New-York tribune., 1878-01-18

|
! he burden Of debts BE- increased! In; aH"r
! evidently Iolls that combined action OF govern
| ments with agreement upon "a common iaIio, Wod'u
mike The double standard more steady tian any
other. and tha. it would be very desirable 10 nave
tins established. but ;hat. in view OF facts fhaI
r.sul. is exceedingly improbable
! "Inconycrliblc paper money" IS taKe1 UP III
! Chap.cr KIN. and 4 theory which VIII pe Sn'"PN
! co.t,,,-,rf.J j. advanced Following the idea OF
Ricardo that dcbasci coin may circulate, II not III
excess. and asserting shat money IS not needed as
measure Of values but only as a common deHcm-
ip.tor. the author holds that paper can circulate on
The s.o,o fcring Cost he holds, does not determine
pYco ri any poin. of iue, either Of gold or silVer
orofary articles exchanged Tor them, but supply
and demand only determine, and demand can ne
and actually is created for paper by making II Il
! gal tendcr or receiving it for taxes. Hchce he
holds iIa incOuvertibIe paper, ii noe issued III oA
/ cess via serve wei as the common dcnominator,
O. "a will not doprcciate. The qualification, II ho'
issued IA crccss' may here protect the author from
| logical overthrow, but his proposition may ho'.i
| thccss be liable TO work mischief in common appl
cahon HIS objections 10 system OF lEco1FerlIpie
paper are very strongly presented and ior'ihed ny
= historical review Of experience in different coun-
! tries aud lie urges that such paper Is not only
! liable but almost certain to be issued IN excess; +;
that any excess pushes to greater; that the law OF
snpply and demand does not operate paper
money cannot run Oft; ii makes swamp wherever
il is poured OUT Finally, wherever excessive II
dcpreciates is always huctuating, and taxes pro-
duction turns business into gambling. and RODS he
laboriug classes The author discusses the question
whether the premium on gold measures the dcpfe-
ciation and believes that it does with substantial
accuracy.
The theory of convertible paper m"Ley il opened
in Chapter XVlII., and il is held that bank notes
as long rs they accepted III payments are money
~ between buyer and seller, though only form OF
| credit rs between holder and issucr. Unusually
clear distinctions are drawn between such notes
and the various forms of credit paper; it is acuely
observed that "crculalon, in monetary sense, Is
matter of degree and that $1,000 bank note,
| which returns to the bank within nine days, Is
scarcely money in the sense in which 80 notes are
] money which remain outstanding an average OF
! seyeuty-nine days. Checks or notes may, or may
| not. be paper money; the question us wholly one
of degree Of the extent and facility of use IN cX-
change Whether the convertible paper Is liable
to exnaud or contract otherwise than as metallic
money would in like circumstances, and whether an
elastic currency I've secured 10y usc of such paper
or if secured would be desirable are questions dis
cussed in Chapters XIX. and XXll. inclusive, with
much care in the light of experience Ill England III
this country. and elsewhere. Ii the Opinions eA-
messed in this part of the work are extreme. and
lean little too far toward the exclusion oil any
paper currency not based upon equivalent deposit
in coin il will be remembered that the author had
in mind the experience and teachings Of Professor
Amasa Walker, and that his statement Of the enor
mons evils which this country has brought upon
itself by the use of various forms OF paper money,
though very strong is abundanty Sustained by
sad experience
work so careful, candid and creditablc aS this,
and in the main so sound, rises above minor crti-
cism and leaves room for little of Rravor chGrac-
ter But one general detect may, perhaps, he no.
ticcd which is not unnatural IN the work Of one
whose life is devoted TO the study OF books and the
teaching of the young. Precisely where Lombard
Street" is strong this work is weak il does not pay
sufficient attention nor attach sufficient importance
10 the practical changes which have been recently
effected in the methods Of commerce and finance.
These methods arc continually changing, but within
n few years have changed with great rapidiy, and
10 n degree which almost amounts 10 a revolution IN
tie commercial and financial world. Ii s idle to
say that vital principles sound ever recent
changes have so greatly modified the force of reason
inrs which were formerly most onclusye, that fund!
mental truths can hardly be satisfactorily sustained
by the Old arguments. Undoubtedly these
changes have very materially modified the applica-
ton of economic principles possibly those princi-
pies need 10 be revised rcsated in the light Of
later facts. Professor Walker well says that " cir
culatiOn matter Of degree aud justly quotes, as
an important principle, the remark Of Mr.. Mill, that
| toward certain ends " small means do not merely
produce small effects they produce effects at all"
But recent changes have greatly modified, or by in
| telgent men are believed to have essentially al
tered the degree to which gold is freely transferred,
| by demands of commerce, from ono country to an
| other. the degree to which prices affected by
| changes III the amount of money III circulation, and
the rapdity of such changes the degree to which
| inconverbe, or even n convertible currency, can
be kept III circulation, and the extent and suiiicen-
| cy Of employment of substitutes for money. The
marvellous development of the credit system under
new conditions as TO methods and habits of deposit,
as 10 security against risk and to facilities for
rapid cancelling of Indebtedness has seemed to some
thoughtful men to require serious revsion either
of some laws of money, or of the methods by which
| they are demonstrated.
Professor Walker does, rdccd, justly mention
these facts of later days But it is To be regretted
that writer so familiar with the history and htera-
| ture of tine subject, has not more thoroughly ex-
amlned the bearing of the new conditions upon the
distribution Of the precious metals; upon the effects
of increase decrease in the amount OF money in
use; upon the future ieed or usefulness OF Rold or
| silver as standard for deferred payments; upon
! the possibility of continued use of debased coin or
inconvertible paper without depreciation, if notis
sued in excess !" upon the relative utility of silver
| and gold; upon the questions how far yalue de-
pends upon cost and whether depreciation of paper
| is measured by the premium on gold; and finally
upon the mqln problem of the desirablencrs Of a well
secured and strictly convertible paper money. Bus
| ness is mainly transacted 10y means Of substi-
| tutes for money. These can at any time be multi
phed almost at viii, through the modern system Of
checks clearing houses, telegraphc transfers. ware