The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-08-10
AnhGEaL.
LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE

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prolific of confusion, distrust and dis
tress.
NO PROGRESS BEING MADE TOWARD RE
SUMPTION.
The act of Congress of the l4th of July
1875, enacted that on and after the Isl
of January, 1879, the Secretary of the
Treasury, shall redeem, in coin, legal
tender notes of the United States on pre-.
sentation at the Office of the Assistant
Treasurer, in the city of New York, II
authorizes the Secretary to prepare and
provide for such resumption of specie
payments by the use of any surplus rev.
enues not otherwise appropriated, and
by issuing, in his discretion, certain class
es of bonds. More than one and half
of four years have passed, Congress and
the President have continued ever since
to unite in acts which have legislated out
of existence every possible surplus ap-
plicable to this purpose. The coin in the
Treasury, claimed to belong to the Gov
vernment, had, on the 30th of June fall
en- to less than $45,0O0,O00 as against $59,-
100000 on the lst of January, 1875, and
the availability Of part of that sum is
said to be questionable. The revenues
are falling faster than appropriations or
expenditures are reduced, leaving the
Treasury with diminished resources,
The Secretary has done nothing under
his power to issue bonds. The legisla-
tive command and the official promise
fixing day for resumption have been
made. There has been no progress,
There is no necromancy in operations of
the Government. The homely maxims
of every day life are the best standards
of its conduct. A debtor, who should
promise to pay loan out of surplus in
come, yet to be seen every day spending
all he could lay his hands on in riotous
living would lose all character for hon
esty and veracity. His offer of a new
promise, or his profession as to the value
of the old promise, would alike provoke
derision. The st. Louis platform de-
nounces the failure for eleven years to
make good the promise of legal tender
notes. 1t denounces the omission to aC-
cumulate any reserve for their redemp-
ton. 1t denounces the conduct, which,
during the eleven years of peace has
made no advances towards resumption,
no preparation for resumption, but in
stead, has obstructed resumption by
wasting our resources and eXhausting all
our surplus income, and while protesting
to ointend speedy return to specie pay
ments, has annually enacted fresh hind
RANGES thereto, and having first denounC-
ed the barrenness of the promise of
dav of resumption, il next denounces
that barren promise as hindrance to
resumption. Itthen demands its repeal
and also demands the establishment of a
iudicious system Of preparation for re-
sumption. 1t cannot be doubted that the
substitution of a system of preparation
without promise of day, for the worth
less promise of day without a system
of preparation, would be the gain of the
substance of resumption-the exchange
for its shadow.
CAUSE OF GENERAL DISTRESS,
Nor is denunciation numerited Of that
improvidence, which in eleven years
since the peace, has consumed 81, 100000,
and yet could not afford to give the peo-
ple a sound and staple currency. Two
and a half per cent on the expenditures
of these eleven years, or even less, would
have provided all additional coin need
ful to resumption. The distress now felt
by the people in all their business and
industries, though it has its principal
cause in enormous waste of capital occa-
stoned by false policies of our govern
ment has been greatly aggravated by
mismanagement of the currency. I'm
certainty is a prolific parent of mischief
in all business. Never were its evils
more felt than now. Men do nothing be-
cause they are unable to make calcula-
tions on which they can safely rely.
They undertake nothing because they
fear loss in everything they would at
tempt They stop and wait. The mer-
chant does not buy for future consump-
ton of his customers. The manufacturer
dares not make fabrics which may not
refund his outlay. He shuts his factory
and discharges his workmen. Capitalists
cannot lend on security they consider
unsafe, and their funds lie almost with
out interest. Men of enterprise who
have credit on securities to pledge will
not borrow. Consumption has fallen be-
low the natural limits of a reasonable
economy. Prices of many things are
under their range in frugal specie paying
times before the civil war. Vast masses
of currency lie in banks unused. A
year and half ago legal tenders were at
their largest volume, and $l2,OOO,OOO
since retired have been replaced by fresh
issues of fifteen millions of bank notes.
In the meantime the banks have been
about $4,OO0,OOO a month,
because they cannot find profitable use
for many of their notes. The public
mind will no longer accept shams. 1t
has suffered enough from illusions. An
insincere policy increases distrust. An
unstable policy increases uncertainty.
The people need to know that the Gov
ernment is moving in the direction Of ul-
innate safety and prosperity, and that it
is doing so through prudent, safe and con-
servative methods, which will be sure to
inflict no new sacrifice on the business of
the country. Then, inspiration of new
hope, and we'll founded confidence will
hasten restoring processes of nature, and
prosperity will begil to return.
I