The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1885-11-05
IAN IMPENDING CRASH"
A Noted Author ON Finance Discusses
the Situation in the United
States.

I Clear Headed Statement Concerning .
Much.Feared ssImpending
Crash"
An Important Document That Americans
Will Do Well to Carefully
Read.
Alexander Del Mar, the author Of one
of the most exhaustive and instructive
works on money, has written . letter to
The Pail Mall Gazette in which he re-
views very carefully the financial situa-
bion in the United States. It possesses
The rare merit Of being a thoroughly
review of the present con-
fused state of affairs. He points out
very forcibly and clearly many things
that Greenbackers have been trying,
almost hopelessly, to impress upon the
minds Of the American people. It is to
be hoped that, inasmuch as he is not
ranked among the ''tiat lunatics," his
opinions will have some influence in
awakening an interest upon the great
question of finance - that question
which will not down, but which must
be fairly met, thoroughly discussed and
wisely settled. The writer says:
Since my return to America I have
to ascertain the views OF
the leading men here in regard to the
state of trade. They are not encourage
ing. The gold men, the silver men and
the Greenbackers predict . crash il
American securities. No one is willing
to fix time when this event may b
but all agree-though for
different reasons-that it il certain to
happen. Meanwhile stocks are buoy
ant, and the stockholders scoff at
prognostications Of evil. Western
Union il dog cheap at TO-" Says one:
1T is the best stock that Jay aould
holds Says an"sh~-' =
1880. -Ihe New
. GA sey central is bound to make an ar.
rangement with Garrett, and that will
put the stock up 20 per cent" Shouts
= third: "This is bull market, and
don't you forget it. Nevertheless. I
notice that it is not the general public
who are buying, and that, while loanable
funds press freely upon the market at
per cent. per annum without takers,
6 per cent. railway bonds scarcely fetch
par.
The general situation is as follows:
The volume of money in the country,
In which all prices are expressed, has
been reduced every year for several
years, while the population and the re-
quirements Of exchange have greatly
increased. Upon rough estimate, the
actual currency in 1881 was probably
not less than "a los per capita. It is
now certainly not over E3 Ss per
capita. and probably not over e3. This
enormous contraction of money, COM
pared with population. and therefore
with exchanges, is quite sufficient TO
account for the existing depression Of
trade, without looking any further.
Unfortunately the Government does
not possess the power to remedy thia
state OF affairs. It parted with it's con.
troll over the circulating medium some
ten or fifteen years ago. The gold
coinage is regulated by the deposits Of
bullion-holders, and this means. sub
stantially. the banks. The greenback
Issues are limited by the law of 1875.
operating from 1879; they are re-.
deemable in coin upon presenta-
tion at tho Treasury. The banks
hold more than one-fourth Of these
notes, and have it in their power to
canse such run on the Treasury %
would compel it to stop coin payments.
The bank iss.cs are governed by the
banks. There il no national bank. The
co-called national banks" are the old
State banks with new names. They
are only national so far that the re-
demption Of their circulating notes ID
secured by pledges Of national stocks
instead of State stocks, as formerly.
Their influence upon the National Gov
ernment is overwhelming. They pro-
noted that long series of acts relating
to public loans, commencing in 1862
and lasting to the present time, which
compelled the Government to raise
money by selling paper promises and
pay it buying golden ones; to appro-
pirate enormous sums as commissions
to the banks for converting these prom-
ises; and to suppress the coinage Of
silver in 1873, in order to enhance the
value Of tho gold held by the banks.
Many Of the important officers Of the
Government are recruited from the
banks or promoted into them by way ol
reward for faithful service. A curious
proof of how much more respect
is paid to the wishes Of the banks than
the mandates Of the Government is af-
forded by the tone OF the last report oi
the United States Comptroller of the
Currency. In t'at document he al
ludes to the "folly" of Congress in Or
dering the coinage Of silver dollars; de-
clares that @the law is unworthy Of this
nation, and predicts that it will soon
er or later bring upon us financial
trouble and disgrace = (Report oi
1eS4.) The only element of the cur
rency which is not beyond control oi
the Government is the silver dollars.
Control of these is what the banks are
aiming to secure. Ths means EN-.
ployed are chiefly the Eastern press
and the lobby. Another of their de-
vices is the retirement of their note is.
sues, to keep pace with the coinage ol
silver dollars under the Bland act, with
the object of nullifyirg that act and
DESTROYING its b ncl;cial effects
Inst year they destroyed -, ,OO0,O:(
Of their notes, and the subservien,
Comptroller of the Currency esti
mated that this year they would retir,
SO, ,OOa,,0a. They have, in fact, re
tired three times as much. It is til,
sharpest and most unnecessary con
traction known to history, and tn
| whole object OF it is to force the Gov
ernment either to surrender it's contro
over money. or suspend coin payments
The real merits of this struggle, lonl
hidden beneath the iargon Of bi-met
alism and the @honest-dollar" preten
sions OF financial conspirators, hav
never been lost sight OF in the Wes
and South, but, until quite recently
they do not appear to have been dis
cerned in the East and North. On th
10Th inst there met at Saratoga Spring
/ 81 1a.nxo. S,or, <ba pon,,1oso marty kh