Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-07-29

you establish a precedent that knows no limit.
You establish a political currency that may
be voted up one year and down the next. a
currency that would owe its stability entirely
TO the notions and passions of successive
Congresses. In other words the volume of
the currency which should be regulated by
the natural laws of truth, would be left to
Congress, who can really know little of those
laws Neither do we need larger volume.
In 1873, when the crash came, there was II
larger volume in the country than in 1865.
We have now twice rs much as at the
beginning of the war.
What was the cause Of that crash in 1873?
Three millions of men had been taken from
producing and employed in destroying proper
~. The government was the great employer.
Some days a million of money went out to the
people. Everybody had money. When the
war closed money was de.reciatng and the
era of speculation set in. Over a billion and
Il half was put into railroads. Almost every
town was mortgaged to pay for roads of
which some will not pay for fifty years and
others never. Insurance companies sprang up,
| corporations were formed. stocks were dealt
in, the population in farming districts de-
/ creased, while that of cities increased The
| number of stores and trading men increased,
not because there n demand for them.
but all had gone speculation mad In 1878
Jay Cooke went down. Following that stu
pcndous failure, railroads, savings inks and
other m0ncyed institutions went down The
| crash Of 1873 was not because of scarcity of
money, but because of speculation, not be-
cause the government had contracted the cur
rency, not because there was too little paper
money, but because we had been cxtravagant,
had run wildly in debt the pay day had come
and we hadn't the money. Then began the
! hard times. When we get so in debt crisis
musr come. 1t came, and since that time
| have been devisng means to get out. There
is only one way to do il; not by increasing
the volume of our paper money and thus re-
establishing an inflated currency that has
given us this wild era of speculation and ruin;
but now that resumption is a success, tn
steadily go 10 work, light the lamp % ccono-
my, not only in the National capitol and in our
State capitol, but in counties, towns, and in
every family as well.
We do not want more money. The amount
Of paper money per capita in Switzerland is
$500; in Great Britain and Germany $500;
! in France, $500; Belgium, Sl2.30 in the
| | nitcd States Sl350 Compared with the
] leading nations OF Europe we have more
money par copifd than most of them. We
have gold and silver, greenback, national
bank notes and certificates. We have 30
millions in silver coin and coin it at the rate
of two millions per month SO that the vol
+
/ Resumption has set free large amount of
gold for trade, and silver is doing its work
In respect to silver, believe that beinga sill
reproducing country we should protect sill
yer. But make it honest. Instead of 4l2l
grain dollar worth 50 cents, make it an hon
est dollar. Suppose we had 346 millions OF
il2t grain silver dollars in the country. 1t
would either drive out gold or deprcciate But
we can float certain amount, and believe
in giving silver ii fair chance, and hope and
expect that soon some arrangement will be
made among the leading nations of Europe.
by which Il standard will be fixed upon, and
in that event there could be no objection to
the free coinage of silver.
1t is objected to the national banks that they
are a monopoly and expensive National
banking is no monopoly, but is rs free as wat
er. Any five citizens can go into the business
by dcpositng with the government bonds to
secure their bills. 1t is true that they
get interest on the bonds and on their issues
But if the governmental did not pay the interest
to them, ii must to some one else. Next. we
tax the banks as in no other instance. They
are subject to four different taxes. First tax
on circulation: second tax on deposits third
tax on capital; fourth, tax to town where To-
Gated. In 1877 the amount of national bank
taxes paid to L. 5. government was sG,99S,-
600 and about the same now. During the
last five or six years the banks have paid on
the average tax of little over per cent.
by this means we get at bonds which would
otherwise escape taxation. Then we have
perfect system of banking. In the time ofthe
State banks we had to pay exchange from one
State to another which was tax of many
millions upon the business of the country.
When the banks failed the people sufferedthe
loss. Now the national banks have been in
{ ON ttAr, I I,r,r 8
business has been transacted, and not dollar
lost by bill holder. Several hundred banks
have gone into liquidation. Suppose a bank
on the Penobscot had lent j. X. Jewett the
lumber dealer $4,000 just before his failure.
The bank must have failed, but the loss
would fall upon the bankers, and the bill
holders would be perfectly safe. Under the
old system the only security was a personal
one; now there is perfect security. | am not
in favor of any particular system of banking.
but if any man will devise system which
will secure you and me and pay every bill.
think that system safe, and if any system can
be devised that will be as safe as our present
banking system, bear its burden of taxation
as we'll as this, and ut the same time be Cheap
er for the people, shall be in favor of that
system.
/ admit that there is something burden
some about the bonds. The 1873 millions of
greenbacks wouldn't crush the rebellion. We
had to have more money and were obliged to
( give another kind of note--an interest bearing
note. Now should these bonds be taxable?
Suppose we carry them to the New York
market. The first question would be slow
much INTEREST,"" The second, 'How much
tax! :" If there had been tax, the purchas-
ers would not have agreed to take them until
the rate of interest was made high enough to
cover the tax. If they had gone to Europe
we should have got little or none Of the tax,
and have paid out millions in an enormous
/ interest. Besides: it would give single States
the power to hamper the government. 4
/ State might tax the government out of ex-
! istence. There is no nation that taxes its
bonds, and no government bond has ever
been taxed in the history of this country.
/ We have rights as citizens, and we also have
duties. And if one burden is that the bonds
! should be untaxcd we ought to bear il as
good citizens for these same bonds help to
save the nations life. When we come to the
/ bloated bondhoder he is not such great
person after all Men Of small means hold
Il large part. If the bonds were in the hands
of few men it would be different. A por-