The Lake County star., 1877-11-22

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American Review contains contribu-
tions on the subject Of the resumption
of specie payments by ex-Secretary
McCulloch,. William ID. Kelley, David
A. Wells, Thomas Ewing, and Joseph
s. Ropes, with review of the papers
by Secretary Sherman and statement
OF his own views. In view Of
the general interest In this
question and the positions of the
gentlemen named as representatives Of
the different opinions entertained, we
give below a summary of their views !:
Mr.. McCulloch says that the pledge
of the government to redeem its notes
i'm gold on the first of January, 1879,
was incOnsideratelY made; that "it
was unquestionably hazardous to
pledge the government to u redemp-
lion of its notes at the time named
heavily indebted as 1t was To foreign
without legislation calculated
to improve its financial condition.
Enlightened statesmanship wOuld
have dictated the adoption of measures
for bringing about payment by the
government aud resumption by the
banks without fixing the day." Mr..
McCulloch thinks that, without fur
ther legislation, the outstanding paper
currency will not be reduced within
the next fifteen months below $780,
000, 900, and will be greatly surprised il
the 1st OF January, 1870, finds the
country In possession Of$13O, ,OOO, 900 In
gold available for the purposes of re-
demption. He says we have no right
toexpect that any considerable amount
of our exports will be paid for in gold,
so long as several hundred millions Of
our securities are held in Europe.
"The Resumption act" says the ex-
Secretary. without supporting legis-
lation was unwise, but the repeal of 1t
would be more discreditable than the
failure literally to comply with it. AL
though there can be no reliable re-
sumption until the gold coin in the
country approximates much more
closely than it now does to the paper
in circulation, the indications are de-
cided that before the 1st of January
1879, the gold premium will be so re-
duced that pOstpOnement of actual
resumption will not prejudice the ma
tional credit" He argues that the act
should not be repealed, but measures
should at once be adopted for funding
legal tender notes that bonds bearing
four or four and half per cent. would
practically retire these notes, and as
retired their place would be filled with
gold; that none but men of u highly
sanguine temperamentcan expect that
specie payments can be resumed aud
maintained with six hundred millions
of paper money in circulation. To
supplement the amount OF gold in the
country he should favor an increased
issue of gold notes, and adds: Fifty
millions OF these notes, properly dis
tributed. might be safely held by the
banks as part of their reserve, very
little of which would ever be returned
| for payment. In addition to such sim
pie measures as these, u time should
| be fixed by law, say the 1st of January
1880, after which United States notes
should cease to be q legal tender" +"
Mr.. McCulloch, in the course of his
paper. emphasizes that the Legal Ten
der acts should not have been passed
without provision for the conversion
| of notes into bonds. The act repeating
this provision was passed without OPP
position, and had been for months up
on the statute books before one man
| in thousand knew of its existence.
He combats the idea that any steps
that may be taken to redeem the cur
rency must lead to reduction OF
prices.
In speaking of q reconciliation OF
silver, Mr.. McCullOch says that q
double standard means a silver stand.
ard. that the adoption oft would max e
gold an article Of commerce and drive
II out Of the country; that 1t would be
exceedingly damaging to the govern.
ment, and put an end to funding its
six per cents into bonds bearing a low
er rate of interest; that the Commercial
world has OutgrOwn the use of silver as
a standard of value; that it exists a,
such only in Oriental nations, and In
poverty-stricken nations of Europe anC
Central and South America; that In
France, where the double standard
nominally exists, the coinage ofsilvel
is being restricted, for the purpose o.
reducing the amount in circulation t.
what may be required in small trans
actions, and that Germany has substi
tuted the single gold standard for thu
double standard.
Mr.. Kelley takes the ground thai
the paralysis ofthe industries and trad,
of the commercial nations Of the world
except France and Italy, is due to tn,
disregard by Germany and the United
States of two primal laws first, tha
it Is labor that supports society ant
provides revenue for governments
and, second, that market values tht
world over adjust themselves to the
volume of money in use by the com
mercial nations at any given time. III,
thinks that Secretary McCullOch's
threat of early resumption, issued from
Fort Wayne In 1865, had a disastrous
effect. He says that the Resumption
act was the result of party caucus and
parliamentary tactics, and that free
discussion would have defeated 1t. Mr.
Kelley claims that gold cannot he ob
tained to make u plausible showing o
ability tn meet the enormous liabili
ties, including two thousand millions
of deposits In banks, which will be due
in gold on the lst of January, 1879; de.
clares that the withdrawal of small
amounts of bullion have occasionet
financial crises, and asks IL i'm view o.
the paltry amount of gold held by tn,
treasury and banks he need 20 further
to prove that resumption on the ap
pointed day is impossible. He quote.
from recent letter Of Henry &. Carey
| to the President, in which the shrink
age In values during the past thirty
months Is charged to the financial pol
icy Of the government, and submit,
the question, "Do not our financial
methods tend rather to Reputation
than to resumption"
Mr.. Wells argues that the obliga.
tions of the Resumption act cannot bs
constitutionally repealed or question
ed. He says that II from any cause
the treasury Is unable to redeem lega
tenders at the designated time lis cer
.tainly competent for Congress-, ant
also its duty. to order the notes pre-
sented for redemption to be stamped
and bear the current rate of Interest
from the day named. He thinks tha
the, Redemption act is equivalent to Q
funding act under certain circumstan
ces, and that It is therefore not prob
able that contingency Of default or
the part Of the government under thu
Redemption act can occur. He says
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