New-York tribune., 1877-11-09
RESUHPTiON.

| Ills COMMENTS OS ARTICLES REGARDING III IN TIE
NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. WRITTEN BY Mh'
| MCULLOCH, MIR. KELLEY. MIR. EWING AND MIX"
ROPES.
The North american Reriac for November-Decem-
her contains Symposium on Resumption of
Specie Payments" The debate is opened by an eX-
Secretary Of the Treasury the Hon. Hugh McCul-
loch. whose views on this subject have frequently
been presented in the columns of The TRIBUNE,
and is conducted 10y Judge w. ID. Kelley, the Hon.
David A. Wells General Thomas Ewing and the
Hon. Joseph ). Ropes. Their articles were submit
ted TO the Secretary of the Treasury the Hon. John
Sherlnau and he closes the discussion with review
Of their arguments. As his article embodes his own
views on this important subject well as his criti-
csms, 1t is reproduced here III full.
OPINION or SECRETARY SHERMAN.
The editor Of The North Am0'icqn Rerier lays be.
fore me several papers, prepared by Gentlemen Oh
distinction. upon the general subject Of resumption,
preSeuting Opposite views. and asks me 10 comment
npon them his could hardly do in short state
ment nor is il necessary, perhaps as the mistakes
and eXaggeratloIrs OF cXtrene oplh'hs are suicchl
" illustrated and answered in tie opposite views OF
the writers of these articles. Perhaps the ediIOr
VIII be satisfied, In lis COnlnendaOe seaIch aIter
truth through discussion, with brief re-
ply TO some of the general POSITIONS taken
by the two opposing sides on TINS question;
Judge Kelley and General Ewing may fairly be said
10 rcnTcgeut the imitation or extreme papcT-mOuey
view The substance of their papers IS an eloquent,
but rather OycrdIawn picture OF the hnanclal dis-
tress through which we have recently passed; Dut
the great error into which they have fallen and
into which il is strange that men so acute of intel
iect os they rp should fall is 10 attribute this uan-
cal distress 20 the Resumption Act, instead of To ITS
real and only cause the unparalleled lnhaton Ol
paper money and credits during and since
the war. The LOSSES by the Chicago fire
of 1870 tbc still greater trouble that eliminated in
the panIc of 1873 all the losses, failures, distress,
and embarrassment the reckless and foolish accu-
mutation Of municipal debts, credits. devices and
frauds the natural effect of inflated and deprecated
paper mOuey-all these they abSurdly charge 10 an
act Of Congress that was no passed until January,
1879 Only one provision Of this act-that 10 Snqstl-
tute SILVER money for fractional rrncy-had been
partially put in force previous to March last. No
other important step under the law had then been
taken, and since then, IN It's T&t ucal fcShllS' II
has been one of the chief causes Of our present I'M
proved and improving financial condition II
is strange that III the writings ana speeches OF
these gentlemen they overlooked the fact that the
panic of 1873, and all the Wild and visionary
schemes that preceded II, together with all the
train Of events that led TO every failure that has
occurred since, had been fully cousummated before
the Resumption Act was passed and that the
Resumption Act was the remedy provided by Con-
greSs TO check and cure these evils and Is now IN
full tide Of successful execution Their cOquencc Is
wasted except 10 show that dcprcclaied and inflated
paper money has produced in our country, as IT has
uroduccd In other countries the same result Of
staCnatiOn, distress, bankruptcy, and ruin; that
war. which makes necessary deprecated and
inflated paper money. Is the primal cause OF these
troubes; that II was 80 after tle war OF the
Revolution, after the great wars IN Europe, and
would have been even worse IN our own
country but for its wonderful vitality and
resources If at the close of the war We had
promptly taken steps toward specie payments,
much of the evil would have been avoided, and the
MUNICIPAL and private debts which now burden our
people would never have been contracted. The
postpOnement Of resumption was great error, but
was partly excused BY the destruction OF values
caused by the war and by the exaggerated fears in
tie popular mind of contracting the currency 20 a
peace standard. My only reply to these gentlemen
would he that the dlsreeses tney complain of were
the direct certain and unavoidable result of tine
very policy Of imitation which they favor, and that
II would be just as idle now to keep mp tins imitation
with the hope of prosperity az it would be TO advise
a druukaTd TO keep on drinking III tie hope OF re-
BENEFITS or TIE RESUMPTION ACT
To attribute failures and distress 10 the Resump-
tion Act instead of to deprecated paper money, is
but repetition OF the complaint Of the wolf against
.hc lamb for rolling the water Ii IA Ike swearing
AZ the doctor for causing pains III administering
edies for raging fever. The homeopathic doses ad-
ministered under the Resumption Act prior 20 March,
1877, had one virtue, # no oiheT-thcy conld do no
nossbc HARM If they dlf not do any good. Since
the first Of March the steps taken for resumption
have been so rapid and marked rs 10 produce impOr-
tant direct results, but they have been constant
lv accomuanied with advancing prosperity incrcas-
iug trade and have given us the first broad glm-
mcTing Of returning light attera period of distress
and trouble The Resumption act was intended by
Congress as a remedy for the evlS under which We
were then suffering. 1t was passed seventeen months
after the panic of 1873, and when we were in the
midst of all the evils of imitation. The experiment
of further imitation to cure imitation was fairly,
though illegally. tried by throwing INTO the naels-
from S2G, 600, 900 Of United States notes that had
been retired and cancelled Every device for relief.
as well for resumption as eXpansl0n had been fruit
lessly discussed III Congress without agreement.
The subject in every phase ilad been considered by
the people during all that time In the talI OF 1874
public sentiment had crystalllzed in favor Of
some step toward the resumption OF the
specie standard. This led 10 the passage
lv declaration that We would restore
the value of our paper dollar 10 the specie
standard bv the lst OF January, 1879. The mode
and means by which this was TO be done were not
pointed ont as they Ought To have been, but the de
tails were left 10 the Secretary OF the Treasury and
the powers We're ample and definite. lhls remedy
was the natural one the one that all nations have
prescribed, the one that our fathers followed after
the Revolution, which England and france have
more than once followed, and winch every nation
must follow that is driven for the time from the
specie standard No human device has ever sulliced
to relieve a nation that adopts lrTedeemable paper
money from the necessity OF returning to the only
natural standards of vaIue-gOld and silver. This
act was passed as the result of VIDE differences OF
opinion that could not be re0ouciled. and did lot
contemplate sudden changes or movements
-Four years were allowed to prepare and provide
for resumption. Thus far. prior To March last S2s,
743,31o silver was substituted for TlIO143l7
fractional currency retired; no goa was aCcuihu-
lated and gTcenbaCks were retired only to the eX-
tent of 80 per cent, National bank notes is
sued. This plan OF resumption Is conlessedl not
perfect plan. and almost every one las desired to
make amendments to 1t, but IL Is the only one that
Congress would grant and II is now demonstrated
that under the provisions OF That act the specie
standard can he reached by the lst of January,
1879. repeat what have said elsewhere. that re-
sumption be- ought 10 be, and will be secured If
this law il not repealed by Congress.
THE NEW PLANS FOR RESUMPTION.
And here should refer to the papers submitted
by Mr.. MCCullOch. and Mir. Ropes, all very well
stated, all very well written; and with many Of
their ideas heartily agree But what is the use of
talking of other plans of Te>umptlOnl The idea
suggested by these gentlemen advocated ia
Congress for years. A simple funding act was pro-
posed by the Committee on Finance in 1866, aud
was pressed year in and year out. In the original
- lllLl mi,