The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-06-20
AGAINST WHAT TO sTRTkE.

Alison, IN his History OF Europe from
the fall of Napoleon to the accession of his
nephew, treats of the several stages in ma
tional progress by which the rich become
richer and the poor poorer, as well as Of
the measures by which such results are gen.
orally brought about; and, in the course of
the argument used by him, presents the fol-
lowing proposition as one incontestibly por-
trayed in the annals of all history: That
from the days of Scion to those of Sir
Robert Peel, the greatest evils which have
afflicted mankind, have arisen from the un-
due influence and paramount importance of
realized riches, and their pernicious tenden-
cy when so concentrated as to monopolize
products and control prices. +" 1t is in this
state of things" he says, 6 that the rich
are every day growing richer and the poor
poorer y and he instances the fall of the
Roman empire, in which the spirit of the
people became so broken by this scourge of
monopolized riches that they suffered them
selves to be utterly crushed and overcome
by the northern hordes, as directly tracea-
BILE to this result.
The close of the civil war found us with
augmented currency which unfortunately
had no intrinsic value to it, and which was
only convertible into that which had such
value, at the option of the government, and
at such price as its pledged faith might
induce the monied men of the country to
part with their surplus gold or silver.
There was no return to specie payments at
I that time possible, except through the door
OF reputation aud national bankruptcy
\ and the time has not yet come when such q
return is possible, owing not so much to
the difference in value between the green
back and gold as to the fact that it would
be impossible to carry our immense national
debt without such an expanded currency.
When this debt shall be reduced to such
proportions that the public obligations can
be met, and the business transactions of our
people be covered by specie payments, then
we shall have return to convertible cur
rency; but it can only be proximately
reached before that time.
ISoWy Us Ills eApaHucu CuTTeuCy HIS HO
other than an arbitrary value, and practi-
cally costs the government nothing but a
congressional edict to create it, it should be
permitted to take the place of specie at
the least possible detriment to the peo-
Pile, whose necessities, equally with those
of the government, many have demanded
its issue in the first instance. The govern
ment virtually monopolizes all the specie
in the country, and will be Obliged to dc
so for long time to come, and in imposing
a non-conyertible substitute, should make
it fall as lightly upon the business interests
of the people as possible. By the substi
4 tuition ofnational bank notes for greenbacks
itimposed tax upon the people, variously
estimated at from twenty-four to thirty
y millions, and so concentrated the circulating
medium that it became monopoly in the
hands of the bankers and few moniel
men in the country, by whichssto paralyz,
industry, create " corners" in the necessa
ries of life, and, by fostering system Q
gambling, stock.jobbing, and stock-water
ing, to pile up colossal fortunes in the hand
of the few at the expense and ruin of tn,
many. Thus, this arbitrary but necessary