower wages l hOid Dut
one language to property holder and would-D
nurcbaser. TO creditor and debtor. L admit
that Resumption would favor the creditor IN
tcrest. precisely as Suspension favored the
debtor interest. do not admit that the debts
dine bv our people to each other amount to any
sucb monstrous sum rs Eight Thousand Millions
of Dollars; and urge that very many OF these
debts exactly balance each other-many ueotoIs
being creditors as well, so that thcir loss Oh
one side will be balanced by their gam on the
other. Apart from the National DEBT, (Which
is payable in coin anyhow the amouht owen
by our people which is not Offset Oy dep's
owing 10 them can hardly reach one IhOnsiIhd
Millions. Some of these are now insolVeht
others will declare themselves so as cohSe-
ouence of Resumption In all cases OF lhsoiV-
epcy the debtors will pay what they can' ana
no more Let us resume mt once ana we sI'aii
proceed to offset, and adjust, and compromise;
and very soon all business viii nave re-
settled itself on a sound, secure basis, and we
shall be going on prosperously. Wages Will
be lower. but so will the cost of living; credi-
lo1t of
bankruptcies, but what they have realized will
be worth as much as the whole were. Ana
now each can proceed to build, 20 improve, TO
stock, to run machinery. in the confident as
surance that he may do so with reasonable
certainty of profit whereas at present who-
ever invests his money in houses, or lands, or
in producing crops, does so under the depress
ing consciousness that the property Is very likely
10 be rendered worth less than its cost by
contraction Of the Currency. Should we un-
dertake, as You propose. to resume thirty
months hence, it is inevitable tint much labor
would meantime stand idle, iecause OF the
moral certainty that, by reason OF Currency
contraction, it cOuld only be employed at q
loss; or, being employed by heallone, reckless
operators, it must be dcfraud.d of Its pay.
Immediate Resumption is a cod bath which in
stantly chills, but speedily invigratcs; Gradual
Resumption is a palsy which benumbs and
paralyzes.
Nv. Your objections 10 Immediate Resumption
oppIy hke,cise TO Gradudl.-It Resumption,
not the time Of Resumption, that favors credit
ors, and capitalists, and mortgages. and men
of fixed incomes, &c. &c. Your objections, so
far as they have weight, apply any Resump-
ton whatever; and your praises will be sung
mainly by those who are at heart opposed 10
any Resumption whatever. Tlry are like the
culprit who. being allowed to dloose his mode
of dying, preferred to die Of id age. They
will applaud your postpOnemeni OF Resumption
till 1871, because it gives them thirty months
lccway; that enjoyed, they will move to post
pone it indefinitely. And your arguments for
pOstponing now will be their arguments for
postpOning then.
v. Pardon me if | say that questions OF
Finance receive spractical solutions in New
York which seem not familiar TO Indiana.
What you say of Grcenbacks three per cent.
below par after Resumption, and of the pres
ent impossibilty of paying Three Thousand
Millions of National Debt in Gold, evnces
gross ignorance on your part or on mine. That
in Gold in remote portions of our country. do
firmly believe; but they could no more sell at
three per cent. discount after Resumption than
| a stream of water could run up hill. Then, the
National Debt would be paid in coin precisely
as your and my debts were ten years agO-that
is. by the transfer of bits Of paper representing
coin. No,c, every dollar Of the interest OF our
Debt ia collected and paid out in COMA great
nuisance, consuming much time uselessly. Let
us resume, and, after the first month, the Treas
ury would not be required to handle one dol
| Lar in coin where il now does three; and our
National Debt would be paid in the products OF
our industry, just as all debts are and must he
paid. Coin simply measures and fixes values; !;
we export more of it than other nations because
We are the largest producer of the Precious Met
ais. and they are to us a staple rs well as
mcasure but even we pay our debts mainly in
Cotton, Wheat, Tobacco, &C., as we should pay
them all if we did not produce Gold or Silver
deeply regret that you seem not to compre-
hend the effect of the Grcenback theory on our
National character and credit. probably see
| more European journals than you do; and
never vet saw one that seemed to regard the
| proposed payment of our interest bearing bonds
| in our redemptionless, nOn-interest- bearing
Greenbacks as anything else than naked rob-
berry. Yet you seem to think that, because our
older Six per cents sell in Europe but little
higher than our Five-Twenties, while you pro-
posed to pay the latter only in Greenbacks,
| that the Financial world was not shocked by
that proposal Why, Sir, every capitalist
instinctively feels that, if we cheat our
creditors at ALL we shall cheat them oil, and
to the full extent You may be content to
| oto,, bo1f Int koldor mora raot loea amir