St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-02
A yALUABLE LESSON,

The picture of poverty presented by
France and the financial disasters which
threaten that nation are suggestive Of val
liable lessons to our own country. France
undertook to create fictitious prosperity
by an extravagant expenditure of money
on public Improvements in the vain hope
that the money thus circulated would allay
the feeling of popular discomfort toward
the government. 1t is said that hundreds
of millions were expended in building rail-
roads and school houses which were not
needed. This extravagant financial policy
was adopted by the government for the pur-
pose Of staving of a crisis in the political
condition Of the country. Unanswered tenn
pOrary purpose. it is true. Money became
SO plentiful that the people did not know
what to do with it. Consequently an era
of speculation was inaugurated which has
produced the inevitable result Of such con-
ditions. The bubble has bursted and now
there is financial crisis impending. There
is more poverty In France to-day than ever
was known before. Property OF all de-
scriptions is rapidly depreciating in value.
A floating debt has been rolling up
until it is now almost beyond COM
putation. Laborers cannot find EN-
ployment. Agriculture yields no return.
The national treasury is insolvent. 1t is a
most deplorable condition for a great ma
ton. and it is difficult TO conjecture what
the final result will be. And yet there are
people in this country who are anxious TO
see our government adopt the same policy
that has bankrupted France. 1t is true
that we could stand the strain longer than
France has done, nevertheless the same re-
suit would ultimately occur. Whenever a
government puts more money into circula-
ton than its business demands and natural
development require, it is in just as shaky
condition as when the volume of its cur
rency is less than the demand. Parsimony
is safer than extravaganza. There are
plenty of people who are urging that the
government should buy up everything that
is for sale, and should be investing in all
sorts of speculative enterprises on the plea
that the more money that can be put into
circulation the more prosperity there will
be. They never stop to reflect that the
prosperity stimulated by such methods is
only fictitious and not real. as France has
uculOuSbIdbcu W us SOIIOWs vi Ill Tue
countries in the world the United States
has the most cause to be conservative in its
financial policy. Although it is already
g great nation-the equal of any on
earth-still its growth in wealth and
power and the development of its
great resources is mainly in the future.
This country has within itself all the gold
and silver that will be needed as a basis for
all the currency that it will require for cen
turtles to come. We are just in that condi-
ton to be independent of all the world, and
at the same time to be exempt from the ne
cessity of attempting to stimulate a false
prosperity. We can afford to sleep on the
great resources with which the Almighty
has blessed us, knowing full well that the
natural laws of progress and development
will expand US into greatness without effort
on our part. All the exertion that is re-
quired of this government TO preserve a
sound financial policy is to check extrava-
gance and prevent waste of our material
strength. 1t is economical administration
and not extravagant legislation that this
country wants.