New-York tribune., 1878-09-30
SEoRErARYScHURz ON TIE FINANCES.
POPULAR ERRORS NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. DEFENDED
"A PLEA FnR TILE NATIONAL BANK NOTES.


CINCINNATI, Sept 29.-Secretary Schurz adj
dressed large audience last evening at the Music
Hall He was introduced By the Hon. Richard Smith,
and spoke at considerable length the finances He
denied that contraction the Of the business
collapse in 1873. showing that the volume Of the cur
reney greater than in 1868, when contraction
stopped and i've prosperous years interYened before
the panic The best thing can do after such col
lapse he said, is quietly to gather up our five senses
and 10 to work like TO repair our shattered for
tunes And how those shattered fortunes be re-
paIed9 First, by recognizing the error OF our ways
and dlseardmR all self-deceptions aud delusions;
by remembering that our wealth must CONSIST
in what we produce and have, and not In
what wo dream of; by abstaining. consequently,
from all windy schemes to make ourselves rich by
printing the word dollar upon piece OF paper Dy acthg
upon the principle thar the only honest way 10 get rd
of our debts B by paying Them and that we become
prosperous only by producing things Ihat are nsSIu
and by spending less than we earn. These may LOOK
like very Old-fashOncd hOmespun doctrines, but what
ever modern financial jugglers may try TO have you
believe, these doctrines now Just as good as they
were Thousand ago. and they point the only way
out OF lcultes There is no other To the honor
OF the American people be II SAID very large mgOrly
Of them have been acting upon these principles Tor me
last i've years. ana hey are al e bne @ IN about
all sorts OF methods 10 money out Oh noun
ing and TO distribute IL to keep everybodys pocket
full OF cash. thereby putting an the country ~ SdSe'
But although that wild talk has Defogged some and I'M
peded needul legislation, yet the people on the whole
have been sturdy at work producing useful things ana
practising wise economy ana WINE tue re Ls-
felt in ali the walks OF human industry
aud all classes society. yet during the last fve years
the American people have created more real suDsau-
al wealth than during the hye years OF wild schemlDg
gambling and speculation which preceded the crash OF
1873. He would further say that business activity IS
slowly but surely quickening again. and that the Amer
people stand upon the threshold OF new pefod
OF PROSPERITY and that they shall reap abundant har-
vest Of t unless they throw away their opportunities
by mischevous ntermeddng with the natural develop
That revival Of business prosperity viii indeed not
consist u putting upon their legs again old exploded
D
ness who broke down by yenturng lntO operations
All over creation To be sure many Of that class who are
still struggling may sul have TO 20 dowq and no nat
money can help them But new men WIZ step INTO tneI
places. such mean the survival OF the ntJest'
Neither must all OF the laboring men who nave been
thrown of work By the crtss expect that revival
Of business will IN AL eases give them prompt employ
ment again IN the Sor same ot toa ne r have TOto rs
change their occupation, and those VINO use te OppOr
tuntes IN lhat respect mosl fssoueS VII WI 10 10 r e
better for IT, Reylung prosperlIy Hlli Sosss IN gtauo @
ally opening fruitful Held Tor those fancnes OF pro-
ductiye industry and corresponding trade which supply
actual wants AS old stocks are exhausted tney must
be replaced. The pressure OF the times mas taught
people 10 produce many articles, formerly bought
abroad so cheaply and In such excellent quality as to
Introduce them successfully aud largely INTO foreign
GDiT maFset Sn and good prices mudtude of clF-
cumstanees concur TO give TO almost every
announcement; and whatever changes In the methods
Of production have taken place. tseTe ] ~ 10 @ ina
profitable the employment OF the same' anu even
larger number OF men than before.
ness eau have no healthy DEVELOPMENT things
OF the rst necessity good National aud individual
credit based upon National and individual honesty
second sound currency OF real ami stable value and
t6rd safe aud reliable banking system the deposit
tory OF funds and the machinery OF business ex
In dealing with these points OF his sDeeoh Mr. schurz
sad II u notorious fact that only an innitesimal
patt II any OF our National bonds are still IN the
hands OF the original purchasers. The original pur-
rbasers have long ago realized them, and those
VINO hold tbs bonds now nave almost all bought
them at high hgures-in large majority OF eases
probably az their par value IL Ia estimated that at one
time about 81 .OOO,OOOOO0 Of our bonds were held
abroad. II Is stated by the secretary oi the treasury
WHO best OF aseertanng the fact that at
present the amount Of bonds held an toregn eoaI6es Is
very large quantity OF 4lS, o aud per eeut bonds
panies savings instituuOns and in trust for widows
aud orphans Thus they form an important
The idea that By banishing the precious metals from our
monetary system could cut loose from the money
OF our paper money with gold, IA amuSlngiy absurd We
are Nation, and nave large dealings with the
and settled for the gold basis Whatever eXpedient
you may resort TO, gold VIII 1e aud remain
Toe greenback has been made by the inhstonsts the
subject OF an idolatTy which, upon close examination,
stained, sanohned greenback dollar after allf II Is
nothing nor less than promise on the part OF lne
the purposes OF currency. Aud 70 the services ren
by the green0aek In the war retrospeetFe view
oil the case incllnes him strongly 20 tne opinion that
Congress been courageous aud strong enough TO IN
ss upon raising money by taxation instead of rcsOrng
TO the ezp zpedent OF redeemable paper money when
Immensely inflated all prices, would
us from ~ 900 900 900 TO ~ 100000 less end We
would ali no better for IL had We never seen the glo
riOus greenbaCk.
NOW, suppose, after the resumption OF specie pay
meuts you present greenDack dollar ~ the Treasury
and you get gold dollar for IL, and the Ereenbaok Is
then cancelled ana destroyed, Will the volume OF the
currency Do thereby Contracted - Not &C all. Tue
greenbaok dollar has disappeared the gold dollar has
place for circulation. and the volume or the
currency remains exactly tue same Is there any horror
about thati wl anybody loose anything by lti It,
simply the Substitution IN the circulating taediuln OF
good gold dollar Tor promise 20 pay That Is all Re
pardluE National bank notes he said tue sub
stitutlOu Of greenbacks for National bank notes,
"a 1 have already shown, would make tue re-
sumption OF specie payments impossible, not only nc
present but for indefinite time. lt would launch us
ont again upon the OF irredeemaOe paper money
without rudder compass Our National bank currency
possesses quality very nportaOt TO the business VI the
country which the Government paper currency does not
possess. It the quality or elasticity Have you
not all been demanding "A currency elastic In volume
Well the bank currency Is. Tue Government paper
a welLregulated system Ia determined by the require
nent OF the business or the country. When more Is
needed IL will become profitable 10 issue more, and II
will DO issued When less Is needed the excess hOws
process The Government Is bad banker, tut, II well
administered lt may be good bank controller, as lt
proved in instance He read In the public journals
of an orator speaking 10 the otZens OF Ohio and de-
the first January aud that II 1t IS not blood Will be
shed is execution Can it be that there
men the ready to shed blood order the
dreadful chance of helr for gold
sci and victims violently demented, tue delirium
must have reached a phase where lt Is impossible TO
draw the line between the sublime and the ridiculous.
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FEMININE LoGIC-Business- wife to her
buAy husband" pm charge much for