New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-07-23


enough beyond peradventure, Congress passed
another act, providing that circulation abSo-
lutely without limit should be issued to banks APP
pying for it, and that legal tender notes equal to
only four-fifths of the amount so issued should
be withdrawn, but only until the legal tenoer
circulation should be reduced to $3OO,OOO, OOo.
Beyond that point, no farther reduction Ill tue
volume of legal tenders was required, while
the increase of bank circulation was allowed
to go on indefinitely.
The Columbian iinancier must admit that, II
his diagnosis of the disease was correct tne
remedy was complete. II " the business oi thc
country was being strangled" by lack Oh
currency, the country was permitted to take
lust as much currency as il pleased. That there
were some persons whose business was Beng
strangled for lack of money is painfully evi-
dent. Nevertheless, the business OF the
"countryr not only declined to take more
currency, az offered to an unlimited amount
but has actually surrendered about fifteen MIL
lions of the circulation which 1t had III Jan
nary last. And now deyotees of the American
system of finance will observe that The opportu-
nitv to get lust as much money us they
pleased has not prevented the lali''rc
of 1917 mercantile firms during the ilist hall Oh
this year. Their liabilities were $11,94O,ooo'
In brief, these firms did want more money 10
the extent of scycnty-fivc millions. Congress,
having cherished in its heart OF hearts an
Am ,rican system of finance, declared that they
should have it. BIT they could not get H.
nevertheless. and have failed. We fear that
the act of Congress was defective Ill one par
ticular. II did not repeal the laws of trade,
or the laws of nature. As soon as Congress
assemblies, no doubt the gentlemen VINO believe
in an American system of finance will make haste
to repair this omission. These laws OF trade
are clearly unpatriotc. Like those bad men,
the gold gamblers whose operations the
lamcnted Thaddeus Stevens so ably ana efie't-
ually arrested by the act OF June 20, lSOi,
these laws of trade are diSloyal. They smack
OF eflcte despotisms. They belong to the ans
tocratic systems over the water, to winch tlilt
columbian financier, Gen. Butler, 50 forcihy
refers, and have no place in truly democratic
system of finance. Let them he repealed, by
all means.
Apparently, it is onc Of those laws of trade
that pcoIlc who are bankrupt cannot get
money Is il not little short of treason
able that people who have money will
not draw it out of bank, or start
new banks with it in order to lend it to bank
upts What shall be done with people who
thus fy in the face of Il law of the land de-
signed to relieve "the debtor class ?" Even
though Congress bcnev ocntly and periodically
,nlockcd- forty millions of money, the buS-
ness men who needed it most could not get it,
and, in fact money flowed into the banks and
did not flow out Of the banks. Millions are
living idle, and have been lying idle all the
year, with no law of Congress to excuse their
idlencSs while patriotic citizens have been
going to protest. Many of these I lures,
moreover. were in the Western and
Southern States. The longSailcring victims
of banking monopoly, who were
supposed to inhabit those States, fail TO pos
mercifuly placed within their reach by Il pa
teInal Congress They have ob'tinately re-
fused to accept any part OF the fifty-hye
millions of additional currency first set apart
for them, or of the unlimited supply aftcrward
offered. They have actually surrendered bank
circulation exceeding by several millions the
new issues made to banks in those states.
What malign law Of trade has caused this re-
fliSal at time when thousands OF firms in
these very States were at the verge
of bankruptcy What is the Use Of
imitation free banking, and unlocking cur
rency, if they only offer more money
10 those who have more than they want al
ready? Shall we tolerate laws Of trade which
most dsloyally thwart an act of Congress 20
enable "the debtor class 10 discharge its
~,
a conflict of power between our Government
and the laws of trade, let meet it in Il
manner becoming free people, who know
their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain.
Here are 1877 failures III six months. If
a. many fail during the last half of the year,
the aggregate for 1879 will be 6,7Jl, exceed
ing that of any other year in our history
except 1861. The breaking out of civil war
swcllcd the number of failures to G,993
in that yoar-a number over one thousand
larger than has been reported in any
other year. But this outrageous refusal of in
faton to initiate, these dctcstablc laws of trade,
il seems are likely to produce disasters second
only TO those caused by rebellion. Shall we
not meet this resistance 10 the laws OF the
land. as briivcly and resolucy as we met
rebellion in 1861, Let Gen. Butler be ordered
to the front, to suppress by the strong arm
those who will not lend their money to the
needy. Let Gen. Logan, champion of Column
bian finance, grid on his sword and show the
suffering people Of the Northwest how TO
hcw their way through disloyal laws OF trade
Then let Congress, AZ soon rs it assemblies,
declare AL capitalists public enemies, and all
idle money contiaband Of war. For the sill
premacy of the Union, and of an American
system OF finance must and Shall be main
tanned
THE TUTEU CfSE.