The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-10-12
Schurz on the Finances.


CINCINNATI, Sept. 28.-Secretary
Schurz delivered campaign speech
here to o-night to q large assemblage
of people. There was large atten-l
| dance of farmers and Others from the,
surrounding counties. Mr., Schuz's
address was entirely devoted to fl.
nancial topics. He spoke in SUBJ
stance as follows;
FELLOW CITIZENS This is the
second time that | haYe been honor.
ed by the citizens of Cincinnati with
an invitation to speak to them on the
financial questions before the people.
The remarks am going to make to-
night will be in a certain sense, sup
Elementary to those | made here
three years ago. | then sketched the
disastrous consequences which a pols
icy of currency initiation would bring
after il to the merchant, the manls
facturer, the business man generally,
as well as to the farmer and the la
borer for wages, and especially to
the latter.
Both political parties, in their ma
tional conventions of 1876, pronoun-
! ced in favor of an early resumption
of specie payments, and thus seemed
to be agreed as to the object to be at
tained, and the preparations for re-
sumption have so far proceeded that
it is in immediate reach. But, while
in hairs breadth of a final settle
ment OF the yexed question, the in
flation mania has broken out afresh,
and itsmust be admitted that many
well-meaning citizens, under the
pressure of temporary distress, are
honestly seeking for means Of relief,
and are tending toward conclusions,
which, in the opinion Of those who
think as | do, are fallaciOus, and
fraught with great danger to the
national honor as well as the public
welfare. To that class Of honest and
well-meaning citizens | shall re-
spectfully address myself.
1t is asserted that the business col
lapse of 1878 was brought on by a
contraction Of the currency, and that
the Government withdrew from the
business Of the country the means
with which to carry on that business
and therefore business broke down,
There was, indeed, a contraction Of
our papeT currency from 1865 to 1868.
But the business collapse did not oc-
cur near that period. 1t came FIVE |
years later, and those five years be.
1868 and 1873 are generally regarded .
as years of uncommon prosperity.
Now what happened with the cur
rency between 1868 and 1878? In
1868 contraction was stopped. In
1869 the the amount OF paper curren-
cy outstanding was SGS3, ,946, ,056.61
IN 1870 it was 500, ,975, ,S99. 4S in 1871
it was S7l7 ,875, ,751 .06; in 1872 it was
S73S, $40, ,9O3.52 in 1873 it was $780,
062, ,36S.94. This statement includes
not only the greenbacks, the nation
al bank notes and the fractional cur
rency, but also the State banks cir
culation, the demand notes, the one
and two years notes of 1868, and
the compound interest notes.
Thus it appears that during sew
eral years preceding the crash of 1873
the currency was not contracted, but
increased, SO that in 1873
it amounted to over SOC, ,000, 900 more
than in 1869. The facts then stand
thus: The currency was contracted
between 1865 and 1865, and several
years of prosperity followed. The
currency was expanded from 1869 to
1873 and the collapse of business fol-
lowed. l might even add that be.
tween 1878 and 1874 the currency
was expanded over $3l 900, 600, and
yet the depression was only not re-
lieYed but increased in severity.
Let us examine the causes of the
collapse of 1873 and the subsequent
When the panic occur
red here in the autumn of 1873 a
similar crisis broke out in Europe
and swept over all Austria, the
German Empire, and almost the
whole European Continent, except |
France, while q severe business de-
preston was felt in England. The
effects produced by the crisis in Eu.
rope was almost in every respect the
same as here. In none of these coun-
tries was it currency contraction
that brought about the disaster, just
as little as in our town. There was
rather an expansion of it, especially
in Germany. The real causes were
great wars, resulting in an immense
destruction and waste of wealth. The
sinking large amounts Of capital in
GREAT undprtnLingsv w binh nnulI Ninld