New-York tribune., 1869-01-01
WAYS TO RESUMPTION.

SECOND LETTER TO SENATOR MOKION'
HoN. SIR: Your speech having fOrcibly set
forth the evils and pcrils of bascless. depre-
ciated Currency, allude to that topic only to
remind you that, prma Jacie, it makes strongly
in favor of my remedy for what we agree in
regarding as q disease. The Good Book assures
us that "a false balance is an abOmination to
the Lord !" whence infer that those who are
making and selling false balances should quit
doing so at once. and those who are using
them should use them no more. If any preacher
should argue that false balances should he dis
carded year after next, l am quite sure that
his sermon would not be proper improve
ment of the text.
/ object to your plan of Resumption, as de-
veloped in your speech and subsequent letter,
that
/. 1t riH ncrer r1ecEits declared object. The
sinner, who resolves to repent next year, does
not repent; the drunkard, who means to stop
drinking next year, does not reform. i heard
of an Irish resident of our City years ago.
when Father Mathew was working moral
miracle in Ireland, who, whenever he became
uncOmmOnly maudliD, used to grumblingly
wonder why Father Mathew did mt hasten over
and give him the pledge, so that he might be-
come sober man again; but, when Father
Mathew at length did come, the poor fellow
was dead of delirium tremens
III. IT haslal,eady been tried and failed. Mr..
McCullOch's Fort Wayne speech. in the Fall OF
1865, was quite as good as yours in Dec. 1863,
and ran 10 the same groove. He thundered
impressively against our inflated, deprecated
Currency, and proposed its reform by Resump-
tion-after while. Congress soon assembled
and echoed his condemnation and his good in
tentons, firmly resolving on ResumptiOn-af
a while. To this end. it farther resolved that
after q little while-the Secretary should
cancel and burn Four Millions of Grecnbacks
per month. This would have brought us grad
ually but surely to Resumption had it been
simply persevered in. The purpose was the
same as yours; the mode of effectng that pur-
pose far better and surer than yours. There
was not possibility of it's failure, had Con-
gress simply let it alone. But, when the can
ceiling of Greenbacks thus ordered had actually
commenced, people discovered that Gradual
Resumption was as distasteful as any other.
Money grew scarcer prices began to fall !;
debts felt heavier I; payments were urged and
found difficult; Presidential Election was just
ahead so Congress backed down, ordered the
Secretary to stop cancelng Grecnbacks, and
postponed Resumption indefinitely.
You propose, Mr.. Senator, to start once more
on this career, with its goal full in sight.
YOu give us no reason to believe that the
debtors of 1901 will be less numerous or less
influential than the debtors Of 1867 were.
YOu propose to give them notice that We IN
tend to resume thirty months hence. We gave
them that notice three years ago, and actually
entered on the practical work of contracting
the Currency preparatory to Resumption. Did
they make haste to set their houses in order'
Did they pay off their existing debts and re-
frain from contracting newt You know
that they did not. Yet, We had not
then broken down in an attempt to ef-
feet Gradual Resumption. Now.xshould we
enter upon this course, they will laugh at our
Quaker guns, and, when the pinch actually
comes they will plead" We did not make