Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1875-09-16
SPECIE PAYMENT RESUMPTION, JANUARY
lST, 1879.

Tho law Of Congress fixing a iate for tho re-
sumption o! specie payments is special object
OF attack by the inlationsts. II is true that tho
greenback noto says ''Tho United States prom
ise to pay" and that this promise, on january
lst, 1879. will havo romained dishonpred for six
teen yeats. but they arc unwilling M unrea,ly.
even ArtAr SUCH perfuu, TO reueem tile pledge.
Some OF them claim that there is no need to
"pay"; tina, promise to do II thing is as good
AZ doing it that note for dollar ia as good
Al a dollar; that promise to pay money is mon
ey. This is the extreme paper-money notion, if
we understand it, Those who hold such views
do not want to resume, at all, or at least III
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 DO ready in 1879. In the LAM
guage of Western journal, they desire to fix
their eyes on resumption, but not to resume
they concedo 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. Indefinite postponement
of the time Of keeping the nations faith and
meeting tho nations promise is to them the
soul of wise statesmarship and good fnancier-
ing.
Now let us look at the probable consequences
il the nation remains pledged to resume on Jan.
uary LIST, 1879, and if the effort to do 30 is hon
estly made by government and people. There
IL margin, to-day, of sixteen per cent. between
tho value Of greenback notes and OF money
This margin must disappear, to effect resump
ton OIL the date named in period of three
years and quarter, or at nearly the exact rate
Of five per cent. per annum. Such decline il
gold, or more correctly, appreciation OF paper
can certainly produce no great shock in itself
when we remember that the fluctuations of the
gold premium in single year have been much
greater than the reduction now to DO made ii
three and quarter years. In 1865, gold de-
scended from premium of 1881 on the first
day of January, to 45}S on the last day OF De.
cember, change, in one year, Of 49, 4 per cent
or rate OF descent more than fifteen times as
rapid as is now proposed In 1866, there were
variations during the year of over forty per cent
gold quoting as high as GA and as low as 49, the
actual decline of the year being from Az to 80.
or more than twice as great fall as the average
which is required now to reach par in 1879. So
in 1868, the iluctuation was from 50 to 50 in
A~pS 'AoM W hLu III loiu tIlt premium
dropped to 10 and then to TO- there being all
actual decline. between the beginning and end
OF the year, of ten per cent. These changes, 80
far in excess of what is now needed TO reach re-
sumption, caused no panic, no crash, no disas-
tor The panic did not como until 1873 tho gold
premium having been, since tho close of 1870,
iuctuating but few per cont.
These facts dissipate tho -iIlaa 1.et si,ose e~n
'o any financial, commercial, or industrial ruin
in tho simple process of bringing gold and
paper to equality by the time fixed, On the 9TH
er hand tho effect upon the country of looking
forward to such result. preparing for it, and
striving to attain it, must be beneficial. II tile
purpose of the government and the expectation
Of the country be to resume at the beginning of
1879, the undoubted effect will be to restrain
lllegltlmato and speculative ventures. People
Will conduct their business carefully and prr-
IDENTIFY, and keep their expenditures within the
limits OF their income. As 4 consequence we
shall buy flower Silks LAGOS, yevots, India shawls,
Persian carpets, champagne. diamonds, &C., 6c.,
ct foreign countries, and the balance of trade
against lis will be reduced or possibly oxtin-
guialed. Gold will not low away from us, but
tile products of our mines will accumulate hero
for nse as coin. The restraint upon extraya-
gance will be wholesome and valuable, for its
manifestation i'd almost entirely in the direction
OF foreign purchases, every one Of which must
be paid for in gold-our paper promises to pay
money being looked upon as promises. and not
money, the moment tloy leave tho shadow of
the government tina, put them ont
Bnt tho expectation of resumption will not
check or reduce the volume OF legitimate trade
Whatever manufacture or commerce is really
called for by the needs or usagcs of the people
must go ON, and will so on safely. 1t will have
more than usual opportunity to establish itself,
Tor the restraint upon wild and speculative ven
lures increases the volume of unemployed capi-
tai, and keeps the rate of interest down
TO reasonable limit. With no Northern Pa
cine bonds In the market at 80, promising
to pay 1910 percent in gold lenders are better
disposed to place their funds on mortgages at
SIX, or to to take interests in legitimate manu-
featuring or commercial ventures Tie farmers
OF Delaware, competing for nlanyyears with bor-
rowers who had all sorts OF schemes OH hand
and who offered the most extravagaut rates of
interest, will be benefited most.decidedly by q
condition of things which restraints speculation
and confines business to its legitimate channels
We conclude, from this survey of the probable
effects OF the effort to resume that the process
will itself be beneficial to the country, and that
so far from producing ruin or disaster it will
promote the true prosperity of all classes, re-
strainins Our unnecessary expenditures abroad,
reducing our adverse balance of trade, keeping
our gold product in the country, assisting the
establishment of legitimate enterprises by plen-
tiful capital and low rates of interest," and even
more than all this giving business men a sure
and safe foundation upon which to base calcu-
lations OF the future.
MR.. BAYARDs SILENCE.