National Republican., 1878-01-31
The Past and the Present.

paper currency. Ire Hlehty
otruggle with NAPOLEON carried all her
coin to the continent. Convcrtibility of
paper bank notes became impossible, and
in 1897 the bank of England was forbidden
to pay coin for its bills. The circulation
thus relieved of the arbitrary limits imposed
by convertibility expanded to meet the
needs of the nation. 1t enabled England to
sustain her decimated and dspairing allies
and to destroy the armies of NAPOLEON. 1t
gave to her the most wonderful de" -iOp-
ment and a glory and prosperity unexam-
pied in her history. Like our own green
back it proved her savior in war and her
benefactor in peace.
But when the armies Of NAPOLEON no
army of bondholdcrs, bullionists, annui-
tants, and "wreckers" at once came down TO
prey upon the substance OF the people.
They demanded that specie payment
should be resumed, and all the debts in
CURED under paper standard should
be doubled by being made payable
in coin. Against the protest of all the
practical business men of that time, these
conspirators, aided by the doctrinaires,
passed the resumption act in 1919, to take
effect in 1923. As with us they gave four
years notice, humanely cutting OF the ma
tions right arm, IAN inch at time.' The
same process was used as by our Nc
CULLoCH's and SHERMANs. The cur
rency was contracted in volume, so as to
make it scarce and DEAR and thus enable
vastly greater amount OF the products Of
labor for its use. As a resumption of spe-
che payments it was q miserable iraud aud
disgrceiul failure.
As a means of bringing measuleless ruin
upon a prosperous and happy people it was
a magnificent success, equailed only by the
wretched cheat of resumption by destruc-
ton which is being crowded down the
throats of Americans to-day by the modern
pirates of change"
The Edinburgh Reriew of 1880 contains q
picture drawn nearly fifty years ago, in
whose terrible lineaments we can see the
counterpart of our own country to-day
! That conservative and authoritative journal
has painted with the utm, st minutcncss o.
detail faithful portraiturc of the United
States in this crisis. Let every rhoughtfu
citizen read, think, and resolve. The articl,
from which we quote is upon "The Gauss
of the National Distress" and is writer
seven wears after the sO-called resumption
act took effect. 1t first ably disposes Of thu
! flippant and shallow excuses of u returning
peace and over-productiOn, as the cause o
the widespread suffering. 1t points on
clearly the true cause in the appreciation o
the value of money, and its increased powe
over production and trade:
Peace may perhaps account for lowering
of the rate of profit, but 1t affords no eXplana
ton for n fall in prices exceeding the reduc
tion in cost.
The sinking credit of all engaged in produc
ton or trade and the general despOndency at
test that prices have been constantly impelleC
below cost. The stcadiest industry can M
longer insure success. The best founded ex
pectations end in disappointment. The wiscs
schemes lead only to ruin. 1t is not on'
branch of industry only that feels the prcssur,
of the times-all are equally borne down by tn,
oppression.
A rise in tile value Of money is, in a nationa
point of view, an unmitigatcd evil. 1t Is b.
no means the direct consequences Of such
rise that constitutes its greatest evil.
The addition which the rise Galtsls in tn,
pressure of every debt, every taX-in short
every fixed money claim cannot be avoided
Were the use generally understood before
hand it would not cause half of the dstres
which it does now, owing to its silent an'
unsupported progress. There is popula
disposition to regard the measure Of valu
AS invariable Thence the universal perse
vcrance Of accounting for the fall of price
by any cause other than this thence tn
indulgence of hopes and reliance on calcu
lations founded on past experience exciting
to activity, when the knowledge of the rea
cause would dictate strictly passive atti
tude to all engaged in business. If we con
slider that capital to an immense amour