National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-03-03
THE pPOSpECT

building. ---- -
THE PROSPECT.
The gloomy forcbodings occasioned b.
The panic of last September have disap
peared to great extent, and although tn
country is somewhat disturbed by labo
strikes and kindred troubles, as spring ap
proachcs and the increase of business Incl
aent to that season develops ITSELF it seem
probable that the usual condition of Thrift
Ind prosperity will assert ITSELF If it ha'
been designed to select the most unlavor
able season of the year for the panic, nj
bther time than September would have beef
selected The evil results which followed
Immediately after the failure of Jay Cook
& Co. were of character to startlc TIT
public and to brighten capitalists into COW
ardly boarding of their money; but as tin
:igors of winter approached and the manu-
:acturing interests were affected, the full
sxtent of the direful consequences wer,
realized. Workmen were discharged by thu
hundred all over the country; business fel
bf threatening to become stagnant; bank
ruptcy stared thousands of business men il
the face and the Government itself wa!
threatened with an empty Treasury. 1t il
, notable fact, however, and one which
brings the stability of our present money
,ystcm into favorable prominence, that thu
crash did not so seriously affect material
interests as many that have preceded it
Wildcat banks, State banks and othel
loosely managed fiduciary concerns were
happily no longer in existence. The ma
lions money, based upon the nations in.
acb,cdness, saved the nations credit and
.hc people from repetition of the sad suffer
ing of 1887. The retrospect is therefore not
without some consolation, and while we are
orced to acknowledge that the times are
ndly out of joint, We may congratulate our
Ielvcs that they were not worse.
Admitting, then, that We have to Ger.
rin extent, and with gratifying rapidity,
recovered from our troubles, We may with
profit study the prospects Of the future. If
matters are allowed to regulate themselves;
fConeress satisfies itself with a searching
economy in Government expenditures, and
thereby saves the Treasury from trouble,
ind if the natural course of business affairs
IS not interfered with we may expect that,
IS We have said, the usual condition of
thrift and prosperity will assert ITSELF But
that desirable! Any one who takes
;lie trouble to investigate the usual condi-
hon, as it existed before the panic, will
answer in the negative. This answer,
prompted by an homes concession that our
soasted prosperity of the past rested upon a
broken reed, clearly demonstrates the GER
sainty of recurrence of the same financial
disturbance The amount of money in the
country. whether it be of an elastic chardc
ter or not, or whether it he inflated or con-
Iractcd has but little to do with this GER
sanity. The root of the threatened evil lies
IN the manner in which the surplus or mo-
bile capital of the country is invested. OF
course enough of the circulating medium
IS required to meet current demands of
trade. The object to be reached, after that
amount is ascertained, is plainly to prevent
t from being diverted into other channels.
No assurance of prosperity can be afforded
while the money of the country is attracted
into wild speculations, and the absolute re-
uuirements of every day business arc made
10 suffer by the consequent absence of ne
cessary funds. The investigation into the
condition of affairs last September, to which
we refer, will plainly show that not only
the mobile capital, but large proportion
Of what we may characterize as money de-
Toted to permanent investments, was alb
,orbed in this kind of speculation. The
orimc cause Of the panic was the over
reached confidence of leading banking
houses in the stability of speculative enter
priscs. When they failed, and the enter
2rises were abandoned a sympathetic re-
,ponse followed, involving other corpora
ions and houses in absolute or threatened
:uin This alone should have been suf!i-
:ient to disclose the exact condition of
lfairs. and to have warned our law
makers of their imperative duty to re-
move the temptations which bcsct cap
talis.s to make investments in every
hing except legitimate and ordinary
:llannels How fae they have accepted this
earning may be discovered by even cur
DRY glance at the proceedings Of Congress
ince the session began last December. Al
though much valuable time has been con-
nlmcd in discussion of the financial ques-
ZION, as it is called, not single proposition
mas been submitted of the character indi-
.ated. Although imperatively required, it
semains for some member yet to open the
question in all its unfortunate notifications,
md to show the people how vain and un-
afe it is to continue their reckless policy Of
Investments. Perhaps it is unnecessary to
make this exposure, for the actual condition
Of affairs must be known to every man of
intelligence but, knowing it, they rarely
prove themselves capable of resisting the
emptation to risk their capital with pros
>ects of large returns. 1t is against this
propensity of human nature to grumble in
mi-legalized way that laws must be
rnacted. They must penetrate into the
.ery heart of the corrupt practices which
ave obtained such widespread countenance
inder the guise of the law. Corporations
If all kinds, sanctioned and fostered by
.ither National or State Legislation, SO that
hey pay larger dividends than investments
the ordinary or necessary lines Of trades,
.hould be the objective points of the new
!eform movement They should either be
destroyed root and branch, as m evil which
s gradually eating the very vitals of the
ration, or so crippled as to render them
harmless in competition with legitimate
branches of business. However sore this
nay be to Congressman and their constit-
acnts, or to lawmakers of lesser grade, an
imperative necessity demands it. Fran
:hises of every kind, including those which
guarantee enormous profits to national
banks, must be so modified as to reduce
their value to an average which viii not
exalt them as especially attractive. It is
not long ago that the Government, in pay
ing high gold rates of interest, was
tself guilty of absorbing capital to the