New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-05-23
CONGRESS AND TIE FINANCES.


CONGRESS md TIE FINANCES.
IF Congress would be good enough not to
NEEDLE with The finances at all it would de
serve thanks. The Treasury Is doing very
well. The country is accumulating specie and
making ready for resumption. Its industries
are learning TO produce at lower cost and are
beginning to push their products into foreign
markets hitherto practically closed against
them BIT members of Congress cannot rest.
They burn to distinguish themselves by get
ting something changed rs to the finances;
and since everything is doing very well, and
change involves the probability II not the
certainty of mischief, members insist upon
making mischief. 1t seems to be their temper
to do anything. no matter what, rather than
permit the country to 20 forward toward
prosperity without their meddling.
The bill reported by the Finance Committee
of the Senate is excused by some Of It's sup
pOrtcrs rs a necessary step to prevent more
miSchcvOu5 legislation. Since Congress must
NEEDLE, they virtually say, this bill must be
passed to contine the damage within movable
limits What farce self governing lesisa
ton must have become, if it is really ncces-
SHY ~ PASS bdu Di4IN III Oit'i ~ sup pi'''
that are much worse We are not prepared
to believe that this or any other tub to the
whale Is necessary. There is veto power,
held by President who has not lacked cOur-
age to use it, and any measure OF serious
injury to the public faith or welfare
could probably be arrested by the exercise of
that power The real difficulty is that many
members have played the demagOeue so long,
and so absurdly, that they dare not go home
without getting something done which they
can pretend was designed and calculated to
"ailord relief" Any member OF Congress
who knows enough to go in when it rains,
must also know that the mere stoppage Of the
cancellation of greenbacLs Is of not the slight
est practical effect for good or evil. The
power OF the Secretary of the Treasury to
withdraw lcgal-tcndcrs from actual circula-
ton, to lock them up in the Treasury
and to redeem them by Payment of coin,
is not changed in any way, and as
long as that power remains In the hands OF
a man who means to use it, nobody need care
whether the grcenbacks taken in are to be
burned, or ground into pulp, or fled away
like the musty archives of the defunct COnfed-
cracy which the grcenbacks helped to defeat.
But 1t is very important matter to shallow
demagogues 70 be able to say to their con-
stitucnts, " Behold what a glorious measure
- for your relief" The hope that the average
voter will never find out that the measure was
as great a humbug as the Representative is
possibly pardOnable, and certainly cherished by
a great many men who want to be considered
statesmen.
1t is not the part of good sense to interfere
with the Resumption Act in any respect. 1t
has worked wonders. Its warmcst supporters
hardly expected from it such success as has
been realized, and the Democratic opinion of
" Sherman's sham" has changed as completely
as the Confederate opinion of General Sher-
mans tactics during the war. For Z: sham
this act has smashed an uncommOnly large
number of Democratic expectations. Partisan
ship aside, it has moved the country very far
forward toward complete restoration of the
specie basis it has nearly accomplished what
sound and conservative men of both parties
have ardently desired; and it would be as
sensible to dismiss n doctor who was just
completing the cure of patient, and to call
in a new and untried physician, as to change
the law which has effected so much
But change of the law in the manner pro-
posed would be a paltry and palpable hum
bug. 1t is really of no consequence whether
the amount of legal-tenders borne on the
Treasury reports as outstanding" be S34O,-
OOO, 900 or 100000. If resumption is
TO be accomplished, all the notes that are not
wanted in actual circulation at par Will get
into the Treasury and stay there, and for all
practical purposes might as well be burned.
If DESTROYED it would still be possible for
Congress to reissue legal-tcnders, and the
question whether their issue after they have
once been presented for payment and re-
deemed is or is not constitutional, in time of
neace. will still have to be settled, in one case
rs in the other. Resumption will not be for
warded by destroying, nor hindcred by retain
ing in the Treasury, any part Of the legal
tenders in excess of the sum actually needed
for circulation at par. The real object Of the
bin is to enable some vOciierOus demagogues
10 Gift themselves down easIy.n As the
number of such demagOguea il sufficiently
large in both houses, a fellow feeling will
probably insure the passage of particularly
unnecessary, inept and worthless bill, so that
members may he enabled to glOrify them
selves before dull constituents.
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THE BROOKLYN SUNDAY-SCHOOLS