The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-05-08
The Present Condition of Finan-
cial Affairs.
What Effect the Enforcement of the
Measure Will Have Upon
the TOiling Masses.
speech of Hon. ID. W. Voorhees, Son the
Resumption Bill, Delivered in
the u. =. Senate, Thurs
day, May Id.

1 caSlOn at any great length. There are some
circumstances, however, connected with the
subject before us which can not fail to arrest
general attention. When congress convened
jim October last, now more than six months
ago, the public mind was in a state of anxious
hope and expectation. For nearly five years
the cou,se of business and the interests of labor
had been rapidly declining From time to
time it had been announced by those who as
sumo superior wisdom upon this subject that
/ the bottom, as they are eased to call it, had
been reached. There can be no doubt at least
that great financial depression and distress
had been fastened upon the country. No
channel of active business and no branch of
I industry had escaped.
1t was natura therefor when the repre-
sentatives of the people, having entire control
\ over the finances of the country, met i'm the
\ discharge of their official duties, that relief
/ should be expected from their action. All ewes
/ were turned upon them. Every ear listened
/ for the sounds that emanated from here; and
\ every heart beat high with hope of redress
/ Let us inquire how tar these expectations and
/ hopes have been fulfilled. Two measures of
! overwhelming Importance to the interests of
the people we're at once introduced in the
/ house of representatives and promptly passed.
II was determined by that body without de-
\ lay that the coinage of the American silver
I dollar known in the history of this govern
/ ment from its foundation, should be restored,
/ in quantities limited only by the amount of
! bullion which could be procured. The strug-
! gle over that question and the result which
+ followed have passed into history. Another
question, however, of far greater magnitude
/ was acted upon by the house at the same time.
The repeal of the act of January IA, 1875, known
as an act to provide for the resumption Of
/ in the American mind almost from the day OF
/ its passage. lis influences upon every element
/ of prosperity were soon discovered to be per-
nicious. a paralysis Immediately fell upon
! all the great and active industries of
/ the country. The object OF the law
] mud tn hn hn INN 10
/ task of procuring a sufficient amount of the
/ precious metals to form the basis of specie
/ sumption, but simply to reduce, retire, cut
/ down and destroy the amount of money in
circulation in the hands OF the people until t.
Appropriated the comparatively small
amount of gold which we have in our possess
ion or which it was possible for us to obtain.
/ In pursuing this purpose the amount of hui
man misery, of individual wretchedness, of
restitution, of crime, of vice. of the destruction
of property values of the overthrow of wealth
producing establishments of industry is simp-
1t is conceded on all hands tnar in this at
tempt to reduce the volume OF our circulation
in order TO reach what is called a specie basis
the shrlnkage In the values OF property-that
Is to say the absolute destruction of values
has reached the enormous and APPALLING sum of
over ten thousand millions of dollars. One
fourth, AT least, of the property of the United
states has been absolutely confiscated.
Ii is not wonderful, therefore, that from the
highest to the lowest intelligences the victims
OF this vast national crime should nave very
quickly discovered the source of their calami-
]
make such calamities paramount issue in
their Judgment upon pubic men ana
P9oIie measure fa res Inc, Indeed inns I, issue
sue in which the interests OF the people are so
vividly involved that party lines are almost in
visible in the gloom of a common distress. IL is
nevertheless true, however, that parties have
spoken in their highest organized capacity on
this subject. 1t Will not be forgotten by the
American people that in June 1876, at the city
OF ST. Louis, the democratic party in ma ionaI
convention, with authorized delegates from
every sIete and congressional district in the
Union, declared in favor of the repeal of this
Odious and crushing measure.
The, mousse OF representatives, therefore, re-
corded the popular will aScertained in many
ways and by the highest authority, when on
the 23d day of November last it passed the act
repeating the act of January IA, 1879, and for
which the finance committee of the senate has
recently reported asuoStitute. Since the pas
sage of that act in the house public expecta-
ton has been turned on this body. From that
time 10 this the Responsibility has rested here.
Hal there been prompt and immediate con-
currence on the part of the senate with the ac-
ton OF the house, how much loss, ban kruptcy,
and suffering would have been averted during
the last five dreadful business months can of
course never be estimated. During the pro-
tracted debate which took place here on the
silver bill il was striking feature of the enOr-
nous number of petitions that were presented
in this body that they invariably coupled two
prayers together one for the restoration OF the
silver dollar and the other for the repeal of
these two prayers were not heard here at our
desk from the highest business interests and
the most intelligent people in the United
states. Their cry was unceaSing and for i'm
mediate relief They did not obtain IT,
The opponents ofthe repeal of the resumption
act have pleaded for delay and dealt in aSsur-
ances that soon all occasion Tor such repeal
would pass away.
They have dealt in pleasing prophecies in
regard 10 the revival of business and the en-
plOyment of idle starving laborerS which have
all failed to come true. Their newspaper or
gans have sought to delude the country by
constant proclamations OF healthy reactions
in business which have not taken place They
have peTSistently declared that the worst was
over; that, having sounded all the depths and
shoals of financial disaster, and there being no
new bottoms in the great deep of universal
ruin for us TO fa )m, the tendency hereafter
must necessarily be upward. These false
prophets are also opposed to all discussion.
! They are now deploring the fact that this great
question of the peoples rights has been again
brought up in the senate. They represent the
only class in the omitted States that is now
filled with comfort, that lives without toll and
/ draws its SuStenance from the hard earned
! stores of Others. OF course the members OF
1 this class do not wish TO be disturbed. Why
TIE drone in the hive, living on the honey
/ accumulated by the labOring bee, never de-
! the question OF his support agitated. Those
I who live in violation of the rights OF others
have, in all ages and countries, been the ferc,
/ est opponents of free speech and the principal
/ sufferers by its fearless exercise.
Let us see, however, whesher the worst is
/ over, as are so loudly assured. Let US see
/ whether, while we have been delaying action,
/ the business interests Ofthe country have been
/ improving or not. Let us hOld "a DrleI cOuSul-
1 tation and determine whether, while we have
been waiting with wise looks and vain augur-
/ les for the patient 10 revive, that patient has
not been actually bleeding to death before our
/ eyes. Within the last few days have ex-
amined the report OF the mercantile agency of
/ New York, keeping "a record of the business
failures of the United States for the first three
months OF The present year. 1t contains an
appalling exhibition. During the three
months of January, February and March. the
number of failures is put at 1856 and the
amount OF their liabilities at the startling sum
/ of So O7S, S26. If we compare that report with
the same period of time during the last year
we find the liabilities growing out of bank
ruptcies to be ST $40 $50 greater in the first
quarter of 1873 than in the first quarter of 1871.
/ A similar comparison with the first quarter of
the year 1876 shows the bankrupt liabilities of
/ the country to have increased 81 ,434, $40 from
that time to the present. III we should
carry this comparison back to the period
when our volume of circulation was at very
greatest, during the inflated years of 1853, 1854
/ and 1865, we will find that during those entire
three years the aggregate amount OF liabilities
for ali the commercial failures in the United
States reached only the sum of s3i.lOS,OO0, but
I little more than one-third of the amount grow
ing out of the same cause in the last three
months.