, 1873-09-30
SENATOR sHERMAN'B STRENGTHENING
PLASTER,

SENATOR sHERMAN'B sTRENGTHEN1NG-
PLASTER.
The Hon. John Sherman, Of Ohio, Ia Chairman
Of tho Finance Committoo Of tho United statoB
Senate, and it was ominontly proper that ho
should givo the country tho benoiIt Of Ills largo
financial education at q timo like this. Tho op-
portuuity which ho had at Cincinnati on satrr-
day evening WIS woll chosen. Aftor President
Grant and his Secretary Of tho Treasury, tho
people naturally look to tho Hon. Mr. Sherman
for words Of wisdom, If Goa. Grant fails to
persuade tho banks to enlarge their limo Of dis
counts to wrestlo successfully with tito
Congress, aud here tho Chairman Of the sonate
Finance Committee would bo tho lcadcr er
o0lcto. Mr.. Sherman appears to admit this. He
admits, at tho outset, that tho Republican
party is In tho breach, and tAon ho
proceeds to. remark TINT tho Republican
party gavo us greenbacks, and that evory
greenback is worth 100 cents on tho dollart
As Chairman Of the Benato Committee of FL
nnnce, md, next to Con. Grant, tho most "e1n-
nently Bafe " man in tho lot, Mr.. Sherman tells
the people that thoy havo the bost currency in
tho world, aud proiTers his individual guarantee
to take it ut par himsolf. If you have Gov
ernmenr greonback or National Bank note in
your pocket, aays Mr. Sherman, you arc all
right. You eau buy whatever you want with it,
lands, or grain, or stock, or what not. You
can stow it away in an old coffoo-pot, md, if it
doesn't burn up or fall into tho hands of burg
lar 1t Is good for future use. The currency ia 80
good, in point Of fact, TINT everybody is hoard-
ing it. Argal says s1r. shorman, everything is
lovely and the goose hangs high.
Now II Mr.. sLerman's logic is correct, what Ia
all this row about2 WHAT'S tho trouble with tho
banks? Wherefore this panic? }Yhat is tho
mattor2 It IL worry comforting, to be sure, to
have tho personal assurance Of the Chairman Of
tho Senate Committee on Finance TINT it ia all
right. but that doesn't help anybody to pay his
note or to get 1t discounted, If Mr. Greoloy had
been elected, wo might understand all about it,
Of courac, for Alr. Sherman predicted that, IL
that event should happou, woshould hayo Difficult
ty in getting our notes discounted. Wlla. eau DO
tho mattor, A1r. Sherman? Shall you havo no
other explanation to mako when Congress con-
yencs7 Must tho people DO satisfied with tho
continued assurance that it is all right when
they know that it is not7 Will they accept your
twaddlo about tho worth Of greenback at q
time when greenbacks aro not to 10 had?
Moreover, when Mr. Sherman says TINT any
man with dollar greonback III his pocket Gun
buy dollars worth of property, ho Ia wrong
there also. a dollar greenback will buy about
SO conts' worth Of property, md no moro. Tho
time has been, and may DO again, whom
tho holder Of q dolur groenbaok can only
buy 80 cents worth Of property. When
Mr. Sherman further tells tile pooplo
that the Republican party Inns Furnished
them with the best money they ever had, ho ia
egregriouBly mistaken, It is not oven tho best
paper money thoy ovor had. After tho pnnic OF
1867, tho notes Of the bursted banks woro depre-
ciated lesB thnn tho greonbacks woro before this
| panic began. 1n New York. Now England, Ohio,
aud Indiana they fell about per cont; In otll-
or parts Of the country about 8 per cent; whero-
tional Banks wero deprecated II per cent BE-
foro tho present panic set in. In 1867, d dollar
bank-noto would buy 95 to 07 cents worth Of
property, while dollar noto at the proaont time
| will buy only 50 centB' worth Of property. In
| point OF fact, therefore, tho proaont currency,
which hlr. Sherman guarantees as tho best in tho
world, is not worth SO much by eight cents In
the dollar aa the notes Of suspended banks In
| 1867. Tho condition Of things In 1861 WIS dif-
feront, There WAS no financial crisis In 1861,
but simply depreciation Of Southern State
| bonds upon which tho "atumptail" " currency
was based.
There has boen great deal OF bosh spoken
md written about the value Of the National cur
rency, but nevor las 1t been so absurdly miBap-
piled as by 11r. Sherman in holding 1t up "a tho
strengthening -plaster likely to hoal nll tho
brokon backs In tho country at the present time.
Tho lesson which Mr.. Sherman would seem to
teach Ia TINT tho people should go on boarding
the currency, bocauHo 1t Ia tho boat and surest
thing they oan have in timos Of panic. Suppose
they continue to do this OF course tho panic
will continue also. Now lot Gen. Butler and
Senator Morton toll what's tho matter. Surely
thoy can say something botter than this.
/
There sooms to bo IN impression In some
quarters that gold Isn't worth much nowadays
| IN comparison with groonbaoks. Wn have honrd
| Of at least one instance tlat would indicate as
much. 4 man who had q few hundred dollars
in gold thought 1t would be good time to con-
wort 1t aud buy something olso. lie took 1t to q
brokers', who informed him TINT tAero WAS no
| da1nand for pnll and only nffnrnl cnnta nra.