The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1878-06-04

Of successful resumption as the only
time when resumption should begin.
Outside Of that cause of sggravation
the real causes Of the prosrratIon of
business and the destruction OF values
in this country must be looked for and
found in other sources. This 10 evident
too by means of the other fact to which
have alluded as not being accounted
for by the opposing theory. That fact
is that our business depression and
trouble is not ours alone; il is not Pc
culiar 20 Us. The industrial system of
England is to-day aud has been for FIVE
years past as thoroughly disorganized
and exhibiting as many distressing
symptoms as our own. No part of Eu-
rope has altogether escaped. Germany,
Austria, and Italy certainly share the
same condition. France alone seems
to show contrast; but in France we
have the example of country which,
during the period of war and during
the existence OF an inconvertiblc pa
per currency, suddenly aud largely in
creased in amount to meet the exigen-
cies of war, has nevertheless. continu-
ously from the beginning commenced
and kept in existence the necessary pro-
cess for keeping itself IN state OF read
mess for specie resumption by sccumu-
lating from day to day in the vaults of
the Bank of France enormous amounts
of coin. The legal-tsuder quality OF
its paper was relied upon merely for
the purpose Of preventing the flow out
ward of its coin. The amount of re.
serve kept on hand In readiness for re.
sumption whenever the public authori-
ties deemed that resumption could be
successfully maintained when once
begun has been kept so large in pro-
portion to the whole amount of paper
circulation that the discount on the
notes of the bank at no time exceeded
"a per cent, and most of the time was
far below that. So that the French ex-
ample is the example of country and
government which began the work of
preparing for resumption the moment
specie payments were suspended.
1t has always happened in all coun-
tries that great issue of paper cur
rency circulation, has sooner o. later
eliminated in disastrous collapse. 1t
is only question Of choice between
two evils; on the one hand. timely con.
traction and resum ption with temporary
hardship and Inconvenience; or on the
other, complete blow-up-a delugs.
delayed but ines table, with indiscrimin-
ate overthrow and ruin. When the bot.
tom drops. as drop it always does, out
of baseless and unseund system, une
less made good in time, it is every man
for himself and -
Mr.. Matthews. however, was not
necessarily right in his deduction that
tue fact of hard times in Europe dis
proved any connection between re-
sumption aud business depression. BY
the very argument used above; that
hard times in the United States land
contraction of the currency soM make
hard times causes a falling off in our
importations and makes us to depend on
our selves and pstronize our own pro-
auctions, it follows that such an effect
wonld be felt directly in England and
countries from whom we import, cut
ting off their trade and destroying
their business. Such waves of causa-
tion roll round the world.
In this country however, we have
not gone so far as to suffer an indis.
eliminate collapse. We have not been
caught like the tediluvians of old, al
togeather unprepaired, but the bull has
been taken by the horns before he be :
came unmanageable. The contraction of
currency began Immediately. after the
year 1866. when the currency was at
Its greatest-$1, 1903, ZOE. 1876. In 1870
it had sunk to S740,039,17O. 1t was
the treachcrous current of that ebb tide
that stranded the good ship North
Pacific Il. II. with its gallant pilot
Jay Cook at the helm in 1878. Seattle
long ere this would have been . great
transcontinental terminus (or else
Tacoms) iii it had not been for that
fortuitous conjunction Of circumstances,
over which no individual man had any
control