Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-05-31

Specie Resumption.
The bill Tor the repeal of the specie re-
sumption act was takon up in the Senate
on Monday. and Mr.. Morrill,. of Vermont,
Chairman of the Finance Committee, spoke
against it. There is no longer, he said, real
urgency to have Resumption occGr at either
an eaIler or later day than that cOntem-
plated four years ago. Tho lst of January
now seems rational and oppOrtune. The
coinage OF silver ~ progressing as rapidly
Rs Its most ardent friends could desire, and
whatever the future may have in store, it
has not yet deproeiatcd the greenbacks. and
cannot deprociate them until the amount
of silver issued shall be in excess of what
Can be maintained at the par Of gold. AT
ter that, even If we lose our gold. no deluge
OF silver can make it OF less vaiue than its
weight in silver bullion. To that goal
fear we tend. All should agree, however.
to make it a blessing 80 long as we can, anu
not turn II into stumbling block. Ii Is
now in Its infancy, and viii no more than
get out oi the cradle by the lst of January
ucAtH W tHhb tlht IL
be held esponsible for much evil, and ought
to DO permitted To win the credit for all
possible good. The contraction ct paper
money hitherto has been almost wholly I'M
sginary, and will surely have lost lts ter
rors when both gold and silver long pent
up lind on unrestricted outlet to fertllIze
every part Oi our country. The national
banks are ready to cooperate: business
men hail resumption with reclamation. and
will joyfully contribute to its success.
With banking free. bringing forth 100
cents iOr every so cents Of legal tenders
surrendered. giving out so millions in ex-
change for 40, the wants ot trade are in no
danger of suffering from lack OF currency.
1t is also proposed to take greenbscks Tor
4 per cent bonds Ii We can thus refund
our national debt at lower rate. who will
be angry +; and why should it not be done
BY this process We are likely to save more
Interest than will bs paid out on the $780,
0OO. 600 gold loan.
Let US hail resumption. now imminent,
as an event, however brought about, that
may quicken the pulse Of the nation and
start Us once more on the highway OF ma
tiunal prosperity. The mere fractional
premium now remaining on gold is like
ly to soon disappear. unless that result
lation wnat will so much more surely be ac-
complished naturally through the laws of
trade. lie argued that theie han been no
stringeney In the money market since 1875.
only continued dulness. Great Britain,
sirce 1875. has suffered fully as much as
this Country. All European nations are
manufacturing more Tor their own trade and
less Tor export In Austria and Hungary,
the coal business Is much depressed, because
manufacturers are not using 1t. ln this cOun-
try, the people first cry out that it is one
thlng and then another, which Causes all
the trouble. At one time the people assert
that failure to repeal the bankrupt law
CAUSED stagnatiOu in trade; again they
declare that II the income tax could be re-
imposed and the tax removed from articles
used more especially by the working classes,
times would be more prosperous. Others
were ready advocates Of free trade az a re-
medy for all evils. Contraction, he claim
cd. had as little to do with the pres
ent condition uf the affairs of the
country as tho telephone or the
keely motor yet the cry that it il at the
bottom Of all the trouble has boon 80 per-
sistently INDUCED III that many OF the
people believe it. although not borne Ont by
the facts in the case There has been no
contraction since 1875, except the c1ntrac-
tion OF the truth. AT that time the circu-
latirg mediam OF the country WAS $685.
600 900 against SS25 900 900 in 1878. ur AN
increase OF $50 OOO,0O The trodblu was
not because there was not sufficient money
Tor all legitimate purposes OF trade. but
because Of lack ul confidence upon the
part OF capitalists to embark their money in
enterprises where there was htils prospect
that those enterprises would become re-
munerative. He believed thnt under the
operations OF tho resumption het encourage
ment Wound DO given TO capitalists To bring
forth every idle dollar, to put IN motion
again all the Workshops OF tho country. To
defeat return to specie pa,Wrnt now,
when We are on the brink of lruitiun, wuuld
throw u fearful Responsibility upon those
who should by any act of omissio or coin
mission become Unidentified with the
inglorous fact. lie spoke OF the
resources VIC would have iOr resumption
purposes On tho 1t Of January next
There are outstanding United States notes
of S34h $50 0l6; coin certificates, 5,Oii.-
500. currtucy certificates. SOS 3l5 600
making total ut Si30 039,5l6 Oar re-
sources may no summed up aS follows:
Coin actually IN the treasury, S ij6, ,O37 ,236,
coin Yet TO he received inr the rems Under OF
the S50, 900 900 .an. Si0, 900 900: curren-
,S39 AS. liO; NAL King u total nf S235 ,5i5,-
317. NJ estimate, SAID Mr.. M1rril, may
ditier from that ri n:hrr., hut shoull not
cun>Ider II txtrAvasant tO assume that IN
the County, uui-ii:e the treasury and the
natioral bank, there l. IN gold not less than
$50 900 600. aud OF SILVER. Including all the
ioreivn and American coiuag-. not less than
$50 ,OOO, ,O0O This would show tilat there
will be over $500. 100000 OF coin in the
country on the lst Of January, TO he rein
forced by all the silver Rnd gold that may be
hereafter coined up to that time, and iur-
ther fortified by the bullion produced and
not coined in the next eight months, very
little of it is likely to be exported. The
prospect appears every way encouraging,
and 1t is tu be hoped that We shall not de-
feat it by any instructed legislation.
Iu conclusion. Mr.. Morrill, argued that
all the serious obstacles t. resumption have
been surmUuu.ed that whether or not there
has been heretofore airy contraction Of the
money OF the Country, there will be none
alter resumption that the stats at ,oreign
exchanges Liver before has fcsn 50 con-
stantly and largely III our favor, that We
shall have reSources IN com more than sui
hclent to "arrant resumption , that the ha-
tiOn6l banks eau resume without any cuu-
traction OF loans ard withaut embarrassing
the treasury Of the United States that
property of all Kinds, instead Of shrlyellng
up. will rise t5-a high level, when the
policy OF tho country shall emerge irOm the
regions OF mistrust and uncertainty /; thst
resumption will resurrtct more than $780,
OOO, 900 of actual coin. and give vltalIty 10
the whole volume Of money Ia circulation
that resumption Is not IN the interest OF
capitalists but IN the interest Ui those who
are paid by capitalists; that the House bill.
with any Of the proposed smendncnts. can
have no other purpose or ehuct than To ham
string the treasury and either to postpone
resumption or to make 1t ptrplexlng il
4 LIZ. Il