Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-08-10
EWING ON FINANCE.

Il Clear Revie,c of the Financial Question
by Hon. Thomas E,cing-The Falacies of
the Resuntptionfsts-The Causes of Pros
traitor IL, Business, and the Degradation,
of Labor.
Hon. Thos Ewing. being renominated for
Congress at Macarthur, o., on Thursday, was
called on for speech. He responded, de-
voting bis entire attention to the finances
We make the following extracts:
What is the cause, and what the cure, of
the intolerable paralysis of business, destruc-
ton of values and degradation of lobor.
which now Cypress and alarm our people?
The cause, fellow citizens, still insist. is
the improbable attempt to force specie
payments. 1t was perfectly apparent from
the outset, to every well-informed and rea-
soning man. that the scheme involved this
distress, as inevitably as the amputation of
a leg involves a serious shock to the nervous
system. We have too little coin, and too
little power to keep it, to make permanent
resumption possible, without an enormous
contraction of our paper currency. We
have experienced a contraction of about
$7O,OOO,O00 by cancellation, and much more
than that by boarding through fears of capt.
talsts as to the resumption law and this
contraction has resulted in an enormous fall
of prices, ruin of debtors and tax payers,
profitless business, bankruptcy, pauper
wages, want of employment, starvation, rag
gedness, beggary and crime. :.
First-They say the people of this country
will not call fer gold. Recollect that re-
sumption means that every bank depositor
or government creditor shall have his free
choice of gold or silver for his debt. There
are about $35O,0OO,O00 of legal tenders and
100000 of bank paper and s., 00,O00,-
600 of national and other bank deposits,
every holder of which must be given gold if
he demand it, before resumption can be re-.
garded as established. Were the national
| banks-the right bowers of the treasury de-
partment-to refuse to pay gold to either
note-holders Or depositors. the refusal would
be interpreted to mean weakness at the
treasury. Confidence would be shaken.
The secretary relies on confidence as sub
stltute for two thirds of the coin needed.
When that is shaken resumption dies. To
| retain this confidence all national banks
must pay gold as freely as paper or silver if
| demanded. Now, the people outside of toe
Pacific slope have no gold. They sold their
boards ten or fifteen years ago. Won't they
| want it? Of course they will. I venture
the prediction that the gold the secretary has
boarded at such effort and cost will not sup
ply the home demand alone.
The second falicious theory is that the
secretary of the treasury can refuse to pay
gold and pay only silver for greenbacks, and
that the banks exporters and people will not
want silver. But he will have but $20OO0,-
900 to 100000 of silver dollars. If he
| refuses to pay gold when demanded he will
| advertise his inability to resume in gold. 1t
| will by that act be put at a premium; his
barricade of silver will be drawn out to get at
| the gold, and resumption will collapse on a
''Black Friday
The brief faliacy of the resumptionists is
| that the balance OF the merchandise trade
| for the past eighte months is making the
maintenance of resumption certain. But it
brings us no gold, for the reason that we pay
tribute each year to Europe of not less
| than $200,000,OO0 for interest on American
bonds and investments, expenses of foreign
residence and travel, and cost of foreign
shipping. That tribute far exceeds any
balance of merchandise trade which it is
off more than the whole coined product of
| the precious metal now than then. This
balance of merchandise trade has checked
| for the time being the export of gold, but
! brought us none. If it exceed our foreign
| tribute the balance IS paid US in our bonds,
notin gold.
| If the secretary should hoard all green
! backs redeemed, he will still further crush
and destroy the business of the country, for
| the gold paid out will not move the currents
of trade as greenbacks do, but will largely
| settle in boards or reserves or go abroad.
And the country will rise in arms against
| such protracted pressure and smash the
| machine. But il he should Gas | believe he
will not) pay out greenbacks as fast as re-
| deemed. then the increase of currency,
| though it will not be large, will be enough
| to lift the screw pressure from business, and
| it will revive, wages will increase, consump-
! ton of home and foreign products return
toward normal condition, and forthwith
our bloated balance of trade will disappear.
and our annual tribute to Europe will again
! be paid in part by an annual shipment of
| from $50,000,000 to 100000 900 of gold, as
| for twelve years before the resumption law
passed. Then the mad attempt to resume
| specie payments without quarter OF an
| adequate supply of coin, and under condi-
tons of foreign debt and expenditure which
made success impossible, will collapse. The
country will then shake off the rule OF the
usurers and theorists who have nayigated it
over Niagara; and the attempt Will take its
merited rank in history as a gigantic rob-
berry OF the people and a high crime against
| civilization.
Our people are in debt at least $l2 ,oOO,-
100000 for Government, individual and cor.
\ oLl
an annual interest of $8OO,O0O,000 or $780,
100000 a year. Our Government taxes, ma
tional, State aud municipal, are about
$75O,OOO,OOO annually. Excluding the ta,res
| for interest on bonds, the two sums together
represent an annual charge of near 81 $780,
100000 year. This sum is about twice
the amount of the annual increase of wealth
in the United States. after deducting living
expenses, and is equivalent to interest at G
per cent. on a sum greater than the present
selling value of all the property, real and
personal, in the United States
| It is this system of unparalleled indebt-
ment and taxation which makes the question
| of the volume Of money we are to have SO
transcendentley important the volume of
money determines values. The scale of
present expenditures having been fixed, and
the public and private Indebtedness con-
tracted, on basis of values more than twice
as high as those of to-day, o restoration of
values is demanded by every consideration
of honesty and craftsmanship. But there
can be no restoration of values without the
utter abandonment of resumption, and q
restoration of the currency to its per capita
volume when the resumption law was enact
ed. 70 restore the paper currency to the ne,
capita volume at which it stood in January.
1875, would require new issue of green
backs to the amount of about $4,000, 900.
Let each issue be made and expended in pur-
chasing for cancellation about one hundred
and thirty million of our 6 per cent. bonds.
That restoration of currency will not do full