Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-01-02
Resumption.

las been reached and the so>calIed
experiment. of resumption is now in
all operation. We are unable, how
yer, to see the propriety of calling
resumption an experiment, since the
whole plan and all the details and
wen results could have been UNDER
'tood from the start, and doubtless
we're understood though the efforts
put forth by the political
parties to interpret and distert every
thing to their own advantage, pre-
vented the question from receiving the
honest and fair discussion. that 1t de-
served. Of course it could not have
been accurately foretold what success
would be had in selling government
bonds bearing a low rate Of interest,
to accumulate gold for resumption
but even this question was
one on which there could be no great
difference of honest opinion. Re-
is in no sense an experiment.
The government holds a coin reserve
Of 14o,o0o,00o for resumption pur>
poses, and there are only $346, 900;
600 in greenbacks outstanding, so that
there is no possibility Of the govern
ment being unable to maintain re-
sumption, Indeed, if there were no
contingency to provide for but the le>
climate demands Of business, re-
serve of fifteen per cent, amounting to
$50, 900, 900, would be ample, instead
Of a reserve Of 40 per cent, az is held
at present. The certainty that re-
would be maintained after
Jan. LIST, gradually diminished the
premium on gola until gold was at
par with greenbacks two weeks be-
fore the day fixed for resumption to
begin, and business experienced no
shock. As to the effect of resumption
upon the country, there is hardly
room for doubt that there will be a
revival Of prosperity, simply because
there can be no further skrinkage of
values. The greenback has been en-
HANGED in value from IS cents on the
dollar in 1864 to one hundred cents on
dollar in 1878. The result of SO
great change in the standard Of VAL
ne in the brief space Of fourteen years
in now we'll understood, All classes
Of fair minded people now admit that
increasing the value of greenbacks
200 per cent added 200 per cent to
the burdens Of the debtor class, and
increased the value of all outstanding
loans, that were running during that
time, to tho same extent. That is,
200 per cent was added to all debts
that were running during that period =,
and went into the pockets of the mon~
ey lenders. It is true that large
portion Of the present outstanding in~
debtedness was contracted when green
backs were worth more than 35 cents
on the dollar; but during the whole
of the above named period of fourteen
years the policy Of the dominant polit~
ical party was to Cypress the debtor
for the benefit of the creditor. The
Republican newspapers ten us that
hard times were caused by paying the
war debt. 1t is we'll known that the
hard times were felt principally by
those who we're IN debt, and the work.
ingmen, while the wealthy bankers and
others who loaned money saw the most
gratifying increase in the value Of
their paper. Therefore, if the hard
times were caused by the payment of
the war debt, the tax was so adjusted
that it fell principally upon those who
were burdened by private or corporate
Indebtedness. 1t was practically tax
on poverty and premium on wealth
And this policy was such that it in
creased the value of gold itself, SO that
debtors had to pay upon a gold basis
much higher, even, than the gold
basis of 1860. A recently prepared
table, the correctness Of which is moi
disputed, showing the price of 800 ar
ticles of common consumption in gold
in 1860, and the prices in gold of the
same articles in 1873, shows thai
$81 81 in gold in 1873 bad the same
purchasing power as 800 in~go]d il
1860, an increase in purchasing power
of % per cent. Now, We do not claim
that greenbacks could have beef
brought to par without detriment t
the debtor class, but we do claim thai
a slower increase in the value Of green
backs would have been much better
for the country at large. In the frs
place it would have given chance tt
every debtor to pay his Indebtedness
it his affairs were conducted on any,
thing Ike business principles. I
would have enabled manufacturers Il
continue to give employment to labor
and would have thus haye saved tn
country from the narrowing scenes O.
want that have existed in the manu-
featuring and coal mining districts
And another beneficial result woul,
have been secured, which is seldom
thought of, but is none the less i'm
portant. It would have given TIL
people more time in which to lear,