The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-12-11
sPECuE PAEmENTx.
The Old .gesarnal Of Coma
nerce On specie Payrsaenfs.
} From the New York Journal OF

1 From the New York Journal OF
~ a6 Commerce.
It needs no profound wisdom &c
see that resumption of specie pay
Inents cannot be reached IN this
: country by any direct method oil
foree4sring aud providing for it by
law. IL Congress upon coming to-
geJher should enact that by any
process whatever the green backs
will be redeemed IN gold on the 18th
of July next, ali who. can hold on
TO them will do so. in anticipation
of their increased value. Every
cody would be seller and no one
buyer. a few weeks of this ex-
perience would tie up all the float
ing capital, the screws would tight
en- upon borrowers e4erySvher and
long before the 4th OF July WAS
reached the outcry would be so
great that the project would be
abandoned. @ g
But suppose that Congress enaets
that on the zth of March the green
backs shall no longer be legal ten
der. Everybody would be . buyer.
No ole would care to hoard the
money, and ali kinds of produce,
merchandise, real estate, and other
securities would be Immediately
saleable. All classes of industry
would be stimulated to fresh activ-
fly. Up to and over the day when
the currency would lose its legal
tender character, there would be
such movement in the market, and
a disposition to invest IN property
= "a 1T al \, a.
relations of this currency would
hardly shock the prevalent prosper
ity. For all maturing indebtedness
the paper, or check on the bank
representing it, would be taken as
before. Precisely as the business
of the country has often been done
during bank suspension, SO would
it be after the date was reached.
People would be dealing on a de-
preciated currency, but that never
brings panic or creates depres-
sion in trade. The crisis is always
past when the banks suspend, tor
the pressure is then relieved, The
screws are relaxed, and the sirug-
gle is over.
The standard will then be specie,
and the circulating medium depre-
ciated currency. This first step to-
ward resumtiou will involve no
pressure, but On the contrary will
insure against it, and the remaing
steps being wholly voluntary will
be easy and natural.
Provision should, of course, be
made to fund the greenbacks, when
offered for this purpose, in a govern
ment bond bearing $50 per cent. in
ierest. The banks might be per-
for awhile, to redeem their !
issues in either greenbacks or the |
bonds thus issued.
An extension of the banking sys-
tenn would be natural sequence of |
this change. Under proper restric-
lions we would have this as free as
the NODDED system of New York,
the issues based only on govern
ment bonds and redeemable at par
in Boston, New York, or Philadel- |
phia, at the expense of the iDstitu-
tons they represent.
If the government will lift its
hand from the country and no long
er force its promises into circulation
at par, and will thus leave gold to
be the nominal, as it is always the
real standard of payment, the peo-
Pile will soon, in their own way, and
the best way, find a solution of the
question of resumption. They have
done it many times heretofore, and
are longing for the day when they
can be left without coercion to try
it again.