The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-05
THE CONDITION or THE COUNTRY.

/ representing UHe DOHunOldeTS, ble golu Elugs
and the money power generally, stands solid
" against both these great measures, while
the West and the South are soidly for them
| That universal distress prevails throughout
the country is notorious. Every day brings
us the news of the failures or suspensions Of
great firms and wealthy banks, and the wide
spread ruin that accompanies them. I'm
doubtedly there Is something wrong; un.
! doubtedly there liz a maign influeneeat work
| Every Eastern politician and every organ ol
| the gold rings and bondholders has a
patent reason for this condition OF affairs
From these sources we have theories by the
score to show that resumption, contraction
| the single gold standard, the payment Of the
| bondholders far more than the just amount
| Of their claims, will relieve the distress. And
yet, as the Secretary Of the Treasury gradu-
| ally but surely contracts the currency to
carry out his resumption scheme and the
money power of tho country passes into the
hands of the banks and the gold rings. mer.
| chants, and real estate owners, and business
houses fall and tumble by the hundred into
bankruptcy, and the general distress in
ereases and extends in every direction.
Only few days ago The Picdy,tne. the only
paper of any prominence in the South that
opposes the repeal of the resumption act and
the reconciliation of silver. attempted to
show by series of idiotie statistics that
| the prosperity of Great Britain and the United
| States has increased in proportion to the con-
traction Of the currency, and that consequent
ly we should adhere to the resumption fraud
and oppose the silver bill. The figures pre-
sented by that journal show that the popula-
tion in both countries has increased in o
greater ratio than the circulation. and that
the greater the increase of population. as
compared with that of the circulation. the
greater has been the increase Of the wealth
of the two countries.
Weshall not dispute this proposition; with
out Investigating the accuracy OF the figures
Of the picayane, or the reliability of It's sources
Of information, we eoncede the statement to
be correct. But then what does 1t prove
Why, simply that there has been an increase
of population, an extension Of trade, and i'm
provements in methods of industry, which
have vastly increased the value of property.
But this is only half the truth; correlative
facts show that where this growth has not
culating medium, the wealth Of the country
has been concentrated in tho hands of the
few. Thus we have from the writer's upon
political economy the complaint that as civ
ilization advances the rich have become rich
er and the poor poorer.
The Picayute, borrowing it's ideas from its
Eastern exchanges, at1irms that all this in
crease of ma erial wealth is due to contrac-
ton. and that IAN Increased facility Of ex-
change answers the same purpose as an ex-
pansion Of the circulating medium" Says
that able journal.
An increased facility Of exchange answers the
same purpose as an expansion of the circulate
ing medium. ten dollar bill which oh anyes
hands ten times in q day will serve. for the trans
lar bill which changes hands only once in the
same time. The mode n improvements In
banking have had this effact, notably through
the agency of clearing houses and checks.
There is q great deal of truth in this propo-
sition. But the Picay,use in presenting it, failed
to observe that the system which has been
substituted for an expansion of the currency
turns over the whole business affairs OF the
country to the bankers money rings; makes,
indeed, Of these class of merciless masters Of
the trade and Industries Of the country. This is
Just the trouble; this is one OF the greatest Of
the evils the advocates OF the silver bill and
opponents of the resumption act propose to
destroy. Indeed, the Picdg'u,e makes but an
imperfect and feeble statement of the capac-
ity Of the banks in handling the business and
industry Of the country through their in
creased facility Of exchange 1t Is assumed that
there are about 500, 600, 900 Of money in circu-
lation in the United States, while, according
to the report of the Controller of the Cur
rency, the liabilities of the National Banks
alone amounted, on the 1st Of October last, to
$1,741, 1854, 663. This immense sum represents
simply vast imitation Of credit, Of which a
few individuals enjoy the benefits, and through
which they largely control the trade and in
dustry of the country. The great mass Of
the people-the merchants, the farmers, the
workingmen- participate in but few Of its
benefits.
Again. the report of the Comptroller says
that ''the exchanges at the clearinghouse in
New York city for the year ending October l.,
1877, were nearly twenty-one thousand mill
lions,'' or ten times the amount of the national
debt. And in all these gigantic exchanges,
how much money changed hands? The report
says "the average daily exchanges were about
sixty-one and a half millions, and the average
daily balances paid in money were but about
two and half millions, or only four and two
tenths per cent Of the amount of the settle
ments.''
Certainly this shows the truth of the Plea
yune's statement, that there is "an increased
facility of exchange which has been substi-
tuted for an expansion of the currency. But
to what measurable extent do the great
mass Of the people who are suffering for the
want Of work, whose trades are no longer in
demand, whose stores are without customers
and whose houses are about to be sold over
their heads participate in the benefits Of this
vast initiation of credit? We have here, in
deed, the evidences of a great facility
OF exchange; but it is simply an imitation