Morning journal and courier., 1891-05-26
COMMUNICATIONS.
Gold Shipments.

he paid $5.
 COMMUNICATIONS
 Gold Shipments.
 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 The recent shipment of a large amount of gold from this country to Europe has caused considerable discussion in regard to its causes and effects. As e contribution to this discussion we send you prediction made by one of our citizens thirteen years ago, the principles of which he still regards correct. This gentleman says "the recent shipment of gold averted tremendous panic and collapse of prices in Europe, and it could not have occurred with so little financial disturbance in this country had we not had so large an amount of silver and silver certificates in circulation"
 WHEN BUSINESS WILL REVIVE.
 No one can tell at what period of time business will revive, for the simple reason that no one knows at what time we shall reach the conditions which must exist be- fore general prosperity is possible. The people have been told that ''good times" would come with specie payments. In one sense this is true. But "good times" to whom? Not to the masses. But there never was better times in the history of this country than has existed for the past three years to the few persons who hold large amounts of mortgages, government bonds, city bonds and other we'll secured evidences of debt. To such persons the talk of ''dawn- ing prosperity" is not mockery but veritable reality. To them prosperity" has already s'dawned," :" because both their income and their principal have been rap idly increasing in relative amount and value: The great majority of. such indi- viduals would mourn over the adoption of any legislation which would change the present state of affairs. and they will strenuously resist any such because the times would then not be as stgood" to them as at present. They will continue to clan1or for an ''honest dollar" for the ''poor man."
 The financial policy we have pursued has produced about 40, 900 bankrupts-put a great amount of railroads into insolvency and compelled an enormous number of persons to part with their property, either by sale at ruinously low prices, or by fore closure of mortgages. This will hasten the revival or business.
 Whatever may be thought of the wis dom of such course, it is no doubt an eff fectual way of killing rats to set fire to the wheat stack they are in. Harsh and cruel as it it, during such period of contrac- tion as we have just passed through, the bankruptcy of debtors is a business relief. It diminishes the need of money to meet and carry OF existing obligations and contracts; and, in that sense and way, pro- duces practical expansion of the cur rency. That is. the amount of money in circulation in this country to-day is rela- lively greater than it would have been, with contraction, if thousands of millions of debt had not been extinguished.
 We shall have general revival of pros perity whenever it is fully established that the prices of labor and commodities have fallen to the lowest point which they will reach and have fairly begun to rise from their present depression. Prices will be- gin to rise whenever there is perceptible expansion of the currency. This may oc- cur as the result of several causes under the laws as they now stand. First-From the continued coinage of silver, the silver being put in circulation either directly by coming out of the treasury or indirectly by accommodating in the vaults aud displac- ing an equal amount of gold which is paid out. Second-From increase of national bank notes. Third-From expansion of private credit in form of promissory notes. Fourth-From increased activity of circu- lation and from less money being hoarded. Simultaneously with the occurrence of the aforesaid events, the tenure of the "gold resumption" which we have made such sacrifices to reach, will gradually be- come weakened; our stock of gold will di- | minish in proportion to the increase of | business, until finally there is no pretence of resumption" except in silver dollars. | This may take place as the immediate re- | suit of financial disturbance but it will | probably come quietly and almost imper- | ceptibly. We retain the gold accumulated | in the treasury now, because the prices of wages and commodities are so low in this country that our foreign creditors prefer our goods to our gold. But they will call | for the gold soon after the wages of the American laborer rise from their present scale. So long as our currency is kept al par with gold, and that metal is made very scarce and dear, both by great increase in it's use and by hoarding policy pursued by the great European banks, there can be
 no advance in the rate of wages il
 this country. Hence it inevitably follows
 that if the present attitude of foreign na
 tions towards silver remains unchanged
 and the value of gold steadily appreciates
 there can be no general prosperity in thi
 country untll we get rld or gold resump
 tion even in it's present modified form
 Until that time wages must remain low
 the burden of public and private debt yer,
 oppressive, and the fever of fnancis
 panic must be merged into chronic dis
 ease-chronic hard times
 The silver law, as it now is, will after
 time increase the scale of prices, and thi
 is is the reason why the great money lend
 CTS wish it repealed. The probabilities
 however, are that it will not be change,
 unless in the direction of increasing tn
 use of silver and diminishing the deman for gold. Such change would hasten tn
 departure of gold and the arrival of goo
 times to the majority of the nation. Question by a Palladium Reader. ) To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER: Many readers of the Palladium woul ) be glad to know if that paper has becom an organ of the Roman Catholic churcl From time to time there appears in , some remarkable outflow of "sonoror
 bosh" about the pope. In the last issu (May 25) there is half a column of in pious nonsense about "b1essed virgin"- , supposed to be person referred to in u New Testament as Mary, the mother (