Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1878-08-29

t.xes nor paid dollar Of her indebtedness but has
been steadily Increasing her obligations Contrast
with this our unprepared condition, onr long And
% ss s" ss 0us Of
erty involved the immense reduction OF taxes. the
enormous payment of debt and You will zee tho
proof that there is comparison of which We may
not Justly feel proud. But we could not
pass through such struggle under such conditions,
and make such immense efforts to recover ourselves.
without involving financial agitatiODs and troubles
That the management of tho party In power shoaid
snfer adverse criticism is inevitable. for the outs
always find fault with the fins this il their only
chance to secure change of places. But in consider
ing the criticisms Of the opponents OF the Republican
party, simple Justice requires attention 70 the
character and motives of the critics in determining
the value of their objections; because If chance is
MADE they to be put in the places of trust They
not therefore impartial critics Lot us note The
financial questions which raised, the changes
that are proposed, the hands to which they must he
committed the probable effects ON public ard private
gently determine who should bs ntrustcd to admin
lister the government
In all the platforms adopted in opposition to the
Republican the burden of their Ia tile hard
times" The hard-money platform, of the Michigan
Democracy and the softmoney platform OF the Indi-
Nationals; tho St Louis platform denouncing US
for not paying off the greenbacks. and the Toledo
platform denonGsng us tor paying them ri ah
parai, zing industry. depressing trade reducing
prices and spreading distress amongst all classes OF
people. We are told of the prosperity which pro-
ing rich: and of the present enforced idleness bank
rupcy and ruin And for all this 1t is proposed to
seem to have occurred to these platform makers, or
to the speakers who reiterate these charges.
that the Republican party has constituted majority
devastation and ruin in the country without ruin
ing themselves as well others. and hence that the
charge is a verv stupid one at the best Allow to
ind v0u i
The Democracy began it ut the beginning OF the
war, and they have repeated it at every campaign
since and will doubt continue to repeat 1t long
"a they are out of power In the national
TO give point to these complaints the present de-
prs,sion Is contrasied with former prosperity. a
few years ago prices at their hight speculation
rife, and immense Gums of money were being
invested in railroads and other improvements. We
told that those were happy times and everybody
prices heard this d0orous voice from w iliam ID.
Kelley in = speech In Congress. January IL, 1853:
profit to their proprietor stand idle; the fires are
tingushed In forge and furnace the r0lngmill does
send forth its hum of cheerful and indus
try. On day last month eighteen hundred opera
lives in the glassfactories of Pittsburg wore de-
prived of the poor privilege of earning wages by
honest toll at the trade in which they were skilled
closed In the absence Of productive EN-.
ployment for men machinery the small
holders of bonds selling them. to save
themselves from bankruptcy If they are the propre
tors of establishments or to feed themselves and
families in involuntary idleness if they lsborers
whose hssdearned savings had been loaned to the
government in its exigency."
Mr. William ID. Kelley is special
champion of the new financial theories, and
manufacturers and laborers rich enough to be-
come bondboders to the era OF war, when the gov
ernment was borrowing money. And 30 we might
sssa ny 'e s .%aps the
time and we ask in lamentable accents, What Is
the that the former days were better than
in spite of his caution Thou d0st inquire wisely
concerning this" and it will probably be TO the
end OF time. Hard times is constant thcme for
demagogues. and every man seems disposed TO lay
his sins on somebody elses shoulders since
Adam set the bad example of accusing Eve.
Bur let admit that the times are hard, business
dull prices low. and money hard to getit does not
follow that this ia the result OF Republican admins
| tration. Remember that We had business revul-
of trade and frou which we are but slowly
| ing. Now what is panic and what is its cause!
There is but intelligent explanation 1t is the
result of an undue expansion Of credits When bust
Dess il brisk and prices are high people rush into
all kinds of speculations and Investments in hopes
of making fortunes, debts created beyond their
ability pay, something suddenly reveals the true
state Of the case. panic ensnes payments are de,
maDded prices fall. property is unsuitable ruin and
bankruptcy eDsne and hard times follow until debts
are paid and business returns to its natural
channels We have had numerous paDics, fol-
| lowed by hard times and tina is tho history
Of them All In 1917 there Was q panic, and another
these occurred under Democratic administrations
In the last revusion the failures for three years
amounted to $500. 600 600, an annual average
equal to those which have followed that of 1873
So the present hard times neither unprecedented
| nor difficult to account for. Too easy credit, too
much debt too great haste to be rich explains il all
But there special which have contributed
to intensity the evil The vast waste and Lsstruc-
ton of the the habits of extravaganza engen-
| dered by its enormous expenditures the losses by
fire and food the immense unpr0ductive Investments
in railroad and other enterprises the very goodness
of the government credit the agitation and threats
| against capital. have prolonged the struggle. But
no administration can prevent people from going In
debt or from making bad investments; and hence
zone can prevent panics and hard times
CONTRACTION OF THE CURRENCY.
| But it viii be alleged that the main cause of the
panic and the hard times has not been mentioned.
We told that the expenditures of the CON-
PEELED the government TO make large purchases for
the mantAnance OF the army, and this required a
| large issue OF government paper; that IN making
this paper legal tender. and thus forcing 1T into
circulation money prices and business adapted
themselves to It's volume; that 80 long as this large
volume of money was continued prices were high,
labor employed business brisk and the people pros
| porous. But that this volume of money has been
greatly contracted that this compelled contraction
of prices and that the panic and hard times were the
result OF contraction.
| 1t may readily be admitted that the large
per money stimulated business and increased prices.
/ Tho employment of million of men in the army en-.
Gagged in destructive instead of productive employ
nents. necessarily made extraordinary demand Oh
the labor OF those who remained. But when the war
ceased this extraordinary demand ceased; and In no
event could it have been indefinitely continued. But
il must not be forgotten that these purchases were
largely made BY the creation Of government debts
| that prices were largely measured by government
credit, and that that credit improved prices
decline. The tronbe was this: the prices created by
government purchases sud government paper tended
to decline as soon as ihe government ceased to pur-
chase and proceeded to pay its debts This was in
evitable But these prices were kept up for time
by general disnclinaton to D.
NIT to the losses of . decline. Those who
had grown rich on the upward wave
were willing submit to shrnkage and in order
10 keep up the valuations Of property, individual
and corporate expenditures and Indebtedness was
substituted for that oil the government aud pushed