The New York herald., 1873-11-03
PROF. ATwATER ON THE CRISIS.
rnlLapslru,.. Sex. = lssA

the changes sud chances of tsade. Isolated aiio-
getner from those plans and schemes upon the
successful development of which depend the com
fort and security Of the general mercantile AMI
financial world. Who amid the grand panorama "
passing events. occupy the honorable position cf
critics and spectators and who. IN
prejndccd and unbiased A. they are. the
public can approach with svery assurance
OF receiving sound opinion aud calm. honest
direction and advice. Pound A. they are, com
munity by themselves. either wtthla oar unisersi
ties of learning or within the solemn cioisters ~
the Church. their mission y 10 guide aud direct
our youth. and explain 10 them tue hidden mean
ing OF all things happening IN the ~ortl sithout
To them the different conditions % eur morals.
politics, finance and trade are dlstinct ana scps-
rate problems and In the formulas with which they
are solved are comprehcnded many things winch
the external world for the most part either too
ignorant 20 understand or else too preiudlced %
take into account
Your correspondent has failed IN all his inter.
views with prominent bankers and brokers %
cure ANYTHING ike fair deduction rOn the issues
wrought In the last financial crash. He has alto
gether failed 20 obtain anything resembling the
proper scheme by which the government can In
future conduct its afars upon more substantial
and enduring basis Each man approached was
bound up In the institution OF which he was the
head and gave answer In the direction of hts own
peculiar interests No two men held exactly the
same opinion, for the simple reason that no two
institutions conducted their business IN precisely
the same way; so that 10 obtain what II 80 much
needed just now your correspondent has appealed
to cultured and disinrerested men. who have made
political economy special stsdy, and 20 whom
our present banking system has been the subject
OF the most earnest and thorough inyestig alton.
| They are all men who either hold prominent po-
| o,tin In laad Anna a,fla olo
are favorably known 30 the world by means OF
many able and extensively circulated volumes
individuals, in word. who alive and awake TO
the actual requirements or the hour, and who are
best fitted to prescribe the conditions which
our present financial riddle can be solved IL IL
useless to insinuate that the opinions OF such men
will carry with them but little influence, for In
many instances those who enjoy the highest ofices
within the power OF our government 20 bestow
received their earlier education and have grasped
their present positions by means OF the advice
derived from those gentlemen whose opinions and
Judgment we are thus enabled to present.
The first gentleman with whom communicated
was DR.. Lyman ii. Atwater Professor OF Meta
physics and Political Economy In Princeton Cox
lege. Perhaps there is no man wn0 stands higher
in reputation as professor editor ana divine, and
none more familiar to the generi literary, scien-
tifc and ecclesiastical worl! IL iprlvate letter
accompanying his manuscript he tys that he has
given the subject OF banking and rrcncy no little
attention. while his ideas are sub'Itted exactly as
FIVE POINTS FOR coNsrDr RATION
| Frst-Let the nation fulfil the p,omises II makes
on every greenback and pay what IT there agrees 10
pay. Let it, in accordance with the terms of these
| notes ana the solemn declarations made by Con-
these treasury notes I'm coin at the earliest prac
tcabc period" Let 1t Keep Its own faith, and then
1t may insist on good faith on the part OF all per-
sons oiiical and private. This is simply
/ RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS.
II the government fulfls its own promises by re-
deeming It's greenbacks all else Is brought to the
/ specie standard. If the legal tenders are kept
substitutes @ for money, below t. hi this is done
not only Is the national faith violated, but all our
monetary standards must be nuct9ating, capri
in the commercial world. 1t is on specie stand
ard alone that the various plans proposed to give
1t 10 the varying wants OF the country can be sale
or escape the danger of constantly innating or de-
ton and the risk and cost of legitimate business.
Second.-Ths should be done, in the language OF
| Congress- "at the earliest practicable PERIOD"
which, with the present approximation OF our cur
rency TO the gold standard. need not be Tar OF. II
necessary, Congress should not hesitate to borrow
enough 10 pay this debt, long overdue. and
originally forced upon the people as an extreme.
mt suc instacation no longer Exists Il sSond
employ the same means to discharge this as any
other Obligation for which its present revenuesare
inadequate. Probably no great sum would need to be
borrowed to redeem all the legal tenders presented
for redemption. But whatever the cost this is
|
fits of
STAINLESS NATIONAL HONESTY AND CREDIT
and a sound and stable medium Of exchange and
measure OF value.
Tnird.-In accordance with the views already
published by me last April In Sc7'tbner's MONTHLY
would relax the present legal tender reserve requi
siton upon our national banks, and this in two
particulars, besides considering the question
twenty-five per cent in our great cities First
instead OF beng made up exclusively OF legal ten
der notes, the banks should be free to make II up
indiflerently, either OF these or OF national bank
notes, whose convertibility into the former is
amply secured by pledge. OF gold-bearng govern
ment bonds. These, to all intents, as good as
greenbacks. Next, lt should be an average yearly
reserve, but perfectly flexible in amount at any
given time. This would secure two very indispen-
sable things the first OF which alone Is secured by
our present law-the providing OF such a reserve
as now when money is plenty, and the free use Of
that reserve, now prohibited when money is scarce
in order TO facilitate sound trade and ward of
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE AND PANIC
This IS simply the principle on which all prudent
bankers, merchants, indeed all sagacious men pro-
ceed They husband stores in time OF plenty for
use In time OF famine This is a far safer course
than to abolish the law OF reserves entirely as now
be free, when necessary, to draw upon their re-
serves; but let US make sure that they nave these
these ends may be insured by the law ofyeary aver
age yet az any given time perfectly flexible reserve
be safely left to their own prudence and discretion
IN this matter, aud that, II imprudent, they and
Is S mistake Banks are public enIaa insiitutons nss
not merely IN the way OF loans OF capital, but Of
anording, in the iorm OF bills, checks, drafts &C.
what If not strictly money, serves as o substitute
for money. Their conduct therefore, affects our
whole monetary system and reaches interests
vastly beyond those OF their stockholders and Gus
toners, which government ought not to leave to
the greed or shortsightcdness of their managers
Many banks, perhaps most, would, OF themselves,
doubtless, practice this prudence. But enough
Others would always act on
| THE PRINCIPLE OF GETTING INTEREST FOR EVERY
| AVAILABLE DOLLAR
! and thus be left utterly without reserves In time
| OF need. whether this need arise lpofi
| causes or from the nefarious combination OF the
| bears OF the Stock Exchange To tighten the money
| market. such sure to be helpless i'm
times OF difficulty and stringency. TINS not
merely disables and hurts themselves but is liable
TO involve prudent banks and the whole mercan-
| tile community In the consequences Surely our
| late experience is sad proof OF this. Moreover IN