The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-09-28

President Grant, in his message of
December. 1919. said: Daring the las,
four years from !sGo to 1873 the chr
rency has on contracted hv the with
lrawal Of the 3rer-cent. certificates,
compoundintere,t notes, 7 ID bonds.
outstanding on the ith OF March. 1869.
NIL Of which took the place of legal
tenders in the bank reserves to the ex-
tent Of S53u.eOO.ODn"
We have hid i history Of shrinkage
If values and universal paraly2 II on Of
industry, OF hard times. Of bankruptcy,
pauperisn. fearful suffering and crime.
similar to that Of all other nations,
when metal-monev ilolators. usurers
and Shvlocks have contracted the cur
rencv in the interest of the few to rob
the many.
The mercantile agency reports show
| the number oil failures in business in the
United States increased in proportion
to the shrinkage of the currency. In
1866. with the most liberal currencv at
the close Of the late war. we had only
54O failures. with liabilities equal only
increased annually with the shrinkage
of the currency. In 1868 there were
26ns failures: in ls69. LIB failures /:
III 1870. 1851 failures: IN 1872, 1000
In lures: in 1873, 5.lS3 failures: in
1874. $3.50 failures: in 1875. 1.74u full
ures; and in 1878 there were about To-.
900 failures, with liabilities Of $234,-
100000.
The extensive railroad strike: the
riots ut Pittsburgh, Chicago and other
large cities; the universal suffering and
unrest among the people; the organiza
ton Of the labarlng classes to discuss
I the great subjects Of taxation, trans
portation and finance. and t. learn why
the wealth producers were struggling
under mortgages upon their homes,
paying hi III rates of intere t. deprived
oil the comforts OF life, while the num-
Der Of millionaire money spectators
was increasing in the Eastern ci,ies
/ All these influences. together with the
organization of new political party.
called the attention of Congress to the
fact that the people were becoming too
intelligent to he made slaves under the
pusillanimons pre.ense Of contracting
the ,rency to establish specie resump-
ton.
Daring the period Of years previous
to contraction the people had been
prosperous without gold or silver They
had learned too much To again submit
quietly to the sham pretense Of bankers
aud specie-hasis schemes.
These public debts, ii looked into
closely, are only a machinery for mort
gaging the labor of generations unborn.
adding to the constantls-increasing
power OF the moneyed or creditor inter
est.
In 1870 the contraction of the cur
rency in France caused hard times and
the organization If the communes. In
lsl1 the contraction Of the currency
caused reorganization of the com
muneS and the revolution of 1913. In
1870 the French people had a war with
Germany. They We're whipped in war,
hut victorious in peace They issued
s6.ouoo,ono additional paper currency.
made full legal tender. kept ut par
with gold without specie basis: EN-
ployed their population in the manifold
industries of the country.
The immense Increase Of the products
Of the country for expectation enabled
them by these products to purchase
bills Of exchange 10 pay this stipend Of
/ $1,000, 100000 IL Germany within TWEEN
tv-seven months from june |. 1871. CON-
plotting the payment Of their national
debt Sept, 5. ls13. The large products
If industry. the fruits of iull legal.
tender paper currency, continued to
bring gold from other nations and gave
prosperity to France
On the other hand, Germany was
victorious in war and whipped in peace.
She contracted her paper currency and
demonetized her silver. paralszed her
industries by such contraction, filled
Germany with unemployed and hungry
men, Thousands sought employment
in prosperous France. Our own history
Is similar to that of Germany. We We're
victorious in war, but mos, unmerciful-
IL whipped lay the specie-basis cnnspir-
a.ors i'll peace. 4 large portion Of orr
paper currency was destroyed, our sill
yer dcmonetizei, and an unnecessary
Understanding debt spread over the
American people. This was not the re-
suit Of accident or of Ignorance, il was
+ premeditated legislation in the interest
i of the few tn enslavc the many
Partisan leaders seem to learn moth,
ing from history.