Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1870-12-17
Hard Times-Money Scare-Thc
Causes-The Future.

The present stringent state of the money
market has never been equaled at any sim
lar period since the war. Enormous rates
are freely offered for small amounts upon
heavy securities. which holders, strangely
enough, persist In retaining in expectation
of u future rise. The true policy, In times
like this, would be to part with them in
stead Of borrowing, rs, unless the market
speedily experiences some relief. their val
ue is more likely to he impaired than in
creased.--New Orleans Times.
Hard times-money scarce rents
unpaid--bills unpaid-notes unpaid
such Is the universal cry all over the
West and Southwest. People ask
why this Is SO, and want to know
what the matter Is. We think we
can tell them.
AT the close of the war, the circu-
lating medium of the country
amounted to about one thousand mill
ions of dollars, made up Of national
bank-n0tes, green. backs and other
Government issues. With that
amount of circulating medium every
thing went on swimmingly. Mer-
chants, business men, and farmers
found no difficulty In paying their
taxes, heavy as they were. The me
chanic and laboring man had en-
ployment and money, for when
money Is plenty the poor can get a
share of It easier then when 1t Is
scarce and dear, just as they can the
easier procure -four and meat when
they are abundant than when they
are scarce.
Since 1865 the South has been re"
opened to the North. Large volumes
OF our circulating medium were alb
sOrbed by the business interests of the
Southern States, which diminished
the currency in the Northern States
very materially and very sensibly.
Then an immense immigration COM
menced from the Northern States into
the new States, and particularly new
Territories of the far West, and that
required Its tens of millions of curren-
cy which was taken from the volumes
in the Northern and nearer Western
States. California and Oregon, also,
which had pcrsistently refused to
cOuntenance the use of greenbacks
and national bank notes, abandoned
the purely gold policy and came in ac-
cord with the other States in the use
of the paper currency. That had its
share In diminishing the volume OF
circulation in the Atlantic and West
ern States.
But worse than all, the Govern
ment at Washington, at the instiga
tion of the bondholders, adopted the
policy of contracting the currency by
diminishing the volume of green
back circulation. And the contrac-
ton has gone on until the circulat-
ing medium of the country has fallen
from one thousand millions to about
six hundred thousand. The individ.
ual Indebtedness of the country has,
by this contraction, been increased in
value to the creditor class nearly
double. The greater the contraction
the scarcer and dearer does the circu.
lating medium become, and the NOR,
difficult to be got. Business, Ofcour-e
became more or less paralyzed, which
was increased by the enormous Ia xes
that had not been diminished, as they
should have been, step by step, with
the contraction of the currency. II
would have been much cheaper fol
the debtor class-that IL, IL would
have been better for every man IN
the United States, who was in debt
to have agreed to pay two dollar,
where he owed one, than to have had
the circulating medium of the coun.
try cut down from what it was dur
ing the war to what it now IL.
Not only has the value, so to speak
of the currency been increased nearly
two-fold, but, as we have said, the
difficulty of obtaining it has increased
in proportion. The result N that bus,
iness has become prostrated, and IN
many cases utterly ruined. Thous
ands of merchants, business men
manufactures, have been bankrupted
Nor are the ruinous effects of con
traction confined to the classes W,
have enumerated. Farmers are feel
ing the pinch as well, and 10 also me
chanics and labOrers. Nobody ha.
been benefited by the contraction o
the currency hut the creditor class
bondholders and capitalists Uncin
natl Enquirer.