The Portland daily press., 1872-10-28

An encouraging indication that we are get
ting out of the woods OH some of the most
serious question arising at the close of the
war, is afforded by the almost universal OBJ
lection among business men to the issue OF
the forty millions of additional greenbacks
which the Secretary of the Treasury declares
that he is authorized by law to set afioat.
The universal stringency in the money mark
ct occasoned by the extraordinary demand
for funds in moving the crops and by the
speculative combinations in Wall street prof.
ably induced Mr.. Boutwell, to hold the threat
of more greenbacks in terrorem over the
heads of those who evinced dis
position TO speculate on their scarcity, but it
appears, much to the relief Of the public gen.
orally, that he never had any serious inten-
ton of setting the money-making machine
once more in motion. From New York,
Philadelphia, Chicago and other monetary
centers have come prompt and earnest worts
of warning and entreaty, while Pittsbmg
alone, so far as we have seen, has encourage
ed the initiation of the currency This is
wonderful The youngest of us will remem-
Der when large number Of the leading poll
ticians Of both parties, and, as it was alleged,
the greater part of the Western people, were
stark mad On the subject of paper currency.
Was the money market tight? "More green
backsp' Was there great hardship on the
bargain made by The government and its
creditors? "Make hundreds of millions of
more dollars that are not dollars and pay
themw Was there a hardship in the rela-
lions between the capitalist and the laborer?
''SLart up the printing machine again, and
make the laborer capitalist!' The Demo-
cratic party, though the Seymour wing of it
was favorable to the hard currency, was COM
mitted to the greenback swindle. The party
had at one time abandonea the notion of a
return to specie payments, in accordance
with a fundamental principle of Democracy
that the people must be humbugged, and
that the demagogues panacea Of an indefi-
mite imitation of the currency was precisely
the sort Of thing calculated to gull the masses.
Fortunately the people were more honest
than the Pendletons, Ewing., Vallandig-
hams and other clamorers for more unreal
wealth, and the stamp of disapproval was al
most always placed on the Pendletonian dog
ma when it was a political issue. So in good
time it passed almost wholly out of politics,
though it had the support of such Republi-
cans as Thaddeus Stevens, Senator Sherman
and Gen. Butler, who for once became doc
trinare and built up fine little subjective
Utopia wholly out of greenbacks. But we
bear little about it in the political contest of
the present year.
The currency having become an econom-
ical question, wonderful degree of sound
ness in regard to it is developed. From all
sides and from all parties the demand is for
continuance of the present policy till the
natural growth of the country and the in
creased legitimate demand for money makes
paper dollar as good as gold one. The
fact is fully realized that the desired goal can
not be reached without suffering great incon-
venience. Many shrewd pinch must be
endured, but there is a determination to seek
relief only through the practical increase of
the volume of the currency growing out
its increased value and purchasing-powe
bear it, for little while, is the motto of all
but political charlatans. At the same time
there is a marked disinclination to aggravate
the inconvenience and annoyances incident
to the transition period, by artifciglly hasten
ing the process. Horace Greeley's heroic
method-"resumption by resuming''-is as
much out of favor as downright Pendleton-
ism, and we presume there are few men in
the country who would be willing to bestow
on the Secretary of the Treasury authority
to hurry up the financial millennium by de-
stroying four millions of greenback dollars
every month after the manner of Secretary
McCulloch. The present treatment is what
the doctors would call purely constitutional
one. Nature is relied upon for cure, and as
little interference as possible is to be al
lowed