St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-11-08
Schurz on Cheap Money.
THE PROBABLE EFFECT OF A NEW IN
FLATION.

THE PROBABLE EFFECT OF NEW IN
FLATION.
The following extract from the speech
of Secretary SchuIz in Boston Monday
evening, presents some new cousider;l-
an expansion of currency AT this time:
That an expansion of our irredeema-
ble paper currency will stimulate busi-
ness and revive prosperity is, | have II,
doubt, sincerely believed by well-mean-
ing people. might, without difficulty
show that. while the pIice of c0mm0-
dities did indeed rise, under the infin-
ence of expanded issues of paper money
and while business enterprise was slim
ulatcd, our prosperity waS more imagi-
nary than real and that when, finally
the day of reckoning came, our fictitious
prosperity broke down in widespread
bankruptcy, stagnation and distress
But | will not go into that argument
now, and, moreover, some of the more
reckless of our paper money advocates
may say: "Well, even if such day o1
reckoning must come, let us have i
good time for few years, and then lei
the devil take the hindmost."
What l want to point out to you is
and invite you to consider what | SAY
with candor and calmness-that it is al
least extremely doubtful whether, stu
ated as we now are, an expansion of Oul
irredeemable paper currency would
have the effect of stimulating business
and produce even Il fictitious prosperity
for II short period. In fact | am con.
vinced that such would not he the
effect.
You must not forget that the circum.
stances under which new emissions 0
paper currency would now be issued
are essentially different from those un-
der which the greenback first made it,
appearance. Our paper currency was
the creature of Il great public necessity
1t was an expedient resOrted to 10y
struggling patriotism, and while, dur
ing the dark hours of the war, some
doubts might have arisen as to the pros
pective ability of the government to re.
deem all its pledges, there WAS not 1
moments doubt as to the honest intcn-
tion of the government and of the peo.
pie to do so. Nobody suspected, in.
deed, nobody saw the least reason tC
suspect that the government would %
with its paper issues beyond the de-
mands of actual necessity, and attempt
the carrying out of new-fangled finan,
cial theories and schemes. As to the
government in this respect, there pre-.
vailed the cOmpleteSt confidence al
home as well rs abroad.
Moreover, an irredeemable govern.
ment paper currency was then a com.
paratively new thing in this country
The experience of the war of independ
ence, with its Continental money, was
no longer present to the minds of the
people. But few of them saw an,
similarity between the Continenta
money and the greenback, and appre.
hended the two might meet the same
fate. When the expansion of the green
back currency produced an initiation o.
prices, the average business man, seeing
his goods rise in nominal value, did no
stop to enquire, elated as he was at hi.
apparent gains, whether those gains
were real as well as nominal He had
no experience in the consequences, anC
SO he went on from venture to venture
with blind confidence, as if there couIC
he no end to it. The capitalist, also
with no experience of the final effect o
such government currency expansion
to warn him, risked his means in enter.
prise after enterprise without distrust
There was an unreasOning confidence
that finally it would all come out right
And thus business was stimulated int
extraordinary speculative activity.
But the circumstances which sur.
round us to-day are very different. L
new emissions of government papeI
currency could he constitutionally mad,
in time of peace, which / do not be
lIeve, these emissions would not appear
as the creature of commanding publ,
necessity. 1t would be remembered
that we can have Il money system based
upon the precious metals if we desire
for it is within our reach. The expan
sion and perpetuatiOn of irredeemabl,
paper money would eventually be
equivalent to the rejection of that mon
ey system based upon the preciou.
metals. What specie payments mean
what IL gold dollar and notes converta
BILE into gold dollars are, every sensibl,
man understands. The gold dollar j,
real tangible, and forms a reliabl,
basis for circulation. But the abandon
ment of specie PAYMENTS, the rejection
of the gold dollar, mean that the con
duct OF our financial affairs is to be de
Ivered into the hands of a class of finan
clers whose theories and schemes NOV,
IN the realms of Imagination, and point
not to stability, but to the uncertaint,
OF change as their real Ohiect and NAV