The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-04-20
TErom the Cincinnati Gazette, Republican,
MR. SHERMAN AND HIS ACI

| M H.,
That resumption of specie payment by
our Government, after ithad poured into
the circulation seven hundred and sixty
millions of paper money, is work which
demands wise craftsmanship, isa propo'
sition which all will admit. But strange
as if is we have an act to enforce resump
ton on certain day, whose meaning
is matter of general dispute. This dis
pute is not of any minor matters, but on
the vital part of the act. And what is
more strange, when the Chairman OF the
Senate Committee on Finance has made
a prepared speech in explanation and de-
fense of the act, he has only added TO the
confusion in the public nlind.
We have before given some general
statement of this confusion ; we now take
up the subject again to give some par,
ticular instances. Mr.. Sherman lays
down the vital provisions of the act as
follows:
"Then comes the provision-the vital
provision-of the law. And on and after
the first day of January, A. D. 1879, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall redeem
in coin of the United States legal-tender
notes then outstanding on their present
alton for redemption. Then follows the
ample power already quoted And TO
enable the Secretary of the Treasury to
prepare and provide for the redemption
| in this act authorized. or required, ne Is
authorized to use any surplus revenue
from time to time in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, and to issue,
sell and dispose of, at not less than par
in coin, either of tie bonds already re-
ferred to. Such are the duties enJoined,
and such are powers conferred. sir, IN
This respect. both the powers and duties
of this act are clearer and stronger than
in the acts under which Great Britain re-
sumed and France is now resumlng'"
Is not this clearly provision for re-
deeming the greenbacks? And, in sup
mort of It, Mr.. Sherman argues that the
greenbacks are nothing but past-due
public debt, and that the public faith Is
broken while they are unpaid. 10 re-
deem them is to take three hundred and
seventy millions of our currency out OF
the circulation. This is to contract, our
currency more than one-half. But here
Mr.. Sherman confounds us by affirming
that there is no contraction In 1t. FOR
example: o.,
"The only contraction ofthe currency
nrovided for by the act is in the substl-
tuition of one form of currency tor another.
Thus. in place of the fractional currency
is issued silver currency ; and where Ma
tional bank notes are issued there Is re-
tired 80 per cent. Of the amount in the
United States notes."
But the only substitution which the
act provides is that for any increased issue
of bank notes, so per cent. of the in
crease shall be retired in green6acks,
until the volume Of greenbacks is re-
duced to 800 millions. And this has
nothing to do with the vital provision
that on fixed day the Secretary shall re-
deem in coin the United States legal ten
der notes then outstanding on their pre-
sentation for redemption" There is no
provision of substitution of other cur
rencv for the notes thus redeemed on
presentation. The" vital provision Is
positiye-" shall redeem in coin yet
Mr.. Sherman says the only contraction
provided for in the act is the substitution
of one form of currency for another.
He makes a statement to show that, up
to this time, under the act, larger sum
in bank notes has been issued than OF
greeebacks retired. Thereupon he says;
"Thus it appears \ that the con-
traction of the currency prescribed by
this law is myth" Does not everything
assume a mythical character when the
leading financial legislator assumes that
all the operation of the act is practically
demonstrated more than two years before
il has gone into effect, when it declares
that on that day the Secretary shall be-
gin and redeem the legal tender notes as
fast as presented.
Mr.. Sherman, in the above extract,
affims that the powers and duties of the
Resumption Act are clearer and strong
er than in the acts under which Great
Britain resumed, and France is now re
suming." What does this meanP That
it makes better provision for resuming ?
That il makes resumption easier to us
than it was to themf France is retiring
her notes at the rate of 100 million dol
lars year, and is to retire all the excess
she issued in her war necessity, before
resuming. And the Bank of France has
now more gold in her vaults than the ex.
cess of the note issue, and her careful
limitation and reduction of the paper
money has drawn coin into the country,
so that it circulates with paper on par
in the ordinary traffic of the people.
What is there in our Resumption Act
to create conditions to compare with
those2 What is there that Is not directly
the opposite of the wise course Of France
in preparing for resumption. What ra-
tionality is there in the comparison with
England? England never inflated her
circulation as our great fiI anciers did. In
the darkest periods of the war the depre-
ciation of her money was but "a per cent.
With the end of the war it naturally
rallied to nearly par. The reaction in
trade swept many country banks out of
existence, and thus extinguished the cur
rency till it was reduced to practical
volume. The monetary conditions were
such as to draw coin into the country.
Currency was almost at par with coin
in the general circulation before she fixed
the time of resumption. All the condi-
tions were previously gained to make
resumption easy.
What likeness can be drawn between