, 1872-11-06
THE BUSINESS MEMS VIEW OF GREELEY


The first thing that occurs to the rejecting
mind, in reviewing the recent campaign, is that
the business men OF the country took an early
dislike aud almost an alarm at 1fr. Gree}ey's
candidacy. Therewere some notable exceptions
to this rule. The three or four Wealthiest men
in the country we're his supporters, and re-
spectacle body OF merchants and bankers IN
every city could be counted among his friends.
But, with few exceptions, they were against
him. They feared that his election would pro-
duce hard times,-that he would do something
with the currency,--that he would cause Bome
precipitate action to be taken regarding specie
payments. They feared change. Things we're
we'll enough in dollar-and-cent view, and
your genuine business man does not look deep
into questions Of reform unless the re-
form programme talGes With the dollar-and-
cent programme which he has in Ills mind'a eye.
In this case it did not. So the business classes
"1ay down" on 11r. Greeley at the outset,-lay
down hard On him, made little noisa about it,
but said to each other, Grant is bad enough,
but anything ia better for US than Greeley" No
{ REASONS we're given for their antipathy to Gree
1ey-reasons are seldom given for q commercial
| scare-there we're no reasons. The hard times
| they dreaded have como without any Gree
ley in them, They might IS well
| have predicted horse-diseaso Or hog
cholera to come in with Greeley. But we are
now stating facts, and it is an obvious fact that
tho business men Of the country generally we're
alarmed at Greeley, and when, in the month Of
July, his election seemed probable, and the Grant
purity got into real panic, they proceeded to
"shel1 out" to prevent it.
| About tue middle OF August, the money they
contributed, in addition to the proceeds Of aa-
sessments on of1ice-holders, began to tell. 1t
came in steady stream. The Louisville Con-
! vention Was one Of its products. The Pennsyl-
vania election WAS another. Hartranft was neces-
| sary to Grant. Grant Vas necessary to ward
off hard times and specie payments. The logical
| sequence was complete, from the business
mems point OF view, and go they kept on ehelling
! ont until the money market became SO in-
fernally tight that they could pay no more.
This did not happen till about the October elec-
[ ton, and after that time money was not needed.
| Many Of them would like to have their
| funds back now to meet their mora legitimate
| obligations.
I AL this time the silent, heavy influence Of the
business mans talk, his private correspondence,
| bis example, his trepidatlon, went even farther
| than his money to counteract the Liberal move
ment Tho healthy and high-toned cause
promulgated 1t Cincinnati, and indorsed at Bal
! timore, was mired in greenbacks before the
! 1st Of September. Tha business man saw
the spectre Of specie resumption in Greeley,
| and said, Take any shape but that" We have
| convereod With eminent bankers, dealers in for
eign exchange, learned professors Of the Gold
I Room and the Stock Board in the endeavor to
| get at the bottom Of this dread OF specie pay"
nents, and We have found the argument gener~
! ally to be this: "1f you resume specie pay
ments. foreigners viii take all your gold away
from YOU whenever they have a war, or get III d
pinch of any kind, and then you will hare to
suspend; you never can have hard times in this
| country on grcenback basis, because there will
always be T. 61ed amount Of money in tho coun-
trv which foreigners cannot take away from you,
| Don't you know, ne baye never had hard times
| since the greenbaeks were issued?" The
fact that re are now having hard times On q
| greenback basis, just 81 they are having hard
| times in California and Canada and ENGLAND on