Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-12-08
Arthur's Game of Financial
ThimbicriE

The extent to which the money.
changers of New York City and the
other Eastern financial centers have
impressed themselves upon the legisla-
ton Of the United States is dreamt Of by
but few OF our nnsuspecting grangers, or
the Republican party, which has pros
titutod itself to the demands OF these
oormorants, would long ago have been
swept out Of power. They drove
the hardest kind Of a bargain in the
day Of the nations need and peril, and
to reach the pound Of flesh nearest to
the national heart has been their aim
ever since. The most facile tool this
element ever had was John Sherman.
II was with this slippery Ohio politician
--an original greenbncker-- -greenbacker
only to be bought over in all probability
that they compassed the infamy OF
enacting that both the principal and
interest Of the national debt should be
paid in gold coin, instead of in lawful
money Of tho United States. as the origi.
nal contract provided. The corpora.
tlons and the money power have never
made demand upon Congress, when II
was decisively Republican in its mem
bership. that was not granted, whether
1t involved betrayal Of tho people, O
subsidy to assist a hogging stock specu
lation, like the Pacific Mail deal in the
Winter Of ls7l-72 and the Spring oi
1872, or stupendous alienation Of the
public lands. Most of the suggestions
involving the prostitution of the legis-
lative power have emanated from
New York. As President Arthur il
beyond oil things New Yorker, and
one who has been groomcd in the very
innermost penetralia Of the money power
at that, II need excite no astonishmeni
that, in his message. he should recon.
mend Il. that the tax be taken off Of
the national banks; and (2.) that the
banks should be permitted to issue notes
based on ninety per cent. of the marke,
price Of United States bonds. say -four
psr cents, which are now at premium
Of twenty per cent. Under the present
system, which compels them to deposit,
in the United States Treasury, ninety
per cent. Of the Jace value of the bonds
which they buy as security for theil
circulation, the banks deposit sl00, ,00t
in bonds and receive in exchange 800, ,00(
in currency. Under the system proposed
by President Arthur. the banks would
deposit 500, 900 in four per cent. bond,
and would receive in return, as they
command premium of twenty per cent,
sl08, 900 in currency. How would it be
il great war should arise, accompanied
by universal panic, in which, from
having been at premium Of twenty pei
cent, the bonds should not only nc
longer be at premium, but should suf
fer the moderate discount of ten pei
cent : In that event the depositors
instead of having the ten per cent
below face values to protect them
would be simply menaced to the
extont of $4,000, which would
10 absolutely without protection. IL
the fierce throes of such an experience
the four per cents. might and probably
would 10 much lower; and yet this Pres
idential tool OF Wall street has the fac,
to propose this game of financial thin
blerig. II is here that Arthur outlines
with the vividness Of a silhouette, hi
slavish devotion to the capitalist class
We are inclined to think that this propo
sal will prove to be a boomerang, and
that our ambitious Executive will be
left sprawling, as result of his attempt
ed financial finessc. Until an honest
Democrat gets into the White House
there 10 small chance Of the interests oil
the people being taken into the count in
that quarter