The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-02-24

i dlh ibnHuuDllOns Dtnbii AiC
amount Of money stacked in unproduc-
tive and non-paying railroad property to-
day. Look at Fall Rivers cotton mills
doubled up until millions on millions have
been sunk, and other millions OF former
Investment rendered temporarily value
less. Is there any doubt about the cause
of the collapse? What insensate folly to
attribute it to short supply Of green
| backsi
But in referring TO the causes. we
| must not stop here. We cannot over
| ,ook the extrtvagances and robberics
OF the times. Town, city, county,
state, and Government. with individual
| IN everies and dcfalcations, perfect
slough and morass of financial infamy
| See the money borrowed and spent on all
| manner OF unproductive enterprises. and
in extravagant and riotous living Mt home
and abr DAD. View in add ton to this vol
untary waste, the involuntary destruction
of property in the Chicago and Boston
fires. What but partial or general arrest
of our headlong speed, after such violent
exertiou, and such disastrous losses,
should have been looked for, in the nat
ural order of events?
| want or ErcenDacks, tndecdl
| Is not this imbecihtyf II was rather too
many than too few greenbacks that did
the mischief. Money was too plenty.
| Credit was too good. II was the harvest
of irredeemable, non-exportable paper
money. We had the ideal system OF our
inflatonists of the KELLEY school car
ried TO perfection. We have 1t still. We
have all the money in circulation that
we had in tho bulging years of 1sG0-70-71-
-, aud '73. flowing as they were with the
milk and honey of unrestrained enter
prise and attractive Investment. and yet.
according To KELLEY, all We need 10 bring
things straight is more grecnbacksl
Why Is ii that these paper -money advo-
Gates and theorizers do not see that we
have at this moment, and have had for the
last twelve or thirteen years, their longed-
for system in full operation? Have we
not got an irredeelnablc currency? Have
we not got non-exportablc currency
And what good has it done us. and what
good docs 1t do us2 Has It kept us out of
any scrape? Is II taking us out of the
scrape we are in? Arc we not helplessly
wallowing in the trough of m ugly finan-
cial scar Wherein are we gamers by the
use OF deprecated and irredeemablc
money? Wherein we are losers. it Is easy
10 see For nobody is willing to move
hand or foot while the present state of I'M
certainty lasts. Is this Il time to preach
prcpostcrous theories OF circulation. while
the very ones offered are refuted right be-
fore our ewes in our daily experience?
We here tahulatc the figures OF the green
backs and bank notes in circulation at the
periods named and this table puts an ex-
| tiugu,sher on X ELLEY y Co.'S absurd pre-
tension that we are ruined for want of
paper money:
ta,ed States notos $3.50 ils ooo
Fractional Si'd2O 900
Bark notes October 1859 ..,.......'.,.. sS5ssGooo
Tofai circulation in so0-7o........ 5000 eoi COO
UMtec states uotes $50. O0n 900
fract onal currency 447.eOo0
u,,s Total Fetal, s591599 90
Total circulation in is73.............t $40 sso 900
United states notes S3se ore 900
fractoha eufre hcy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, 4d'~uuO
Total s4 = IA 900
Bank notes, October 1875 ..........,. sisS5Oooo
Total circulation in 1878. S74asI2o 900
We confine ourselves to the three periods
OF lsG9-7O, of 1873. and of 1s75-70, be-
cause they cover the ground. The utter
vening years show the same thing, namely,
that instead of there having been any
diminution in the volume OF money in cir
culation since 1s6S-60 there has been a
steady increase. During the full tide OF
business in ls69-70 there was less than
seven hundred millions of money in cir
culation. In 1873 the amount had increased
TO seven hundred and forty millions, and
Ii is now little more than that.
The circulation OF 1920, as given
above was sufficient for the enormous ex-
pansion of business enterprise that pre-
vailed all through 1s70-7l-72, and
70; and there was no complaint OF
any deficiency during those years. Yet
KELLEY says the deficiency was so great as
to cause the collapse of 1913 and our pres
ent depression exists on account of the
same want OF money. The only way lie
undertakes to show this is by saying that
the Government had, when the war ended,
an immense amount of unpaid obligations
aloat which had the quality Of money,
and that that amount was necessary
to be kept in circulation in order "a
| Nhiiy WI 'hN puoth'0S W. Ah' NouhNIO
This proposition is fatty refuted by
the fact that the immense business OF
the years following that period and pre-
cedng the panic was carried on without
ii, and without any pretence OF the want
of II. KELLEY's attempt to connect the
panic of 1873 with the Government pay
ments OF 1s65-66-G7, and '6s is simply
theorizing run mad When we have q
plain, practical explanation of our flnan.
cal and industrial condition, why should
we be compelled to have silly and fanci.
full theory dragged in to account for it2
Two Different Men.
DR.. LEONARD BACON sees what every