Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-09-11
SPECIE PAYMENT RESUMPTION. JANUARY


SfEGlE Fh IdEFl hLs Onlf tlS-'t VA
1sT, 1879.
The law OF Congress fixing date for the re-
sumption OF specie payments Is 4 special object
OF attack by the infationists Il is true that the
greenback note says 1.-THE United States prom
ise to pay" and that this promise, on January |
let 1879 will have remaiued dlshcncred for Elk |
teen years, but they are unwilling aud uaready'
even after such period, to redeem the pledge
Some of them claim that there is no need to
"pay'; that promise to do a thing is as good
as doing it that a note for a dollar is as good
as dollar that promise to pay money Is mon
ey This is the extreme paper-money notion, il
we understand it. Those who hold such views
do not want to resume, at all. or are at least IN
different whether we do or not.
There is, however, another class who profess
to desire resumption. but are not ready " for
it, and will not be ready in 1879. In the Ian
gusge Of Western journal. theg desire to fix
their eyes on resumption. but not to resume
they concede that it would be dishonest not TO
pay, as the greenback note and bank note
promise to do, but they remain quite content
with the dishonesty. I4iefnite postponement
of the time Of keeping the nations faith sud
meeting the nations promise is to them the
soul OF wise statesmarship and good iineneer-
ing.
Now let us look g. the probable Consequences.
il the nation remains pledged to resume or Jam
uary lst 1879, and il the effort to do 20 is hon
estly made by government and people. There
is margin, to-day, Of sixteen per cent. between
The value Of greenback notes ard OF money
This margin must disappear, TO effect resump-
ton on the date named, in period Of three
years and quarter, or at nearly the exact rate
OF FIVE per cent. per annum. Such decline in
gold, or more correctly, appreciation Of paper
can certainly produce no great shock ia itseii
when we remember that the fuctuatona Of tie
gold premium in single year have been much
greater than the reduction now to bs made in
three and quarter years IN 1865, gold de-
scended from premium Of 12s' on the first
day of January, to - on the last day OF De-
cember, change, il one year, Of 70 per cent.
or q rate Of descent more than ff.etH times as
rapid as is now proposed Il 1866, tAer3 were
yaristions during the year OF over forty per cent,
gold dquoting high az G73:, ana as low AZ e tic
actual decline of the year being from to %,
or more than twice az great fail a. the average
which is required now to reach par in ls1a So
in 1868, the ilctuation was from IS to % in
1859 from "a to 60 and in $40 the premium
dropped to 10 anl then 70 ~, there being IN
actual decline, between tie beginning and old
Of the year, o, ten per cent. These changes, SO
far in excess OF what is n1s needed t9 reach re-
sumption, caused no pane, no crash 10 di..-.
ter The panic did not come uatl 1873, tie god
premium having bean, since the c.)=e yf is7l,
tluctuating but few Per cent.
These facts di=sipste the ilea that there can
be any financial, commercial, or Industrial rain
III the simple process Of bringing goll ana
paper 10 equality by the TINA h1ed. On tie 9th. .
er hand, the efec. upon the country Of looking
forward to such result, preparing for il, and
striving TO attain it, must be beneficial. II tho
purpose OF tia government aud the expectation
OF the couatry Lo to resume Gt TIC beginning Of
1879, the undoaI.ed effect viii he to restra n
ilegitimate and Speculative yentures. People
viii conduct their business Carefully Gud pru-
dently, and keep their expenditures within tla
limits Of their income. A = consequence we
shall buy fewer silks, aees, yeyet- I4dia sAa,gl-,
Persian carpets, champagne. diamonds, de-, g.
OF foreign Countries, and the balance Of t-.de
against US will be Iedueed Or possibly extiu-
guished. Gold VII no. 13w away from ua. lus
for use as coin. The restraint upon cxtra7a-
gance will be wholesome anl valuable, ior its
manifestation is almost entirely in tho direction
Of foreign purchases, every one Of which mus.
be paid for in gold--our pepor promises to paw
money being looked upon a. promlses, AID not
money, the moment they leave the eladaw Of
the government that put them cut.
Bl. the cx 2s2:4.i1n O. resumption WiIl not
check or reduce tie volume Of legitimate trade.
Whatever mlnufac:ure or commerce is really
called for by the needs Or usages Of tie people
must go on and will go Oh safely 1t viii have
more than usual opportunity 70 establish !tsolf
for the restraint upon Wild aud speculative ven.
lures increases the volume Of unemployed capi.
tai, and keeps the rate Of interest down
to reasonable limit. With no Northern Pa
cfc bonds in the market AZ So promising
to pay 1910 per. cant in gold lenders arc better
disposed to place their funds On mortgages 1t
six, or to to take interests in Legitimate manu-
featuring or commercial ventures. The farmers
OF Delaware, competing for many yeara with Dor.
rowers who had all sorts Of schemes On hand
and who offered the most oxtrayagant rates Of
interest, will be benefited most decidedly by a
condition Of things which restrsins speculation
and confines business to its legitimate cLannels.
We conclude, from this survey Of the probable
effects of the effort to resume that the process
will itself be beneficial to the country, ana that
70 far from producing ruin or disaster it viii
promote the true prosperity Of all classes, re-
straining our unnecessary expenditures abroad,
reducing cur adverse balance Of trade keeping
our gold product in tho country, assisting tie
establishment of legitimate enterprises by plcn-
tiful cap tai and low rates Of interest, and even
more than all this giving business men q SIRE
and safe foundation upon which to base calcn-
lztions Of The future.
lFrom our Late Editions Of Yesterday