The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1875-06-19

from Europe 10 increase and diversity oar
productions, enlarge our home market.
and swell the revenues of the government,
lie dead and pro6tless to them. They
justly charge their loss and that of the
country to Mr. McCulloch, who, from his
Fort Wayne speech forward, has lost no
opportunity, official or unofficial, 70 warn
the energetic men of the country against
embarking in any new enterprises or ac-
cumulatirg any considerable stock Of
goods, or otherwise enlarging their ar
rangements for the future, and who, in his
last utterance-the report which | am
considering-notihes them Of the near ap-
proach Of the fatal collapse by assuring
them that, though the banks are without
specie, the balance Of trade vastly against
us, and the Treasury has nearly one billion
dollars Of temporary loan to provide for,
he is confident that the special payment
may be resumed by the time our interest
bearing notes are retired, which must he
done in less than two years, and probably
will be in a much shorter period.
"What the effect of an effort at early
resumption under such circumstances
would be, every experienced business man
in the country knows. They know tina. it
movement which will literally vomit forth
from the country the little gold and silver
left In It. They know that it will bank
rupt individuals, corporations, States, and
alas, it may be, the National Government
itself. The avOwed obi ct of the Secretary
in contracting tbs currency is to increase
the purchasing power Of money, and they
know that the rapid decline in prices pend
ing this mad experiment will sweep away
the garnered capital of those manufacturers
whose stock, exclusive ot buildings and
machinery, largely exceeds the working
capital, that niecRanical and manufacturing
p7sduetioa "a. b. wholly suspended till
the bfighting tornado shall have spent its
power and that, while il RACES, the receipts
Of the Internal Revenue Bureau must fall
to zero"
Wise men saw what consequences must
be produced by rapid contraction Of the
currency greedy knaves saw the advantage
1t would give them, and enthusiastic fools
shouted for Jackson and hard money.
(Auplause.) These needless enthusiasts
dld not know what Issue jackson made.
He fought the United States Bank and
the grevnback men are lighting the banks
Of the United states. (Applsuse.) He
fought for the people, and | plead their
cause tonight, and pledge myself to stand
by them IN tins light (Applause.) Though
am not an Andrew Jackson, do not
think II will be difficult 10 persuade the
people that a great system Of national
banks is as InImIcal to their interest as one
great national bank could possibly have
been.
When you ask, my friends can things
mend When will they begin 70 get bet
ter Never IN your time and mine unless
wiser counsels prevail i'll Congress and the
administration Uf the government. Zap
pause
There is nothing before the American
people out ruin, ruin,-ruin as utter as
that which overlook the industrial classes
Of England In 1920 aud 1921 when they
were put through the same process. Let
him who would know what sutferlngs are
before the American people II the present
system be persisted III, read Allison's Eng
land, from 1873 to l545, on a sufficient and
a contracted currency Il. IL. Patterson 8
Economy Of Capital; Dvubleday's Stats
teal History Of England, in all of which
he will see precisely what the same process
did III England, and learn that landed es-
tates, upon which half the purchase money
had been paid and thousands of pounds
expended III improvements, and the in
come from which had gone to the holder Of
the me rtgage, were sold al such prices as
70 leave the lnortgagOr 30 burdened with
debt that finally many OF them combined
and petitioned Parliament to release them
/ from the burden Of the debt, due by law,
to men who had re-purchased at nominal
prices what they had sold, and hold 1t, to-
gether with all the purchaser had paid,
yer held them bound for balances they
I never could pay. He will also learn how
I It came to pass that manufactures would
bring but little more tnan the cost Of sale,
and how the land Of England, from being
held hy hundreds of thousands Of owners,
/ has been brought into the ownership OF
less than thirty thousand people.
4 Ii these books are not accessible TO you
get this little pamphlet, The Finances,
Panlcs and Specie Payments, by j. W
Schuckers, of this city, who was for year:
the confidential secretary Of Secretary
| Chase, who isa bnilionIst, and does not
accept my theories of currency, but whC
has here admirably condensed the leading
facts ot that period Of English history
Let me detaln yon by reading brief pas
sage He says:
These are, In as brief detail as 1t hai
beer possible for me to compress them
the more important circumstances attend
ing upon the resumption Of cash pay
ments by the Bank Of England and TN
country banks of Great Britain, from l81!
to 1921. They nave great interest TO
our people at this time, for they are type
Of the calamitIes which will surely resul
from premature action IN the direction o
resumption among ourselves.
THE commercial and credit syst ems o
Great Britain and the United States ar
SO exactly identical IN all important par
ticulars and almost in minute detail, tha
there ia no fact or consequence i'll EIglls
financial annals which has not an impvrtan
bearing upon our own action.
The proceedings Of the Ministry an
Parliament III repeating an important par
of the act Of 1919, is highly suggestive .
the well known aphOrism, that history re
peats itself. Whether our rulers vii
profit by the disastrous ex experience If Grea
Britain remains to be seen but assuredl
they will either reJrace their steps-a
was substantially done when Mr.. McCu
loch undertook the work Of contraction
and kept it up till the country unmlstal
ably declared halt or, persevering I
the end, they will be driven from powt
forever. | confidently predict that pc
! sistence toward resumption will effect
, greater revolution in parties than gre
out Of the slavery question, and that Oh
party, Democratic or Republican, or All
other, whatever its name, which forces
resumption Of specie payments prior
the practical extinction Of the nation
, debt, whether that be Ia ten years
: thirty, will he trsmpled to death und'
the feet Of the people. Let the futu
political history Of the country be witne
as to this
At the close OF the war our people, as
! have said. held the great bulk Of the 10