The Portland daily press., 1875-10-08

Piciniul Solu Will power Vi
greenback dollar will decrease. The next piece of
news he gets in from Wall street is, gold is going
up and likely to rise steadily. What does he do?
He begns at once to trim his sails to the wind he
seeks way to take advantage of fluctuations going
on or still in prospect. For, being man of means,
commanding hundreds of thousands he easily finds
that way If be is cautious man he has of course,
lent out money, or given credit only short time,
and he at once calls in money due him with rigor
GUS severity to himself from the effects of de-
probation. The debtor may groan but he will have
to pay go into bankruptcy, for rich man saves
himself before the storm, and puts his money into
investments not apt to be unfavorably affected by
fluctuations of currency. If he be merchant he
will at put up prices to provide against depre
citation Of currency, sell only at large profits and for
cash, for he is not anxious to SELL and, being a
wealthy man, not obliged to sell, knowing, as he
does, that his goods will rise in current money value
his hands, while his credits would depreciate, So
by taking advantage of fluctuations going on, which
as man of means he is able to do, he not only
saves himself, but makes handsome profit by
shrewd calculation, or, if he be speculator and
somewhat venturesome man. he will speculate on
the rise in the price of stocks goods in true gam
bling STYLE and, perhaps, contrve to run into large
liabilities, expecting to pay them off in money of
less value than that in which he contracted them.
Happily, the latter species of operators will some
times be caught but not unfrequenty they succeed,
and so on through the whole chapter. Thus the rich
man, having the to play fast and loose standing
upon that eminence in the business world where he
can feel the drift of every breeze and watch the ap
pearance of every cloud on the horizon, enjoys the
fullest opportunity and all the facilities which wealth
furnishes amid the fluctuations of the currency and
of prices, to lend out to draw in money, to give
sell, to speculate on rise or fall-in word, to
take advantage of every chance, not only for his
safety but for his profit, as his good judgment may
suggest, and the end he will, if he was shrewd
calculator, have grown richer than ever before by
these very fluctuations; and if you had your eyes
open you could not fail to observe that the time
when an irredeemabe currency with its eVer-fuctu-
ating changing of values. prevailed in the country,
was just the time when the rich man grew rapidly
richer, and enormous accumulations of wealth fel
into single hands. But now look on the other side
of the picture. Here is a laboring man who works
for wages He is honestly toiling to support himself
and his family, and maybe he has succeeded in say
ing few hundred dollars and deposited them in a
savings bank Now, Congress resolves to issue more
money in abundance, and imitation comes in good
earnest; the laborng man, (who has listened to Gov
Allen or Gen. Cary) thinks the millennium is COM
premium rises and prices Of commodities also. The
worthy laborer does not like the rich man, read
the financial articles and market reports in the
metropolitan journals. The rise of gold premium
troubles his mind very tt,e for the peoples money
is to be cheap and plenty. but some day he goes
down to the store to buy things for his household
and his family and to his surprise he finds that the
prices of groceries and shoes and clothing and so on
have become much higher than before. ''How is
ths?" he asks. "Wen," says the dealer, "gold has
gone up, and have to pay much more for the goods
buy, therefore am obliged to charge more" To
build small house he applies to money lender for
couple Of hundred dollars at low interest on two
or three years. time, to be secured by mortgage on
the house and lot "Low interest and three years.
time?' exclams the money-lender. my dear man,
you do not understand the period; since more and
more greenbacks issued, the value of the dollar
decreases rapidly, and if lend you money now on
three years. time how do know what that money
may be worth at the end Of three years? Perhaps
ten cents in gold, nothing, and you cannot pay
me interest enough to cover the risk.,' But there
are more curious experiences in store for him. The
policy of "making and keeping the volume of cur
sency equal to the wants of trade requires the issue
of larger and larger quantities of the peoples mon
ey; for the wants of trade instead Ct being salts
fed demand more. With every new issue the prices
OF necesaries of life rise higher and higher. As the
value Of paper money goes down, the spectators
and gamblers Of the country do roaring business.
Prosperity develops to such point that bushel of
coal costs 500, and jacknife its weight in green
backs. The worthy laborers deposit in the savings
bank once sufficient to build little house. will no lon
ger buy pair OF boots and as the rise of
of the necessaries always far ahead of the rise
in his wages he has been rather consuming what he
had than laying up new savings. Finally the inevi
table crash approaches. The prudent rich man has
anticipated its coming and taken his precautions
He can do so, for he has knowledge and means but
the poor man is victim to his necessities. To take
precautions is not possible for him. He is swept
along by the tide. A feeling of distrust creeps
over the business community. One day our worthy
laborer goes to his place of work as usual 81 am
sorry" says his employer who shifts the breeze;
"there is an overstocked market and downward
tendency, and am obliged to take in sail. have
but little work for you at low figures, or no work at
all at last" The shpwreck is complete. The rich
man is in the life-boat, and the poor man in the
breakers, with nothing to float him. About that
time hope Gov. Allen and Gen. Cary will come
along and repeat their speeches about 1.-THE peoples
money! What will then the poor laborers respond?
Talk to me about your peoples money. 1t is gam
bler's money. The blood suckers money. The
then perhaps be wise for Gov. Allen and Gen.
Cary and the other apostles of "the peoples money!
to stay away from the streets where their robbed
and outraged victims congregate. I apprehend the
vengeance of the poor, which Mr. Kelley, of Penn
sylvania, in this campaign so loudly threatened
against advocates of resumption, might turn the
other way
We are told that expansion of currency and its
consequent depreciation will benefit the poor mas
much as it will benefit the debtor against the cred
tor, by enabling the former TO pay off his debts in
less value than that in which they were contracted.
The morality of that argument will not discuss.
prefer to leave it to the conscience of the people.
But let look at the pretended facts upon which it
is based. Is it true that the poor are the debt
ors Of the country? To contract debt requires credit
and credit is based upon the means with which to
pay. Men of very small means are seldom in debt,
because they have no opportunity for being so. If
we had statistics of the private Indebtedness in the
United States before u.s. they would unquestionably
show that more than seventy-ve per cent. of it is
owing by men commanding comparatively large
MEANS and that the laborers for wages the least
indebted class of society, in proportion to their
earnings and savings and next to them the farmers
and the small business men. But laboring people,
are to very heavy amount creditors of the country.
venture to say that there is neither manufacturer
nor merchant, nor professional man of means in
this assembly, who is not debtor, and among his
creditors are, in ninety cases of hundred his
workmen or his servants, to whom he owes wages for
part Of week or month. 1t has been calculated
by good authority that the wages thus constantly
owing, for an average of half-month's service or
work, amount, in the whole country to $780, 1000
And who is it that owns the deposits in the savings
banks, amounting to about S76O,O0O,OO0? Not the
rich, but the laborng people and persons of small
MEANS who put their surplus earnings there for safe
keeping.
1t is estimated that the class has in national
and private banks, aud in trust companies another
200,OOO,O0O, and that nearly $13O 900 is owing
them in other kinds Of debts. There is, then, the
sum of about s1,2OO 900 owing to the laborng
people and men OF small MEANS constituting their
savings to that amount. That class are creditors,
and you pretend that for their benefit you will ex-
pand the currency. Gold being at fifteen per cent.
premium those savings have value of 81 02O 900 900
in gold. Expand the currency until gold is thirty
per cent. premium, and you have robbed
those people of $50 100000. Expand it until the
gold premium is fifty per cent, and you have strip
ped them of $42O,OOO,OOO of hard-earned money.
T1av,