The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1878-02-21
THURSDAY, FEB. 81, 1878.
THE SIL YER BILL.

There seems to be no longer any
doubt that the silver bill as it passed
the senate will become q law. A veto
will not stop it, since the vote in the
senate shows two-thirds majority in
its favor. The claim for this bill is that
it will have a tendency to revive bust
ness-in the language of its spread
eagle champions, that it will start man
ufactories. give the laborer employment,
and put bread into the mouths of the
starving. Just how it is to do all this
no one hac attempted to explain. 1t
will probably make currency more
plenty, but of what benefit will that be,
when there is already more currency in
the country than can be proftably en-
ployed? The trouble has not been a
lack of currency, notwithstanding the
assertions of the inhationists to the con-
trary; the banks and loan agencies are
full of currency, which can be had at
reasonable interest on good security;
but borrowers are not plenty, simply
because no kind of investment pays
enough to warrant the borrowing of
money even ut moderate interest. Dur
ing the flush times succeeding the war,
factories of every kind sprang up like
mushrooms everywhere, and they soon
glutted the market, and had to be stop
ped; railroads were built in every di-
rection, and far beyond the present
power of the country proitably to sus-
tain; real estate advanced to prices
which no healthy condition of business
can maintain-in short, every branch of
industry was overdone, and the conse-
quence was that the.capital invested not
only failed to yield any income, but
shrank to small fraction Of its nominal
value. Then came a large failure or
two, universal panic, and a steady
tumbling of the inflated and unsubstan-
tia1 business fabrics of the country,
which has continued up to the present
time. An increased volume of currency
may set some idle factories running for
short time; but what will be the good
of that il there be no demand for their
products? An inflated currency can
only reproduce the condition of things
from which the country has been suf
fering for four years.
The great trouble with the people is
that they are Judging the present times
by those of 1870, and bewailing the
fact that these ara not as flush and ap-
parently as prosperous as those. A
false idea of prosperity was then gener-
ated. and the people have ever since
been Judging affairs by that standard,
and concluding that times are hard now
because Trey are not as they were then.
But such tines are not likely ever to
return, unless at some future day, when
the lessons of the past few years are
forgotten, the conditions which produc-
ed those hard times should be repeated
While all the time, half expecting re-
turn of former seeming prosperity, the
people have really been greatly modify
ing their business ideas and methods.
They will not be betrayed into former
rashness, and in this is the real hope
for the future.
Those, therefore, who expect any re-
lief from the passage of the silver bill
will be sadly disappointed. It will
simply initiate the currency by SO much
as the amount of the coinage of silver,
and it may advance prices of manufac-
tured articles somewhat, and possibly
after while some kinds of labor; but
instead of the poor being benefited they
are rather likely to be injured-likely to
have to pay more for what they consume
without receiving more for what they
have to SELL Wisconsin.