The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-12-29

war; And, finally, which system
would the nation resort to in case of
another war; To what macs OF gold
would the nation fasten its anchor And
our experience in 1869 is but another chap
ter confirmafory of all history on this point.
Turn whithersoever we will We find the
same unvarying lesson.
In the war which convulsed nearly all
Europe frsm 1907 to 1916, England, which
is pointed to as financial model, suspended
specie payments and had recourse to paper
money, and not until five years after the
close of the war did she resume specie pay
ments, and then but partially. Again, in
1887, England suspended, and to this sus-
pension Is attributable, 10 part, the suspen-
sion 10 our own country at the same time
for England, In her desperate effort to
maintain her gold basis, drcw heavily on
US for gold-both nations wanted this pet
of the "hard money" theorists at the
same stime--and finally the bottom was
knocked from under both aud they COL
lapsed together. France, too, in later times
has afforded another example, by suspend
ing and resorting to paper currency.
In periods of peace and prosperity, in
calm sea and with propitlous winds, specie
payments or gold basis is possible, but
when a storm comes on, when its finances
are put to the severe strain which such
events impose, Its gold vanishes like snow
flakes on the ocean, and recourse to paper
money is inevitable. Nor is war ncces-
sary condition to suspension of specie pay
ments. Twice within the memory of men
living have the banks of Vermont sus-
pended from the pressure simply of bust
ness panlcs, and the history Of Vermont in
in this respect is not an exceptional one.
But we need not pursue this theme farther.
We have been tempted into this digres-
sion, not because we had any opinion to
offer on. the subject of finances, but to Illus
trate one of the specious theories which
are flooding the country just at this time.
1t may be possible for nation to redeem
two thousand millions of paper with hun
dred or two millions of gold. We do not
say 1t cannot, but wait anxiously to sec the
feat accomplished. OF course we shall be
| told that this is not expected, that only q
certain percentage of the amount will be
actually redeemed, but that that will rem.
der the rest equivalent to gold. In the
same breath we shall be told that our cur
rency must rest on coin and not on credit
Suppose we have twenty per cent of the
amount OF paper in gold, what will the re-
naming eighty per cent rest on T?
For ourselves we have no anxiety about
the nations finances, nor are we alarmed
by the magnitude of the public debt,
providing they can be properly ant
judiciously managed. A country like our
is not going into bankruptcy so long al
wise counsels prevail at headquarters
Forty-five millions of people are not goinf
to take the poor debtors oath simply be
cause their debts amount, on an average
to fifty dollars each; providing they stant
clear of the professional politicians. Ant
we think that nothing could befall thu
country at the present time so injurou
and 80 much to BIO deplored as division OIL
the currency question.
Respectfully, J. J. R. II.
Dec. 25th, 1875 u ~f" rr~ q