The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-10-18
Ohio.

Ohio.
The man who supposes that the ONO elec-
.,on uas los, on the anti.resumption question
g. Greatly In error. HAYEs's majority in the
state Is less than his majority In Cuyahoga
county, So tina. that county controlled the.
state. Perhaps our idea Of the fact of The
csse-and as Is evidenced by the extracts We
published last week from Ohio. papers-nnsy
be most clearly stated In the general PROPOSE
ton that if the Republicans had had the
Democratic platform on the currency ques-
ton. aud the Democrats the Republican
platform on that question, HArEs's majority
would have been forty thousand. TIE cur
rency question, 10 other words, saVea
ALLEN from overwhelming defeat NO
thing else prevented the fight from
being solely upon the 5eghan law, and the
public schools, and the Pope, and all SORTS
OF questions Of similar import. Upon these
issues ALLEN would have been buried be-
meath an over whelming majority. But wisely
he Kept the currency question above all Others,
and 50 saved himself from disgraceful de-.
feat. Substantially the victory is with him
on that question. He was beaten on other
issues. And this we do noteSntend as an
endorsement Of all OF the Ohio platform
upon the currency question. We say now,
as we said on the 10th of June last:
"The fayorite theory of the bard-money
men is that specie. pay ments nay be brought
about bv forced contraction Of the volume
6f the paper currency. Whilst we are Urn
believers in the theory that currency mus
have proper basis, and that nothing else j;
20 good basis as gold and silver, we have
for years held and taught that 1t IS as truly
impossible TO force 3 return to specie pas.
raeuts by the method i3NcSted as 1t would
he 10 convert liquid into solid by pres
sf,re upon the vessel containing it. -Four
gears ago we predicted that If specie pay.
ments were ever resumed they would be
resumed without any contraction OF the
volume of paper money. Congress last win
ter passed law providing, as that body sup
posed, for q general contracaontet the cur
rency and a gradual movement towards
coin currency. But very mucn 70 Tue sur,
prise OF the originators Of the measure, and
Che fipsrciers of Wall street, gold is much
higher to-day than it was when the act was
passed. II there were eight b0ndred mil.
lions of specie in the country the process OF
contraction would have exactly the effect 10.
tended and desired by Congress. But mas.
much as there is not half enough specie
wherewith to redeem the paper currency II
run should be made upon the banks, it is
absolutely certain that nothing but conf
dence can enable the banks even to offer to
redeem their notes. OF course they could
never redeem them all were they presented,
but whenever the public acGusres confidence
In the. ability of the banks to resume they
may resume, seeing that noboGy either needs
or desires gold for use in the ordinary trans
actions of commerce and trade. This is what
Horace Greeley meant when be said the
way 10 resume j. 10 resulbe.'"
with a capital Of rSa1 ,G0e,N00 the New
York banks do an annual business with one
another lbesides their other business) ave-
raging for the last five years: 1886, GOO, 900 900.
One clearinghouse does oil this business.
The gold business amounts to two and O
quarter billions. But now think Of the idea
that one clearinghouse uses paper Of some
sort or other that performs the office Of cur.
rency to the extent Of thirty.siX billions OF
dollars per aunum, aud then believe, If you
can, that currency Of greepbscks and bunk
notes amounting together te less than one
billion of dollars causes the price OF gold to
be as 1t is. But this, says Well street, is be-
cause the paper money is used over and over
again, aud because checks are used as cur.
rency. True enough. But reduce the vol.
ume Of greenbacks and babt-notes, and the
sum total of the checks used would be in
creased by the amount Of that reduction.
"Again: The grtenbacks and banknotes
sum up less than eight hundred millions OF
dollars. BY how much woStd you reduce
this total? No one would say to less than
six hundred millions. And~yet let it be sc
reduced, and let the six hundred millions be
used twice where it is now used once, and
we have its practical volume Increased to
twelve hundred millions. This fact of itsel
proves that if the amount Of greenback'
and bauk-uotes we're doubled without the
knowledge of the public there would be no.
thing in the channels Of trade or finance tt
indicate an unusual supply of money, anC
consequently nothing that would cause colo
to rise. Indeed, every man can see for him
self that gold goes up and down whilst the
currency stands at one point as 10 volume
See, too, how it ran up at the time OF the
panic, when there was Suchoa contraction
that the public had to use Cheeks for cur.
rency. The want of confidence was Wha
did ii, and the want of confidence is whist
keeps up the difference 10 value between
specie and paper. The Government intro
duees the largest element of Bon.copf6ercr
1t discredits Its own paper and the paper Of
the national banks by refusing to receive
either for customs duties. Whilst this state
of things lasts con raetion can never do more
than 1t did in 1878 enhance the price Of
gold and put stop TO all business. all trade
all commerce, and all prosperity"
"Anti-eOntractioh is the platform upon
which the next President will be elected.
The result in Ohio kills OF GRANT Had
ALLEN been elected, BLAINE, MORTON. Col,
PAX, WILSON, CoNKLIsG, and all the rest Of
the Radical aspirat t., would have yielded
tne nomination to GRANT. Now be stand:
n chance for it. His southern casRet bag
gers are not in demand and the army, it Ii
supposed, viii not be needed.
But a defeat is defeat. 1t Ia EeBy de-
moraiziDg. The sesult in Ohio may cause
the Democrats to lose Pennsylvania next
month. 1t is too soon yet to know certainly
what the effect upon Pennsylvania will be
Bat let 1t be what it will, the Democrats
can next year elect their candidate for Pre-
sident provided it be not TlLDEk, nor aasy
other favorite of Wall street.
==-%=
Let us Dress Up the City.