Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1872-08-01
OUR FINANCES.
The Effect Of Greeley's Elec-
ton.


authority in all questions of finance.
We therefore feel that we cannot min
lister to the edification of a portion of
our readers in any way better than by
transferring to our columns the follow
ing article by Mr.. Raster on the "Pres-
idential Election and the Business
World"
There are thousands of citizens in
town and country, who, no matter
whether in their political views they be-
long to the Republican or to the DEM
ocratic party, look forward to the Pres
idential election with anxious concern.
These are the solid business men of
every kind, traders, wholesale and re-
tail, manufacturers, workmen, money
lenders and money borrowers, who have
the fixed feeling that change of the
national administration must, accord
ing to all human calculation, be fol-
lowed by the most injurious perturba-
tion of the money market, and conse-
quentIy of all economical conditions
and of the whole industrial life of the
country.
The conviction springs from no idle
fancy, but rests upon very precise facts
and reasons.
Among all the people in the land, who
possess even the slightest knowledge of
finance, Greeley himself is in evil re-
pute, on account of his extreme child
ish and withal dangerous ideas and
plans regarding financial subjects. For
years he has preached two measures,
which only utter incompetence could
couple together, for they are two horses
which, tied together by the tails, should
run in opposite directions. On the one
hand, he desires the sale OF the gold
stored in the national treasury; on the
other hand, he desires the immediate
introduction of specie payments through
the announcement that the treasury is
ready to redeem every paper dollar with
a dollar in gold. That two such prop
Ositions could be made at the same time
proves, for every man who has five
sound senses, that Greeley knows even
less about finances than he knows
about farming; that. he is, in fact, not
right in the upper story. The under
standing even of schoolboy suffices to
see that so soon as the national treas
ury should have sold its superfuous
gold, full play would have been given
to the maddest gold speculation, and
that the swindling stock Jobbers OF
New York, with agio for a ball, could
push their game to the utter ruin of
business life. For years under Grants
administration they have been held in
bounds by the conviction that the Sec
retary of the Treasury, by the quick
sale of five, ten or twenty millions of
gold, could always break down sud-
den rise of premium effected by stock
jobbing tricks. The only time when
the spectators dared, by stock job
bing conspiracy to run up the premium,
the Secretary was able to make things
so unpleasant for them that they have
behaved quite decently ever since. But
suppose that, according to Greeley's
plan, all the national gold had been
sold! Nothing would restrain the most
crazy speculation, the gold premium
would make the widest springs up and
down, and thus all substantial business
in the country would be Frustrated,
while the rogues and swindlers would
hold witeh's Sabbath.
Not very different would be the opera
ton of the other measure which is Mr..
Greeley's second hobby-horse. When a
bank has one-fourth of the amount Of
its notes lying in gold, its paper eireu-
lation is safe enough. For it needs only
sufficient gold to encounter the first
strong run upon it. If such run takes
place, ,thebank has time to make available
ist other resources, consisting in proper
ty and discounted bills of exchange, to
cover its paper. But agovernment has
no such additional resource. If, as
Greeley wishes, the treasury should an
nounce that it would redeem every one
of its four hundred millions of paper
dollars with dollar in gold, while it
has eighty or ninety millions of gold
dollars, they would be paid out as ia
as they could be counted, and when it
was done there would be over three
hundred millions of dollars in circula-
ton without specie covering! Every
body can tell the result on his fingers.
The greenbacks would sink to the value
of seventy-five, fifty, or perhaps twen-
ty-five cents, in proportion asgold spec
ulators by their artifices, should ell
hance the price of gold.
1t may, however, be objected that
Greeley as President would not be in
position to carry out his schemes. 10
this the reply is that the money market
is exceedingly sensitive, and is as vi
olently, indeed more violently, dis
turbed by mere apprehensiOns of evil
that has actually come to pass. Naked
PROPOSITIONS in q Presidents message
might exert upon all financi al interests
an influence as disastrous as the pro-
posed measures themselves. This truth
is attested every day in Europe as in
America by perfectly vail id proofs.
In the present case, it must be added
that the Democratic party, which viii
cast nine-tenths of all the votes that
Greeley will receive, represents the
most pernicious doctrines respecting the
financial politics of the country. Only
shallow fool can believe that the ae'
ceptance of the Cincinnati programme
or phrases signifies real change in thu
opinions and purposes of the Democrat
ic party, or implies any essential modi
flcation of their convictions. The Pen
dletonian plan for paying OF the ma
tional debt in deprecated paper money
and the war against the national banks
are indeed put aside for the moment
but are by no means permanently
abandoned. Should Greeley be elected
it is perfectly certain that in the frs
Congress of his administration verit
able deluge of propositions Of the tenol
l.. 4 hxool- Earth lha M.