The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1870-03-11
The Golden Darn.

The portents Of golden dawn near ct hand
are not TO be mistaken. They come In ono
questionable shape" We see the FIRST faint
rlmmer upon the financial horizon. soon,
doubtless, to be followed by the full cflulgence
Of the mighty orb-When
"Nighr. candles are burnt out and jocund day
Stands tiptoo on the misty mountain top"
thereby
"Clothing the poipsbis and familiar
With golden srAaiaiisns Of the dawn
Of specie psymepts.
Let Il come The sooner the better No
more suspicious period could be selected. Pru-
dent men in commercial pursuits have already
"set their houses in ORDER" and in common
with nine-tenths Of the American people would
be glad to stand once more on firm foundation,
free from the hazards and fluctuations Of an
ever-changlng currency.
With q return to the golden era vanishes
another of the shareholders rebelli0n-one
which was continual reminder Of that dark
period no less than the financial errors then
committed, against which human foresight was
able 10 provide. II ends also one source Of evil
inheritance from that strife. and the Joy will
be none the less fervent that the grand results
are worth million times the sacrifice. To be
sure, VIC have an enormous public debt which
cannot be wiped out easily, II, at all, In this
generation, but with specie basis snce more,
we may hope coon TO recover and even TO sur
pass the prosperous season enjoyed ere the
mad ambition Of pro-slavery zcalOts lit up tho
flames Of q terrible instruction.
But what an era in finance We have passed
through since January l, 1862, when gold was
At premium of one and . half per cent, to
the present time, when gold commands . pre-
MUM Of but 10 per cent. In this time We have
moved nearly round the cycle to the point OF
departure. What fluctuations have marked
the upward and the downward course Of the
gold market At one time II marked unerring-
" the alternate successes and rcverses Of tho
national cause. Ono day II went down under
the inspiring intelligence Of . rebel defeat the
next Il went up with rebound higher than
ever before under the dsheartening announce
mcnt of \ unlcn rcvcrse-a talo OF how "some
one had blundercd." Gold was then tho Their
molncier Of our hopes and our fears. Its fuct-
uations carried an innuenc far beyond the
"bulls" snd "bears" Of Wall street-they
were felt to the rcmotest limits Of tho country
and touched every interest therein.
On the }lst of December, 1861, the banks sus-
pcn,led specie payments. Sewarl's "slxty day"
prophecy had become "playcd out" The coun-
nv saw before Il civil war Of immense proper
ions and indefinite length. On the I'D OF the
foil wing July gold had reached premium OF
20 per cent. making at one jump III per cont,
in consequence Of the abandonment OF the siege
Of vicksburg. The year Of 1862 closed with
gold at 1873. In February, 1868, It reached
1871, the highest point for the year. In March
Of that wear Il reccdcd to 140. The news Of
the fall of Fort Sumpter, on the 10Th Of August,
sent II down to I'D, the lowest point OF tho
wear. A retrograde movement Of General Meade
on the 10th Of October sent gold up to 100.
During Janu,ry. 1864. gold touched 160; the
demand for custom dues being large. On the
18th Of April Fort Pillow surrendered TO the
rebels, a panic supcrvened and gold took anoth-
er advance to 1877. Spottsylvania in May sent
il down to 1863, but Il rallied again, and in the
following June made rapid strides upward, reach
ing on the 3Oth, MS tho result Of Secretary
Chssc's resignation. PSI. On the llth OF July
gold reached 2S5, the highest "notch" attained.
The rebel. had just made their last abortive in-
yasion OF "My Maryland" Amer this there
were great fluctuations. The reelection Of Pres
ident Lincoln sent II dowu to 260, and rumorcd
peace negotions sent Il down to 209'
With the opening Of the campaign Of 1865,
however, and the swiftly following succcssc, Of
Sherman and Grant, the public credit began to
improve and the gold premium to decline, and
at the close Of the year II Nas quoted At l4iI.
In 1866 gold sold Is low As l25 and S high ~
1852. In 1867 the highest price WAS IiGa and
the lowest price WAS 1872. In 1858 the lowest
price wa, 1921. The changes since then are
TOO recent to be repeated in this connection.
Suffice Il to say the premium has steadily de-
creased, % that to-day il Is merely nominal,
and It's complete extinction Is in the near future.
Ro,loa Lournal