The New York herald., 1875-09-24
rhs Legal renaer Meeting.

ment were TO be seen Uncle Dick was in
the chair, and Theodore Tomlinson made q
fluent and well-delivered address There
were three or four indifferent people to
speak, and a letter from Wendell Phillips
to keep them in countenance Uncle Dick
was, unfortunately, in the chair, else we
should have had his famous clam-shell
theory. The truth is the shadow of great
reaction in favor of sound money rested upon
the meeting, and its projectors had to con-
tend against the adverse influences of both
republican and democratic hard money plat
forms in this State, and against the action of
the Massachusetts, democrats on Wednesday.
But the meeting is useful for it encourages
the discussion among the people Of question
which has been very greatly misrepresented.
The Pennsylvania democratic platform, fol-
lowing that Of the Ohio democrats, asserts
that 'the contraction of the money currency
and circulating medium heretofore made by
the republican party, and the further con-
traction proposed by it, with view to
forced resumption of specie payments, has
already brought disaster to the country
and threatens general bankruptcy. We
demand that this policy be abandoned"
and so on.
1t is true that the country is not in
prosperous condition. The reasons for this
it is important to ascertain and if it is
a fact that the currency has been seriously
contracted, and that it is this contraction
which brought upon us the general pros
tration Of industry and business, the New
York Legal Tender Club and the Ohio
and Pennsylvania democrats, perform AN
important public service in calling the atten-
ton of the people to the matter. For it is of
the greatest Importance hat the country shall
be prosperous it is of the utmost moment
to remove every cause which hinders a re-
vival of industry and renewal of prosperity.
Unfortunately for them the ma or premise
of their political syllogism is false, and the
minor one is too for that matter but with the
first their whole statement falls to the ground.
They speak of ''the contraction of the money
currency and circulating medium heretofore
made by the republican party" and in this
assertion they show either the most astonish-
ing ignorance or an equally surprising de-
pendence on the ignorance of the people.
For the plain truth is that the republican
party, so far from contracting the currency,
has, since the accession of General Grant,
almost continually expanded it.
Official tables show that we have to-day in
circulation, in round numbers, $769, 600, 600
OF paper money, while we had in 1878 but
| S74O, 900, 900, in 1872 only s731 ZOO, 900,
in 1871 but Sill 100000, in 1870 only
s683, 900, ,000 and so on. In 1868, the year
before General Grants accession, the cur
rency amounted to S67S, 600, 900. Since that
time, instead Of being contracted, as these
democrats pretend, it has been steadily ex-
panded to its present volume of s769, ,000,0 900,
with but two years in which there has been
trivial contraction-in 1869 of S2,000000,
and in 1874 Of S8 100000.
Unluckily for the infationists, but for
tunately for the country, their misstate-
ment may be used to fix the attention of
the people upon the fact that the general
depression of industry and business cannot
be owing to q contraction of the currency,
and thus they may prove to have rendered
real service to the country. There is no
doubt that industry has been and still is
depressed, though there are signs of a
revival of business. But nothing can be
more certain than that the misfortunes
of the country did not come from con-
traction-because there has been no con-
traction. In 1869 the country was pros
porous now, it is unprosperous. But
in 1869 we had 1915, 900, 900 of currency
afoat, and to-day we have s769, 900, 0OO In
1854 the country was prosperous, with cir
culation, specie and paper, of s445 900, 900,
or SIG 80 per head of our then population in
1859 the country was prosperous, with cir
culation Of s468, 600, 900, specie and paper or
S15 80 per head of our then population; in
1874 it was depressed and suffering, with
S777, 900, 900, or $lS per head of the popula-
ton. Surely, it is absurd to assert that
lack of currency has anything to do with the
general depression. Not only has the cur
rency been steadily expanded, but we have
more to-day per head Of the population,
without reckoning the gold which circulates
in California and Texas, than we had before
the war.
One of the causes Of the depression lies
undoubtedly, in the character of our cur
rency 1t is q fraud-a broken promise to
pay money. SO long as it retains that char
acter, SO long as it remains irredeem-
able, it will continue to disturb conf
dence and disable enterprise and industry
in spite of a continuous imitation. And
this less on account of its volume than be-
cause it will constantly be the sport Of dem
agogues and tinkerers in conventions and in
Congress; because its value is a mat
ter depending upon the humor of the
people at the elections, or the manipula-
tion Of Congress by legislation. Before
enterprise can revive, before confidence
can be restored, before capital can be in