Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-10-27
THE DANGERS OF A "CHANGE. y
Opinions Of Leading New York Financiers-
Timely Warning.

Opinions Of Leading New York Finaneier....i =
Timely Warning.
Among the articles IN the NORTH
american RcvieeO for November
is one upon "The Political Situa,
ton from O Financial Standpoint. >
It is addressed 'sto the people
of New York;" and bears the fol-
lowing signatures: E. D. Morgan, J. J.
Astor, Hamilton Fish, Robert Lennoz
Kennedy, J. Pierpont Morgan, E. P.
Fabbri, Charles 81. Russell, John A.
Stewart, J. D. Vermilye, Henry F. Vail,
BENJAMIN B. Sherman, David Dows,
William II. Macy, Samuel Sloan, Levi
P. Morton, George Bliss, Jesse Selig-
man, George T. Adee, Cyrus w. Field,
John W. Ellis, Isaac Sherman, I. N.
Phelps. A few extracts from the article
are appended:
Twenty years ago, when the debt of
the United States was only $1.91 per
capita, the government borrowed with
some difficulty 81, $780, 900 at 12 per cent.
interest. Last year, though the debt of
the United States was $4O.42 per capita,
in single day $l94, 900, 900 was offered
to the government at per cent, when
it needed and accepted only $121, ,OOO,-
600. Under the latest Democratic ad-
ministratiou the public debt was more
than doubled during four years of peace,
and United States per cents. sold at 96
in December. 1860. Within the last four
years the public debt has been reduced
$lS3, ,845, 1852, or nearly six times the en-
tire debt in 1856, and United States 4
1o ~
Notwithstanding this marvellous change
for the better, some partisans insist that
ga change" is necessary, and that an
other Democratic administration should
now be mtrusted with power. A trans
fer Of power from the party which has so
completely restored the public credit to
the party by which it was left so COM
pletely wrecked would naturally cause
serious alarm. The public credit has
become so linked with all financial, COM
mercial and industrial interests that it
cannot be impaired or seriously threat
ened without the gravest consequences.
x In al, not less than 1000, 900
persons are interested, either personally
or through corporations, as owners Of
bonds, and would be directly affected by
~ uCCAIuC Ill oAc puOl1C CISClG.
The disastrous effects of a serious de-
cline would be far more extensive. By
the corporations mentioned about $2,-
100000, 900 are now loaned for the sup
port of various branches of trade and in-
dustry viz. by national banks, 81, ,OOO,-
100000; by state banks, 5000, 900, 900;
by savings banks, 1920, 900, 900; by
loans and trust companies, $65, 900, 900;
by life insurance companies, 5000, ,000,-
600, and by fire and marine insurance
companies doing business in New York,
100000. Shrinkage of public credit
would involve a shrinkage Of the assets
Of these corporations, and correspond
ing, and possibly sudden and sweeping
contraction of their loans. To mer-
chants in their stores, to manufacturers
in their factories, to workmen in their
shops and mills and mines, the conse-
quences would be not less disastrous
than the reluctant capitalists or lenders.
Never yet has this country seen fnan-
cial revulsion as terrible and as far
reaching in it. consequences as would
now result from a collapse of that splen-
did public credit which wise legislation
and faithful adm1ulst1 utivu lleu,v fu1
twelve years been building up and forti-
flying:
* But the legal tender was
worth less than 70 cents on the dollar in
1868, when nearly every prominent
Democrat was carried away with the idea
that a proposal to pay the fve-twenty
would render the party irresistible in
the approaching election. These pro-
posals the party then embodied in Its ma
tional platform. General Hancock, who
narrowly missed the presidential nomi-
nation on that declaration of principles
and purposes, gave his unqualified ap-
proval. It must be presumed that the
Democratic party and General Hancock
thought that the payment of bonds in
greenbacks would be both honest and
wise. Nothing had been done or said by
the Democratic party, or by General
Hancock himself, to show that the
course deemed honest and wise in 1868
is now deemed unwise and dishonest
Not thing has been done or said to
show the Democratic party or General
Hancock would not consider such pay
ment in 1881 ga strict maintenance of
the public faith The danger is near
and real. Within one year bonds
amounting to $697, $50, 900 become paya-
BILE or redeemable. Every effort to
meet them by refunding has been de.
feated by the Democratic majority in
congress, in spite Of earnest appeals
by the secretary of the treasury.
Bills for payment of all the bonds
which mature or become redeemable
next year by new issue of greenbacks
are now pending in congress. and are
zealously supported by many democrats.
* Nor has Gen. Hancock
uttered word, since his approval of the
platform of 1868, to indicate that he
would hesitatenow to carry out the fnan-
cial measures to which he then commit
ted himself. On the contrary, within
the past month the Democratic party has
been rejoicing at it's supposed success in
electing greenback candidate in Maine,
whose national platform declares as he
does, that "the bonds of the United
States should not be refunded, but paid
as rapidly as possible" by means Of an
increased issue of legal tender notes.
And this candidate, standing upon this
N1dV1O1uS OCus A4oASOOn 1e&\ ACOOuUAy
Congratulated upon his supposed cleo
ton as "glorious result" Perhaps
Gen. Hancock does not understand that
an issue of $500, 100000 more legal ten
ders, to retire the bonds which become
redeemable next year, would be a double
violation Of repeated pledges of the
United States.
VINO can tell how soon, if the. Demo-
cratic party should succeed, the re-
sumption act would be repealed and pa
per currency inflated? Solemn pledges
of public faith stand in the way. But
the Democratic party has at no time re-
garded these as binding pledges, and it
is not more likely to SO regard them now
than it did one year ago. In February,
1879, when specie payments had contin-
ed nearly two months, 106 Democrats in
the house voted for repeal of the re-
sumption act, and only 81 against it.
The spirit of the party was even more
decided then than it was in November,
1877, IL months before resumption,
when 1O4 Democrats voted for repeal
of the act and % against it. X
Who can tell how soon the best bank