The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-12-04
The Currency.

u,,,r, oIa,,;c" the necessity for which the
pros;ao,, in his message admits. lie goes
,ur,h.r indeed, aud coutcsses that the
an,o,,n, of currency in the country Is 100
limited for the regular business oil the co"n-
fry But the President also goes over a III
tie ON the other side, and presents some OF
the arguments that support the ooSo'e''
haJ.money theory. lie wants specie pay
mrn,s resumed at m early day. no" !c'
stutifes himself immediately. tic "Sh's
,hc national banks to be required to reserve
mar, or all of the gold interest they ORA"
upon the United States bonds they have &c
posted for security for the notes issued 10
and by them. This suggestion he qualities
with the remark that he cannot commend the
suggestion positively because he has mot
reflected enough on the bearing ihls
"might have in producing n scarcity OF Com
with which to pay duties on imports
IL there is even 50 much rs a possibility "l
producing such II scarcity from th's caus'
how can the President undertake 10 press
an early resumption of specie paymeh's'
What is resumption in specie The rcoemp'
ton OF the currency in gold whenever ana
y wherever demanded. And if there il not
gold enough in the land to furnish the bahhS
gold reserves sufficient to meet the deman"s
upon them, and at the same time enable Inc
importers 10 pay in gold their duties TO the
collectors of customs, why what hnmbuS'
indeed, would bc resumption:
ia Fr,1n
leucc Of the currency, which is boarded just
a. gold would be were 1t accessible. 1t IL
boarded lust as gold always l.: from dis
tru,t Of repositories.
Mr.. SuEEMAS proposed TO make tic cur
reucy al pr with gold by putting ii ut phl
with fvc-twenty bonds by their ntcrcoD'
yeuibl,v. Once brought to par with each
other, lie justly contends that resumption l.
accomplished. Very true and rs long as
pressure and panic can be avoided specie
payments would continue. The currency
being undoub,cd. no man would care about
exchanging it for a less convenient and more
pcrllous representative OF value. The n1ak'
ing the currency elastic by the lnconVcrh
bility scheme would greatly diminish The
danger Of Pressures and rlnicS, and that
would be further greatly aided by prohibit
ing The national banks from paying interest
on deposits.
Nevertheless there are still causes against
which the door is not stopped that vii
surely produce trouble. The chief one Is tht
want of faith in the repositories OF the gain:
of trade and industry. Periodically theSt
gains have been lost by panicS, boarding
money, withdrawal of deposits, and the
sbriukagc of values.
The repetition of these periods only makes
the public mind more ready TO be startled al
every scare Ii those who have the gains oil
business could only be made safe we should
have no more pancs. Those ruined by en-
cess, folly, and fraud would die out like the
would stand firm. There would be no with
drawing of deposits TO tighten the none!
market, put a stop TO legitimate business.
and bring ruin upon honest, prudent men.
who, under . healthy money Market ;>
it i, called, would 60 on pro>pcrouSly, and
The community would be ut peace.
at such time, where are your specie
plymcutsl How idle is the talk about
them. They have been always talked about.
and great men have sworn that they should
never be suspended; aud yet when tic
pinch comes they are always suspended, and
indefinitely at that. Shrinka.c follows not
because wealth has inrinsicllly diminished,
but because there is general distrust, and no.
body is ready to invest money. Property is
50 fallen in value for the want Of purchasers
that debtors, who under other circuuSt ances
would DC abundantly wealthy, cannot pay
and 90 to ruin.
SO much for gold! So much even for our
present currency, un"uardcd, unprotected
by an elastic power OF contraction and ca
paDsion. This quality HAY happily be civ.9
to tue currency by making il Convertible ING
United State, bonds, and the bonds recon-
yettible into currency. The ZANE feature
makes it at par with gold.
The beauty of this -y>'cm i tx: The cN.
l,ansion under ii must he well guarded
The conduit through which the Increased
currency reaches the public is the United
States bonds. II III no way adds TO the
amount OF public securities nor to nominal
individual wealth, and therefore cunnot de-
plccia.c the value Of the currency nor i'll
hlte prices. But it prevents shrinkdge-a
blessing that cannot be over-cstimated.
Now, in the matter Of fostering gains and
giving men possessing competency some
better reinsurance of the permauency of wealth,
we think the grand achievement Of the
American Government in making for the
people an undoubted and secure currency
has gone far towards securing this object.
The increased public debt also affords great
~ Increased means Of investment and safety
to the holder Of money. All that debt should
be held by Americans. Nor should the
capitalists forget the securities of prosperous
cities which ure hardly second to those OIL
the United States for reasons that are indis.
putable.
These means Of investment are great aids
in the promotion of stcadnesS in money and
of the permaucnce Of wealth.
But there is a class OF depostors Of small
sums and even of larger sums not imme
diately needed that in u panic always ado
immensely to the tightness of money and
That popular alarm which is so fearful in III
effects on business. They are not like thu
active merchants and manufacturers, who's,