, 1875-12-01

GROWING UP TO SPECIE PAYMENTS.
air. Senator FEnRy, OF Michigan, Inns in A
| recent intaryiow cnteavored to present lis
views On tho ilnanciRl question to the public.
Some years or more nso, Mr.. TEnnr was
| conspicuous as m inflAtionist, he lending tho
advanced body Of thoso who thought tho
country was suffering for more and chcaper
money. He WINS then demanding All issno Of
Sso0,0o0,o00 Of legal.tcndezs, receivable in
payment for dutios on imports as we'll m in
payment Of all other debts, public mud
private; and he was especially opposed 10
the Legal suggestion of any dny when specie
payments might bo resumed. lie was there
fore tho advocate Of 1cgal-tcndor issue
which WIS to bo permanently irredeenable.
A1r. FERar has, in addition to being m in-
flassonist. been MI extreme protect;onist.
lie belongs to thnt class Of statesmen who
arguo that, when tax is laid upon IN iua-
ported article, it is tho foreigner who sells it
to us md not tho consumer who is compelled
to pay tho tax and TINT If We had n thrift
rigntfully adjusted wo could mako the pco-
Pile Of other countries pay all our taxcs. In
NA+@ AN%S0S AAA Az AEANuA1AAk ula 4tlDHQ4
sition to make grcenbaclls receivable for
duties on imports, he mado the following 1c-
marknble statement:
II the Government wants gold 10 rsy ts detsa, let
l! go snd buy It, Just tho merchant does Then tie
loss In tho premium would bo distributed OVER ali Of
big rich country, instead Of faling uujun:ly upon
on1 class Of men.
Can it be that Mr.. Ferry imagines Tint tile
importing merchant loses whatoyer premium
llo fsas to pay for gold with which to pay his
tlutieH md that ho does not distribute it over
the whole rich country? And how is 1t that
the foreigner, while actually pnying the duty,
escapes tue premium on the gold with which
he pays it? Wo hago a lively recollection Of
the ability with which S{r. FERRY has demon.
stratel tlat o duty on lumber is not a tar up-
on consumers, but 1t is d tax paid by tho
foreign producer. But this is small matter.
Mr.. FEnnY, while retaining all Of his Original
intlation ideas, is not disposed to disturb the
law Of last scssion,-wl,ich law, by the way,
is wholly innocent Of any force or operation.
lfo accepted that law as q compromise, md
ho added:
waa In favor Of putting OF = date for resumption
m iong ~ posaiblc. In fact opposed Any data at al
believed resumption would Ia arrived It easily
ny the natural growth Of rsde, aud BY encouraging
the prosperity Of the country.
This Ia revival OF tho old and long-ex-
p1odea theory of "growinB up" TO spocie
payments The War was closed nearly eleven
yeara ngo, and wo lave been "growing up II
to specie payments ever sinco. Tha growth
has been Irregular, and seemingly is as' short
OF tho desired measurement as 1t has been ut
any tinlo since the War. We have moro
greenbacks outstanding now than wo Ind i1a
1868, and tho greenbacks themselves are now
sold ut the street corners and by auction
for less than tloy brought In 1870. In the
meantime, the productions Of tho United
States hayo grown lugoly gince 1865 !;
million Of people who were then merely
consumers md destroyors 1aya become pro-
slucera; the means Of transportation have
been nearly doubled; there is no branch
Of human industry that Inns not been
Developed; VIC havo within three years sold
Of our surplus productions nearly five thou
sand millions Of dollars, adding TINT much to
our national wealth. Still, We have not
grown porceptibly towards specie payments.
In March, 1870, greenbacka sold in Now
York at 70 cents in gold; the price at various
Times in 1871, 1872, and 1879 advanced as
high Is 9t conts. Grcenbacks hayo ruled
during the last six months from IS to 90
conts, and yet Mr.. FEnny thinks tho country
WIN grow up to specie payments, particularly
II tue day for rcsuming be postponed iadcil-
nitely.
Alter the thorough aud painful exposure