The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1877-08-23

dum are TO be deemed preposterou9'
Were II needlul, we might add the testl'
m0ny OF bankers, merchants, corpora
tons, and government officials 10 prove
that the seVcnihlrtcs were received anu
paid out, in the general transaction OF
business, quite rs freely as GrccnbaCks'
They began TO he boarded only ultcl
Secretary Mccullough had entered
promlscuously and rapidly upon his
policy Of contraction, when the seven
thirilcs became valuable TO capitalists
for CONVERSION into livc-twcnty bonds
bearing six per cent. interest IN com,
with the principal payable III com, al
maturity. Then they we're bought up
by the brokers, and soon disappeared
Il ON circulation.
On July |, 1856, the outstanding or
available paper money aggregated 81
S0l, 703,72G, equal to $50 rs per capita;
on July ], 1871, the amount had been
contracted to $500, 1884, and the per
capita TO Sli60-a decline OF 81, lOI ,2l0'
33l in the volume and OF S3G IL in the
per capita. Even this however, does
not show the whole measure OF conlrat-
ton. The highest total OF paper money
in existence at any one date was on Sept.
|, 1919. when the volume STOOD AT ~, ''u'
G7S.71O. Between that date and July ],
1877. the contraction amounted to 81 ,3Ou.
j,3IG. This, helped by some c0ntrl-
butiyG CAUSES, somewhat disOrgonlIed
our industry. brought on the collapse IN
| 1873, aud, with the decentralization OF
SILVER and the rash precipitancy OF the
ION to spcCia payments" filled the land
with bankruptcy, distress suffering,
wrctchcdncss, and homeless tramps. and
led UP 10 the recent strikes and riots.
Unless the terrible pressure shall be
relieved speedily by congress, only con-
lecture can picture the dismal and awful
end.
According to the best Information that
can he obtained, the gold, silver, aud pa
per money OF France, within Il few
months, wa, comprised OF the following
items; Bank notes, $j0i ,s1l $50; com
in the banks OF France, $1,000, 100000;
silver coin in the hands OF the people,
81, 900, 600 ,O0O--total, S2.3Ol ,G7 $50, The
ccnCus enumeration of 1872 gave popu-
lation OF Sc, 1929 Numbers in France,
however, increase very slowly. In 1873
the excess Of births oyer deaths was no
more than l0l ,776, { nd in 1874 only Ill.,
Gi2. Taking these figures as basis OF
computation, the population IN France in
May, 1877, WAS 3G,7S1,2l1. This est-
mate would give currency, per capita
Of SOP 81, OF which per capita Of $3.50
is outside of the bank vaults and i'll ac.
tive circulation among the people. On the
other hand the population of the United
States, on Sept. |, 1860, (whcn the total
volume of our paper money was at its
elimination, or 81 1916, GIS, 40, was
about 81 800, 600. which yields per cap
tia of S51.S7. 1t is not knOwa how much
coin we had in the country nc that date,
but il we estimate it at
Sl2l, 600, 0CO-wLat it was In
October. lS,0-and add this to the
paper volume. we shall have an aggre-
gate OF S2,ll7,G1S,71O, giving per cap.
ita OF SGl.3S on Sept. i, 1860, including
all forms OF the currency. Thus, even in
our palmicst days, when the country was
in almost dclirium of prosperity, so
unprecedented was il, except in the war
| blasted South. our currency per capita
did not equal what it is in France to-day.
! the only European country now prosper
Gus and happy. Further, the very high
est authoritative estimate of coin at
present in the United States puts the
figures at SIS, 000,0 900 nearly all of which
is held by the government and the banks.
Probably the real amount is much less;
but, adding that sum to the paper money
outstanding July, 1877, we have an
aggregate OF $3.50, 4 1884 as the utmost
limit of the circulating medium. yielding
3lS.31 per capita, or Si4,20 less per head
of population than France possesses, with
her compactly settled and highly de-
velopcd area, and with her slowly in
crcaSing numbers. If we had, as France
has. money volume equal to SG2 q pei
| Inter. ocean, SH inst. '''''' '''''''o