The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-12-30
Contraction and Hard Times.

Nothing is so much relied on by the
Democratic party to produce success for
it in the pending campaign as the hard
times-the long stagnation of trade, idle
ness of industrial establishments, and
sufferings of people out of work. Their
belief is that under such circumstances
the masses will be willing to give a trial
to any change in hopes of relief. This
reliance is a shrcwd one, and has some
past experience to go upon. But the peo-
pie of this country are not now as ignor.
ant of the laws of trade, political como
my and finance as they were when they
sustained Jackson's wal upon all credit;
and they have too plain a knowledge of
what the anti-bank hue and cry produced
in the chaotic wildcat bank organiza-
lions and currency to rush into it again.
But the artful use made of figures,
culIcd from official reports, to show a
mcnstrous and unprecedented contraction,
is well calculated to deceive many intel
1igent persons into believing that this
contraction has been pursued too fast
and too far, and is the real cause Of our
troubles. Thus we find a C ,refully pre-
pared statement going the rounds show
Ang that the actual contraction, of the
currency mounts to 81, 300, 600, 900. This
result is attained by counting as cur
rency the entire volume of g~reenbacks,
national bank notes, fractional notes, Ger
i~iticates of Indebtedness, compound in
tcrst notes, temporary war certificates,
and seven-thirty Treasury notes. If the
assumption be true that all these forms
ot Indebtedness were used as currency,
no one can wonder that the price Of
gold reached 2S0. And, in fact, had it
not been for the patriotism of the people,
the price might under such circumstances
have reached 500, for at the period of
greatest initiation the Democrats were OPP
posed to the national currency, and pre-
dicted that ultimately it would take a
bushel of grcenbacks to buy a bushel of
potatoes.
Out of this irritation chaos the prudent
management of the Republican party
brought order, by practising the simple
maXims of common sense and common
honesty. The first contraction intro
duccd was to disband the wal forces, sell
the war material, and reduce the whole
expenditures of the government. The
second contraction was of the mass of
floating Indebtedness, a large part of
which was paid in full and the rest fund
cd. The third contraction was of the
enormous mass of national taxation. and
the fourth was Of the principal of the
bonded debt and the load of interest. |
Will cessation Of the vast business in
cidcnt 10 the carrying on the war, it is
folly for any II TO pretend that the Re
public could have gone on with the same
inflated condition of things. 1t was nee
cssary to reduce the cost of production,
the expenses of living, the waste incident
10 an immense foreign debt. and an adj
verse balance of trade, to restore the ex-
pertation of domestic manufactures, and
to re establish American silipbuilding.
Now let those who believe that the
contraction did all the mischief bear in
mind these important facts; that this
contraction, which begun in 1865, caused
capital TO pass from the former public
debt to railway building and industrial
enterprise; that This was impossible so
long as the government remained the
preferred creditor; that in consequence
of this change we have in ten years more
than doubled the extent of our railway
system and rendered the nation lndepen-
lent and seif-sustaining in many Tires of
industrial production; that this contrac-
ion reduced the burdens Of taxation and
he cost OF living and production, that it
reduced the adverse balance af trade,
Iargely enhanced tie volume of domes-
ic exports and restored American ship
building and maritime enterprise. These
are beyond dispute, and they are
sufficient to deserve tie admiration Of
he people. Indeed the whole progress
II the nation during this period was Sc
excessive that q reyulsion was %unavoida-
fle contraction did not produce it;
or. as we haye shown, it was only a con-
~raction in u direction 10 order to ex- {
,and in another. The mass of !
apital that had heen Invested in various a
orms of debt passed into more substan. n
iaI forlas in industrial establishments, '
ublic works. railways, etc. This was a !
&, sxrIor 10 G1 Tho void no,.al 4