The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-29
FERRY's FINANCIAL FANCIEs.

With the currency question a. yet un-
determined, the bare possibility that Tho
mas w. Ferry, of Michigan, may become
president of the United States, makes his
financial views of more than ordinary in
terest and importance and, accordingly,
he has received visit from the inevitable
''interviewer," and given to the country an
fancies, on the subject. He denies that he
is an ''inflationist," saying that the "press
misrepresent me altogether" and for
proof thereof refers to speech made by
him in the senate, during the early days of
the first session of the Forty-third congress.
We turn to that speech and must conclude
that he has been "misrepresented alto
gether," for he there says 81 am no ad-
"vocate of expansion in its accepted
sense but he hastens to add "Neither
"do incline to contraction" Whatever
expansion in the sense accepted by him
may mean we cannot undertake to say, but
he does not leave US in doubt as to the
meaning he places on the word "contrac-
tion," for he defines, or explains, it to be
"to psecipitate specie resumption" But
then If he is not an: ''infationist," or an
"advocate for expansion" what is he +? In
the speech to which he refers for a state
ment Of his views, he advocates and urges
the increase of the legal tender issues of the
government until they reach the amount Of
eight hundred millions of dollars, being
fifty millions of dollars more than the
then combined issue of legal tenders and
national bank notes. This certainly was
not ''inclining to contraction" and he was
correct in 80 saying but to those not
versed in financial craftsmanship, it sounds
very much like "inflation," an "advocat-
ing of expansion"
10 20 back to the interview" He
states that when the bill authorizing an in
crease of forty four millions OF dollars in
greenbacks was under consideration, and
which he favored, he advocated making
the paper money of the country uniform
that is, of abolishing national bank bills
and issuing in their stead legal tender
treasury uotes-and says cit is my
theory now" How surprisingly like the
democratic platforms of Ohio and Pennsyl-
vania, and how well Thomas W. Ferry and
William Allen agree
And yet he was the chairman of the
senate committee which reported the re-
sumption act, and voted for 1t, as he says,
as compromise measure, and became ''it
" was in certain features triumph for my
A" own opinions" specifying as one of his
opinions" which thus "triumphed, the
provision for free banking. How the pro-
vision for free banking, as fixed by that
bill, can be regarded as triumph of his
opinion as stated In the interview or In the
speech referred to, tits exceedingly difficult
to see. The bill establishes free banking
for the issue of currency, while his "opln-
" ion" and theory, both now and then, was
opposed to banks of issue, and In favor of
substituting greenbacks for national bank
bills. The free banking he advocates would
simply allow of the opening of brokers
offices that which passed authorizes the
issue of currency.
He is not an ''infationist," he says, but
he would give the country currency with
the equality of receivabllity by the govern
ment as well as the people,. What does
he mean ? He tells us, by asking "why
not do away with" the law which for
bids the payment of custom duties in gold ?
and then explains that he means, by hay
Ing the government obtain specie with
which to pay the interest on the public
debt, as other governments do when thew
want gold-"from the market by pur-
A" chase" To make this utterance little
more emphatic, and, perhaps, to tickle the |
ears of the followers of Allen and Cary, he |
adds "If the government wants gold to