New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-01-22


leading men of the party as to what particu-
lar lea aiding man should BE- Postmaster, we
cannot but be gratifed at the singular
unapimity among them upon the uses OF the
Office.
FINANCIAL DISC USSIOyS ~ THE SENATE.
On Wednesday the l4th inst, tho Hon. Carl
Schurz made by far the ablest speech on the
Currency question that has been heard in tho
United States Senate for many a year. The
following day Mr.. Morton of Indiana under
took to reply to the Missouri Senator. He
might as well have undertaken to c0nfute the
MULTIPLICATION table. Since we have not the
space to follow Mr.. Schuyz through his mas
terly exposition of true principles and unSpar-
ing dissection of such shams as Mr. Boutwelrs
so-called financial policy, we will here limit
ourselves to few observations on single
point upon which Mr.. Morton has succeeded
in getting himself greatly bewlldered lhat
point is the value of money.
The expression "value of money is used
in two entirely distinct senses. 1t means. In
tho first place. what money will exchange for.
or buy. 1t is used also to signify what rate
of interest money will lend for. Dir. Schurz
maintained that by increasing the paper money
of this country, the dollar would be OF less
value as a purchasing power; that Is to say,
prices would rise so that the wages OF
labor. though increased, would support the
laborer in no greater comfort than they
did before tho currency was increased.
Now it is within every grown persons eXpe-
rience that the great increase OF currency
which has taken place IN this country since
1860 has been followed by a corresponding
increase in the cost of living. 30 that on the
whole we are no richer than We were fifteen
years ago. A further imitation of the currency
now will be followed in time by further
rise of prices. as well "a by many disorders
and much injustice 20 creditors, which we
have not room to notice at present. Mr. Nor
ton knows all this as well as Mr.. Schurz. In
deed, in what is intended for irony, the lndi-
ana Senator says, eff you want to make
pork cheap, so that everybody can buy It,
"haye a small pork CROP meaning that when
the pork crop Is small, it is absurd to eXpect
that pork will exchange for little money. 30
we say. when the greenback crop IL large,
greenbacks will exchange for very little pork.
Men are neither clothed, nor fed, nor housed
with greenbacks, but with the things which
greenbacks buy. Increase your greenbacks
and you increase the prices of food, clothing,
houses and lands; in short, you decrease the
value of the ,-reenback3 without creating an
additional atom of food, drink, or clothing
Rcverting to tho other sense Of the exI%es-
sion, value of money, Mr.. Schurz Is entirely
right in saying that the increase of the cur
rency has no permanent effect on the rate OF
interest How viii Mr.. Norton explain this fact
that in Great Britain. where for thirty years no
bank or institution whatever has had the power
to initiate the currency single dollar, where the
circulation tluctuates precisely IA though paper
money did not exist, and gold and silver were
the only legal tender, the rate of interest from
year to year is lower than i'll any country
in the world using irredeemable paper money!
Indeed, is the greater or less abundance OF
tea-cups any reason why he should be more or
less willing TO lend his tea-cups for a certain
number of extra tea-cups To be returned with
them as compensation for the risk OF loss
and injury4 Not at all. Though every family
have tea-cups. that does not make him any
the more ready to lend his. But suppose
Congress, in order to encourage the lend
ing of tea-cups passes law that the
borrower may return, instead OF the
clear, translucent China which was Dor
rowed, old brown, cracked earthen-
ware, so greatly inferior to the original
articles that no good housckeeper would toll
crate the stuff on her table. He might be
tricked once, but never n second time, into
lending tea-cups. As the future value of the
dollar grows more and more uncertain, the
time will come when the risk of being cheated
out of more or less of the principal will form
a pretty substantial part of the rate per cent
which is charged for the use of money.
We are well aware that the rate of interest
il settled by a struggle between the borrowers
and lenders, the usury law to the contrary
Notwithstanding, but i'll the long run the
amount of money used by q country has moth
ing to do with that struggle. The fact with
regard TO the temporary fluctuations caused by
a rapid initiation is probably this "a mOmen-
tary depression of the rate of interest while
spectators and projectors are taking breath,
followed by corresponding exaltatiOn pro-
duced by the activity of the same spectators
and projectors, ending finally in collapse.
All this we have seen, and it looks as though
VIC were destined to see it again as n penalty
for or rccklessuess az a nation, in stocking
the National Capitol with quacks and igno-
ramIlseS