Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1878-09-26
CARL SCHURZ.
His Great Speech at Music Hall,
Cincinnati, September %.
An Exhaustive Discussion Of the
Finance Question.
Three Things Needful for q Healthy
Business Revival.

an invitation To speak 10 them on the financial aues
lions before the people. thank you sincerely for
respond 10 it with deep sense OF responsibility.
The remarks am going to make might will be in
certain sense supplementary to those made here
Three Years ago. tneH skotched the disastrous
sequences winch policy of currency imitation would
bring alter ii 10 the merchant the manufacturer. the
business generally we'll "a the farmer and the
laborrT fr and especially the latter. AT that
time the people Of Ohio, in their state election.
administered "a wise and noble rebuke tn the imitation
then attempted by the DemocTa attic party
of tins State. 1t 10 be hoped that this reouke
would sufficiently check that movement to prevent
its repetition That hope has been disappointed.
lndees both political parties In their national con-
vent0ns of 1876 pronounced in favor of an early
sumption oil specie pay ments and thus seemed to DO
agreed as to the object to he attained. and the
preparations for resumption have 81 far that
1t within immediate reach. But while
within hairs breadth of final settlement of the
vexed question. the imitation mania mas broken out
airesh: aud il must be admitted that many we'll
meaning citizens under the pressure OF temporary
distress. honestly seeking for means OF relief,
and are tending toward conclusions which. In tine
opinion OF those who think TO- are failaci0us,
and raugbt with great danger TO the national honor
we'll As the public welfare.
To that class OF honest and well meaning citiZe
shall respectfully address myself, anu in doing
shall nsie I'd ofmakiug an effort at hishfown ora
tory. express myself in the way of straigntfOrw ard
homely common sense talk.
From time immemoria and in all countries it has
been the habit vi politicians. when the people
labOrng under business depression and distress such
has been affecting for the last five years to
charge those managing the affairs OF the government
with the responsibility tor 1t all. And they do
When yea ask them 10 particularize their
charge in case they will tell you that the BUSH
ness collapse of 1873 brought by a cOntrac-
tom OF the currency; That the government with.
With which to carry that business Aud that there
fore business broke down.
THIS charge has often and conclusivey
routed that 1t we'll nigh exhausts ones patience to
refer il again But you have head of who
tell the yarn often that they at last believe
A.
sist that the crash of 1878 caused hy contrae-
ton. Indeed the intat,onists need thu story tor
their theory: They cannot do witho- ~. and
therefore raliantly stick TO it, What the facss
have she official tables before There ,sss in.
deed contraction OF paper currency from 1865 10
1868, bat the business collapse did occur in
1868 IL came five years later and those ave years
between 1865 and 1873 generally regarded as
years of UNCOMMON prosperity Now, what hap.
In 1868 contraction was stopped. In 1859 the
e IN isso It Was
SS3s, $40. 9O3.52 ia 1879 it was $3.50 OG2,
366. o. This statement includss not only the
greonbackH the national bank notes and tho frac-
currency but also the State bank cir culation
the demand notes, the one and two-your notes OF
1863 aud the compound interest notes. titus it
crash Of 1878 the currency was not Only not
trasted but very materially increased, so that in
1873 1t amounted 10 over hfty-six millions more
than in 1869.
The fact then, stands thus: The currency was
contracted between 1865 and 1868, and several
years Of prosperity folIoxsd The currency has ex-
ness occurred. Ii it true, the inharionisis
insist that tho increase decrea-e of the currency
were at the bottom Of cur prosperity and ression
respectively, would have to answer that accord
ing the clearly ascertaned facts OF history il
contraction that caused prosperity. and expansion
tween 1878 and 1874 The currency was expanded
from S75V. U62 36o 81 10 $751; 4yO 916 IL; that is
say, thIrIyone millions, and yet the depres
ing severity. Our initiation friends may relish
that kind of reasoning. but hat have you wcr7
Those who know will bear me witness that have
hestated to cTiticse those IN power fO things
thougnt wrong. but candidly think u charge
those power With having brought the crisis OF
1873 by a contraction OF the currency would be just
~ reasonable to make them responsible for the
oquinoct,ai seasons for the depredalions of the
iocusts in The West. 1t the government is be made
responsisie for every hing. then soemny demand
that the abundant this year be put the credit
the administration. and OF the Department OF Az
ricuture in particular.
Let Us examine the causes of the collapse of 1873
and the subsequent depression unprejudi ced
business We all know that 1T the same time
when panic occurred here in tne autumn of 1873
similar crisis broke cut in urOpe, and swept
eli Austria, the German Empire, and almost the
whole Europezn continent. except France. while
business depression was felt in England
Surely. although tins Is . great country. our Con.
gress administration, the Republican part "
cannot have been at the bottom OF ali that: and yet
the effects produced by the crisis IA Europe were III
almost every respect the same as here. Specula-
lions collapsed values shrunk iently real estate
went down, ballkz manufacturing ami trading firms
failed in large numbers extensive branches Of In
dustr,es stopped. tailoring % thrown out of
employment or compelled to work t r. lower wages,
glisyous distress spread over all hose countries
Is we'll n. upon cai.d examination
you viii ind that ~ the ehecls we're similar In the
two hemispheres were the undrris ing causes.
n Of these countries 1t a c4ntrac-
tion brought the disasters just little rs
In our own There was rather AN expansion Of it.
especially An Germany No. the rssai causes
noA
great wars resulting in immense destruction and
of weaith large Industries miistering to the
work of destruction instead of producing additional
wealth; Jus after that, excessive enterprise. smu
lated by apparent success; the sinking of large
smcunts Of capital In great undertakings hich could
yield no immediate return such rs bal ding railroads
where they not needed; for anticipating the
ture; the invention aud introduction OF new labor
saving machinery. creating new facilities Of prOiuc-
present demsnd; Wild sp.culaiion dsaas and saln
bling in all sorts OF imaginary values; an immense
number of people frnnticiiy striving TO make money
quickly By any means except solid work; an infatu-
sted faith in the certain saccsss of windy schemes
unnatural sraining of the credit system by push
inc speculation and enterprise tar beyond the
of those en- tagged in it, and n,lly. almost every body
believing himself richer than he was ard therefore
spending than he could afford, hence wide
spread extravaganza and imProvident habits Aud,
II we inquire what the currency had TO do with IT,
We shouId find that in this country irredeemable
paper money, by Its depreciation running prices up
to fictitious point stimulated the spirit OF reckless
and gambling In almost all branches of enter
prise and business melted extravaganza. aud thus
strengthening all tue bad and dsmorazing infu
hicts usually active at such period
Such things are APT 10 60 on swimmingy for some
time. But illusions and lies will last always es
peciaiiy in business matters. After awhile it viii
turn out that million OF nen engaged In active war
fare hare consumed and destroyed wealth. but not
produced any; that railroad running from Point
Nowhere to Point Nowhere cannot pay dividends
until has passengers and freight to carry that the
value Of real estate does depend upon the inag
isaGioa OF its owner, but upon the use that can be
made Of II: tbat lots In paper towns, where
nobody lives and nobody intends To live. viii moi
bear heavy mortgages that articles Of industry pro-
duced beyond actual demand will become drug In
the market; that shares In joint stock companies
however skillfuliy ballo0ned by operators will III
last become worthless ii the enterprise yields III
profits that men who borrow more than they pay
must at last break. and that those who spend more
than they can earn will finally become paulefs
This light the light of sober truth usually breaks
al Ut sudden upon the people. The illusion all al
once vanishes, The bubble bursts. and we are Sol