Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1874-04-15
business Outlook.

II may be considered as settled that we
are to have the currency inflated nearly
hundred millions Of dollars. The initiation
ists say " that the people want money"
and they propose to give it to them by the
ream and cord, and the President will hardly
say, No. Eighty millions more of lies"
Of promises to pay that mean not to pay,
is the way government keeps faith with the
business interests Of the country.
The reason fer this initiation Of the cur.
reucy is obvious enough. The West and
the South are largely in debt to the East
They cannot pay their debts honestly, and
therefore, propose to pay them dishonesty
that is, to force their creditors to take sew.
enty or eighty cents Oh the dollar aud per.
haps less still They want to borrow more
money, also, of the eastern capitalists, and
they have the idea that it would be a fair
transaction to borrow paper at ninety cents
on the dollar and pay it back in a year or
two at seventy cents on the dollar. They of.
fer to pay ten per cent interest on all such
borrowed money, and intend to get the in.
terest out Of the principal.
That is what imitation means. 1t means
that all debtors can make liberal discount
in the payment Of their debts-that all Dor.
rowers will have the opportunity to squeeze
the ten per cent they promise to pay, out
Of the principal Of the lenders. The PEG.
pie want money" says Senator Morton, and
so the government is made the agent to
crystalline this monstrous robbery into law
aud help the needy and extravagsnt people
of the new sections Of the country steal
it out Of the pockets Of the older and
wealthier sections. II is a sort Of egisla-
tive piracy. As Governor Dix well says,
it is to degrade the currency aud at the
same time compel the people to receive it
as an equivalent for specie" 1t is a tyran.
nical abuse of power, and differs in no re-
spect from a robbery of the people. 1t
is the same thing as compelling men to
receive adulterated coin at standard value.
The serious question with the country
is, what will be the effect Of this on business
II is clear enough that the business Of
the country requires no such sum as $780,
100000 in order to its healthy activity
To increase the currency beyond the
amount necessary to the transaction Of the
Legitimate business Of the country, is to I'M
settle and disturb the prices of all com.
modities. There will be no fixed stan dard
of value in buying and selling. Business
will, therefore, largely desert the channels
Of healthfu trade, and become fanciful and
speculative. No holder Of property that is
intrinsically valuable, will be willing to
part with it and receive in exchange com.
modify, like paper money, that has no in
trlnsic value, and that is constantly tending
to depreciate. Money will fly from the
channels Of legitimate trade to unhealthy
speculation in fancy stocks.
Already, in the cities, the capitalists are
curtailipg all legitimate operations. They
are not building in New York and Philade.
phia and Boston half as much as usual.
The iron trade Of the country was never so
dull. Railroads and manufactures are no
longer springing into being with their old
rapidity. Many trades and departments of
industry are wholly paralyzed. Money
was never so easy, the banks were never so
plethoric, but legitimate business is dull,
and growing more and more dull. The
hope that the spring would revive trade and
commerce, is not verified. Nobody dares
to engage in the usual operations which de-
velop the business Of the country, until he
knows where the fixed values are, or by
what chart he can direct his course.
And at such time, when the people need
substantial basis upon which confidence
and trade can both be built, Congress step,
in to derange all human calculations, by
declaring the permanent bankruptcy of the
government, and repudiatiug all promises
to pay its Indebtedness. At the same tim,
it declares its purpose to food the country
with larger issues Of irredeemable currency
and compel the people to take it in ex
change for their commodities and thei
property
This will necessarily paralyze bushes
and create speculation. 1t is the most Ell
fective scheme ever devised to abstract fror
the farmer his products and give him n
substantial return to invite the manuiac
turer to sell his wares for commodity tha
shall gradually vanish from his sight t
compel the holder of obligations, for whic
he has furnished valuable consideration
to receive an article of diminished an
diminishing value; to stop the sales of re,
estate, for no one will exchange propert
for currency from which the law of tn
land grasses its value to put an end t
building, to public improvements, to III
construction Of railroads, to the exchange
Of commerce. 1t will dam up all the al
teries Of trade and commerce with worth
less rags. 1t will fill the treasures of tn
rich and fertilze the fields Of wealth, nc
only with the sweat, but also with the bloc
Of the poor. 1t will be likely to give
few months Of apparent prosperity, to en-
with a worse panic than we have had be
cause the country will be less able than be
fore to stand up under it.
We had hoped to see the war ended, ii
ravagos repaired, the States reunited, gol
and silver taking the place Of greenback
and the whole country filed with the bles,
ings of industry, prosperity and peace, i
our day. But unless a presidential vet
shall arrest the mad course of Congress, O
some Hercules cleanse that Augean Stabl,
there seems TO DO future before us /
which the most hopeful can only see dii
aster added to dishonor, and the Who'll
country staggering under the load of fnar