The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1869-02-03

Presidents and Senates win b il thsi
hands but as toys. 6,zs-.- -. -
The debtor cla1-those who creatI
the capital which must pay the isbts
public and private-are. as I have n
ready said, the laboring man, and tn
farmers and manufactnrers, their i'm
mediate employers. Many Of f6esl
are the soldiers who fought oit bat
ties, who have returned, to their home
broken in health, broken in fortune
rich only IN military glory. and Whs
will not be willing to have imposed OF
them heavy additional burden o
taxatiop By way Of Q fratuitons eoi1
pliment % the wealthy bo1&ho14ef.
who staid at home and lent n1ney q,
enormous interest.
1t is proposed to encounter Al
these evils being bankruptcy and
ruin on large and meritorious clasl
of our citizens, who occupy the pos,
of danger like a forlorn hope in battle,
in order to escape from the present
evil of q deprecated currency. ]
have already expressed the opinion
that the object to be gaihed-though
q worthy Objects not worth the
sacrifice. Let as look at it more
closely and test its valne more accur.
ately.
a deprecated currency-one below
the standard of the civilized world
is an evil, but no means SO great a
has been assumed without proof
loosely thought and as loosely repre-.
sented. A careful analysis will show
that most of its alleged mischiefs car
ry with them their own compensatory
remedies. Without discussing the
question fully, few of these 1 will
consider:
First, as between the United States
and foreign nations. The lower STAN
dard of our currency has, I think, No
positive effect. As 10 our exports, q
pound of cotton or bushel Of wheat
brings just as much coin or goods in
England as it would bring if gold
were our home currency, and such
foreign goods; when imported, 1t
once assume the value in currency due
to the article.exported and exchanged,
with the addition of freight, commits
siens and duty also changed from gold
to currency and though our wealthy
men who travel in Europe must pay
large exchange for gold, yet, if they
are bondholders and exchange our five
twenties for coin, they get at present
rates of exchange about seventy-fve
cents on the dollar-just what our
currency is worth at home in gold,
with a small excess for accruinR in
terest, heing considerably more than
they paid in gold for them when they
purchased so that in our trade and
with forign nations nobody
suffers greatly by the present condition
of our currency. And how is it at
home, in the ordinary transactions be-
tween man and man? can hardly
think of any branch of business or any
which has not pretty well
adjusted itself to the existing stand
ard. The importing merchant sells
higher the retail merchant and the
and the farmer, all sell
higher, and the laborer receives higher
in pretty fair proportion to
The changed value of the currency.
An immediate resumption of specie
payment would unsetle the present
'elations of the various branches OF
to each other, and give the
and sagacious sPeeulator q
most decided advantage over the Or
linary, industrious million. It would
lot ennbarrass the creditor-the capi-
knows how to adapt his
business to every revulsion, monetary
or commercial. he never makes
but if you make one he well
,nows how to turn it promptly to his
advantage. Immediate resumption
would, as have shown above, in
.rease the debts of the debtor class
bout %, 600, 600, 900, and add that
much effective capital to the creditor
lass, provided the debtors remain
Lble to pay. It would also, if our
olvency under such inconsiderate leg
Station be relied on, make our debt
it once about $3.50, 900, 900 larger
han it now is. If 1000, ,000, ,0t0
bushels of wheat will now pay the
lebt, resume specie payment at once
md make gold the only legal tender, |
wheat must fall as the currency rises
q value, and it will take 2,200. .000,- |
100 bushels to pay it-making sacrifice
# 600, 900, 900 bushels Of our great
taple at once, and, AZ far - I can
to no good pufPose. It
WOULD not improve our National ere
Iitor. A debtor who owes a. much
8 he can pay, by strictly limiting bis |
liabilities and outstanding all his re-
ources, will have better credit If he |
alculate closely and cavl for . single
air, than by heaping Ossa on Pslion |
a his unbounded liberality. Shylock, |
iggard as he was, doubtless hsttsr
Il his chivalrous generosity.
The principal objection to . legal
snder paper currency ID its tendency
o fuctuation but this 10 much less
nan Is generally supposed. Thef
british ecnsols, which are the national
urrency ii nearly all large transac.
ons, huctuata but little. Our ten.
,rties, which in some degree assume
heir place hare, are very stable In
alue, as also are our sreenbaok, when
by Treasury operations In
old. Still all auctuate in value, and
., indeed, does gold, compared with
very thing which supplies the wants
civilized man. s ] am not quite sure
cat q paper currency, resting on
,lvent nations faith, viii fuetuate
lore, or be more sensitive to COM
,ericaI yicissitudes than gold. In