Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-09-11
New York Herald, August a4l

~" @Sa@ Aeteos august -.
We don't do any Dragging lust now
about New York being the financial
center of the world.
The mortifying spectacle of the me.
tropolis on its knees beseechInp the
Secretary of the Treasury to take pity
upon IL, as otherwise Il must perish.
this spectacle has knocked all the brae
out of us for a time.
What method of financieripg a
government it is! Really it would dis
grace community of Hottentots. By
means of an oppressive tariff needless
taxes are wrung out of the toiling mil
lions: Being thus wrung out of the
people the money is not, as in any 9TH
er civilized country, left where it may
be used to facilitate trade, but is with
drawn completely and boarded in the
government vaults.
The effect of such a policy-or want
of policy-naturally is to check trade
and Indirectly to advance the cost of
the neccessaries of life. Thus we worry
along until the people of the West and
South draw money away from this
center to move their crops. Immedi-
ately the trade and industries of the
metropolis are threatened with paraly-
sis, merchants and manufacturers of
unquestioned probity have to go like
oeggars from door to door among the
banks to get their paper discounted
even at almost ruinous rates, and brok-
ers with gilt edged collateral must pay
for accommodation, as they did last
week, the legal rate of interest plus
one-half per cent. a day-at the rate of
nearly 200 per cent. per year. And
more than this, they see the spectre of
possible suspension in case the strin-
gency should proceed so far that they
should be unable to get money at ALL
as has happened before now-on any
amount or any sort of collateral.
What state of affairs In the boasted |
financial capital of the worldp' The |
Treasury officials overwhelmed with |
appeals from frantic merchants and fl
nanciers, hold solemn and prolonged
conference far into the night, and an
expedient Is devised to give what at
best is, but partial and perhaps only
temporary relief. What Is this ingen.
ius expedient? Why, the Government
offers to redeem $40, 900 900 of it's bonds
a full year before their maturity and
make the owners a present of the
years interest in advance-about a mil
lion dollars. Here is a smillion dollars
1lched from the hard earned money of
The people by a rascally scheme of tax
alton and then presented as a Gift to
those who in all the community stands
east of all in need of gifts-to the mil
ionaires and to the bank and other
corporations which hold these bonds.
Fancy the comments of economists a
hundred years hence upon this system
Is practiced by the most advanced and i
nation in the world at the
lose of the wonderful nineteenth CEN
ury.
While the existing tariff works such ,
erious wrong the Mckinley attempt /
o reconstruct it is attended with very |
erlous possible results. Enormous '
Quantities of foreign goods have been
'rought into the country in order to
axe advantage of the higher prices
which are expected to follow the adop-
ion of the Mckinley reductions (?) In
he duties. If the bill should not be
assed at this session of Congress what
to become of the spectators who are
under these loads of foreign
oods? An enforced liquidation would
esult in-well something unpleasant
, think Of. The very danger of this
tuation is regarded in Wall street as
n assurance that the bill will pass, for
'emendous pressure is brought to bear
pom Washington by those interested,
nd commercial crisis as the direct
'sult of their tariff tinkerings would
,arcely help the dominant party.
hese importations have now practi-
lily ceased, and in many circumstan-
Is we may expect for months to come
lat imports will be light and exports
eavy, So that if even Europe should
ot buy our securities. we shall accu- a
ulate handsome trade balance in J
lr favor.