Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-12-18
RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAY
MENT

when that period will be reached. Th
country is not prepared for it, and in GU
opinion the attempt to force the even
! Will result in ruinous consequences I
: every interest in the country. The Uni
; ted S'a'es is too much in debt to accom-
= pllsh return to specie payments. Til
thing in our judgment is entirely imprac
J, icaole under present circumstances, an,
= neither of the great political parties ca!
harmonic on the financial question. On
; party is as much divided in its member
: as the other on the psopriety Of early re,
sumption. The only way in which the,
: might be an approach 10 an early resump
t ton would he 10 pay off LESS of the public
debt e,ch year than has been done, ant
reduce taxation thereby. The attempt I,
} make the present generation pay the pub
9 lie debt by exOrb;ant taxes has been the
main cause of the embarrassed condition
Of the finances and stagnation in trade
Very few if any of our bonds are due.
and there is no necessity 10 hosten pays
ment. Let the nebt be gradually extin.
gu'shed. The annua, interest on the public
debt should NC provided for by the revenue,
, and mo lerate sum to constitute q sink
ing fund to pay the principal. Let taxes
DC moderate for the next ten years. Cut
J down present exiravagant expenses in the
administration Of public aff,irs, aud insii-
tutc cconomy IN all departments. This
done, and the day Of resumption Of specie
payments will not be very distant.
We give below an article addressed TO
the st. Louis Times, which is headed
The Currency Question Considere
from Democratic Standpoint" 1t is u
strong document. Next week We design
publishing the views OF some of the advoe
cate OF an early resumption of specie pay
monts:-
Permit me TO dcmur to the course now
5elng pursued by portion of the city
Democratic press. upon the currency ques
tlon: A concerted effort to forc,tail pub
nc opinion, and to Dragon the new Con
gressfDen elect into specie payment, hard
| money!" resumption" contraction" as
articles are daily headed, seems to BE- the
object and appears to me to be i'll timed;
premature end suicidal to the hopes and
future success Of the Democratic party;
and because. if successfully persisted in
Will be subversiTe of the best interests of
thc great mass Of the American people.
Let US examine the existing facts and
from them Judge calmly Of the effects
likely to re ult from contraction of sre |
Gle payment, or Of failure to ndate or
temporarily increase the volume Of the
currency. The debt of the American
people in all forms-Da;i0nal, State, mu
nlcipai, corporation and individual. is
asccrtained by late number of The New
York shipping Gazette, to he 4 little less
than ten billions Of dollars, and bearing an
average interest Of eight per cent, Freight
hundred millions Of dollars year The
census Of 1870 showed the wealth! Of the
nation to be thirty billions; use the round
numbers only. A shrnkaye since of not
less than cre>'hird in values would leave
but twenty billions; but deduct bonds.
notes and other evidences Of debt counted
IN the census as wealth, but which are not !,
national wealth, but only indicate the !
amount or extent of the National poverty, +.
and you will have not exceeding fifteen !
billions, representing the whole value Of !,
American property at the present time, !,
against ten billions of American debt, :
This enormous debt resulted from the di !
rect action OF the government, or grew 10 !,
i is various forms orp.nporiions in con !,
-'rm!ty with, aud III direct obedience to =
.ondi,ions crca'el by tie government =
hat rat Of the debt created by tic di> q
Get action Of the government is The ria !,
t2haa eoaad fhi esea,e y a1 ha tr M
Produced the greatest part Of all other !,
orms Of existing debt. And what were i
he conditions thus created? They were -
he imitation Of the currency a: the close Of =
nc war to nearly two thousand millions Il
I dollars when there were bnt twenty ~
i:l.Ions Of people il the loyal States to be
crved, or to one hundred dollars a head. =,
he country conformci 10 the condition a
| the currency thrust upon the people by u
ne general government, ard rushed into :,
very species of Investment in proportion -
the volume of the circulating mediuM 81
he building of railroads alone to the ex- r.
mt of tens Of thousands of miles and cost ~
e 10 less than thousand millions Of IL
ol!ars was undertaken, ard six billions :.
new debt in various forms was created. ~
Tor was all this dcne In a spirit, or as =!
re result OF wanton extravaganza as the ~
rudisll hard money men. who generally 81
ded 10 produce this state of things, are 90
ow asserting; but was an obedient and III
'gical conformity to the existing financial II,
)ndition of the country at the time. The ~
iosmous imitation Of the currency caused Ia
enormous Initiation Of the values of 81
roperty and the creaio Of an equally to
lormous debt, contracted on the fa til of in
'ose values given to property by this in Of
1'un1 una1 -" TIC government tne1 Ia
}; and what are the results of what it m
d? Only this. So soon as the evils Of =
tlat:on had been achieved, the govern H.,
ent at the behest Of the debt holders. ~;
a rapid and headlong system M
contraction of the cur ency, down to =,
,e third of its greatest volume, and from do
le hundred dollars head for the twen- III
millions OF people of the Northern an
ates, down to eighteen dollars head Il,
r the whole forty millions in all the Ali
ates, on the average: but to less than va
< collars head in many Western and
,uthern States. Property declined one 40,
ird in value as q consequence, or to q
rinkage of ten billions OF dollars on the 70
eragc, and became almost unsaleable at h.,
y price, and SO remains. The produc, tho
N of wealth was everywhere checked the
d general stoppage Of prosperity en- nc
ed. The amount of the debt and in Or,
est, however, was not contracted or In,
ninished in the least by this general ,hn
rinkage Of the valucsof the property on hn,
l;ch this debt was founded. lar
The policy and action Of the government ~
called into existence debt against inc
, country of ten billions Of dollars, and mi,
IN the action and policy of the govern.
mt caused decline in values and loss =
the debt paying resources Of the prop.
y of the country to the extent or ten Pos
n,e deh. while thc amnmnt ~ d.,,. anI Tn
;nteroot ram.;n al ,ha sar,o IT, JI'. ant
s mainly the result Of imitation, con u ,as'
cti. destroyed the means by which the G lev'
Il a'on. could be paid. These two twin Vel
nders brou. hit on the financial crisis Of -; ;.e,
3. The situation being fully compre- =.
,ded by portion Of the Republican e.u
lers, powerful effort vas made dur ar; Sm.
tue winter of 1874 to chez aud to a. a..
tally reverse the ruinous finan.il, .'oli- don
Of Messrs. Grant, Boutwell,, Riclaro- 70,
i, ETC., and give the relief needed by 80 -.
thirty nine out IT the forty millions Of 9 ~
American peOp!e After 4 long atrnc- !.