Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1875-08-14

Il Hc QueSttoH 10 oshSi Ndill bl All
thinking business men, Wha. is the
troHble? Why the dark and gloomy
forebodings in the hearts of the men
that do the business of the nation?
Why the wall of distress and woe,
caused by actual suffering, that comes |
deep and strong from the thousands
of mechanics, miners, artisans, and |
laboring men of the country? Why
the failures, that sweep away thou
sands and millions, much of which is
the hard earnings Of the old, the wild
ow, the fatherless-their living, their
all, the staff on which they leaned,
alas, how often broken-sometimes
honestly, sometimes purposely. Why
in all our cities are so many vacant
palaces, stores, shops? Why is the
hum of busy machinery, the noise of
the spindles $50 low? And in a
word, what is the cause of the present
stagnation of the business of bhe
country? 1t is amusing to see the
diversity of opinion on the subject.
On one thing, however, they all agree,
namely: that something is the matter
that the country is bilious, dyspeptic,
OF is terribly sick from some cause.
The Democrats say its the Repuhli-
cans, and are asking for the reins, 70
drive in a more healthy region. But,
Ter has one remedy, and Phillips an
other. Many of our best men, our
best financiers are out with remedies,
but no two agree together. One says
there is two much money, another
that there is not enough, another that
it is not equally distributed, another
that our business should be in, or on
hard money. All this diversity Of
opinion plainly showing that we have
not the statesmen that understand
the disease, therefore they cannot
agree on a remedy.
Are there not some questions in
this direction beyond the forensic
ability of any statesman? Are not
the laws that govern business, as GER
tain as natural laws? The foundation
of business is demand and supply,
and in these scales all business will be
evenly adj listed if let alone.
Is it Lot violation of the princi-
pies Of political economy for any gov
eminent to fix limit to its business?
No man can estimate with any APP
Proclamation to correctness how much
currency the vast and complicated
industries and trades of our country
require. But even if the question
could be solved to-day, and the
amount Of currency fixed at an
amount sufficient to meet the present
demands Of trade, we should he but
little better off; for the tides Of trade
are constantly ebbing and flowing,
and the currency required to meet its
purposes varies with every ebb and
flow; and if the question were prop
erly solved to-day, it would be only
temporary, it would not do for next
week, or next year.
The government is supposed to be
good. Why then is it buying in its
own paper? We call it mean in q
man who has the ability to pay every
cent, and whose notes are good, to
buy up his paper at discount. But
it is answered that government rem
ders an equivalent, that eighty-six
cents Of one kind of dollar is just
as good as one hundred cents of an
other Lind of a dollar; but did not
the government stamp them both as
one hundred cents for dollar?
The paper dollar is taken by all
government officers in all departments
of lis business, men everywhere use
it in payment Of debts, and by it the
business Of the country is carried on.
Why not then treat the gold and the
paper alike, and clean out the gold
gamblers in Wall street and all over
the country, or virtually acknowledge,
as we now do IN practice, that we are
partially bankrupt.
The argument is that the GOLD is
needed to pay the interest on the pub
lie debt, and this is to be collected on
imports, ane the government sells to
the importers, who pay it directly
back again in duties.
We are not discussing import
duties, or the manner of raising the
government revenues, but of the gov
ernment's going into market and buy
ing up its own paper at large dis
count