Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-02-12

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York. Boston and other eastern ports,
( to he transported wholly through our
own country to their western destlna-
| ton. The result of these unfair and un-
/ Just determinations against our own
/ people and our own transportation lines
has been not only seriously to jeopardize
the revenues, but also TO build up for
| eign transportation interests at the ex-
pense of our own.
Reciprocal liberty of commerce" is a
! high sounding. seductive phrase, but the
| kind of liberty our foreign shipping in
terest has enjoyed for the last fifty
wears is the liberty to die under unjust
! determinations of the London Lloyds
Register association, the crushing power
| of European treasures, and the utter
neglect and Indifference of our own gov
ernment. Reciprocity itself is a most
valuable thing if kept-within the lines
of protection; but reciprocity by which
we surrender our merchant marine to
our rivals, or give away home market
| worth ten times more TO us than all the
other markets in the world, in the vain
attempt TO grasp an uncertain market
abroad. is policy freighted with i'm
measurable disaster.
Presidents of the United States have
repeatedly expressed the national hui
initiation and appealed to congress for
action in behalf of our rapidly vanish
ing merchant marine, but thus far their
words have fallen upon deaf ears. Let
Us hope that the urgent appeals of Presi-
dent Harrison on this subject may bear
fruit in some well devised measure of
protection and encouragement.
What is Sound Finance?
Pardon few words with reference to
the instrument by which commodities
exchange ownership. 1t is as essential
to commerce that the currency with
which it is conducted be adapted, both
| in quantity and quality, to the wants of
trade as that the vehicles of transporta-
ton should be adapted to their purposes.
| If the circulation be deficient trade is
! crippled, prices fall, obligations are dis
honored, distrust is created, and COM
mercial panic and disaster ensue. Ii, on
the other hand, circulation be redundant,
prices become temporarily inflated, wild
speculations are stimulated, debts are
recklessly contracted, credit is danger
ously expanded, and for time trade
seems to float upon the high tide of sue
cess, when suddenly the failure of some
large firm or banking house discloses the
! true situation, and the entire fabric of
fictitious prosperity falls with a crash
even more disastrous than can be pro
duced by deficient circulation.
The ideal financial system would be
one that should furnish just enough of
absolutely sound currency to meet the
| legitimate wants of trade and no more,
and that should have enough elasticity
of volume to adjust itself to the varying
necessities of the people. / know this
seems difficult of attainment, but | be-
lieve it Is substantially possible. Could
such circulating medium be secured
the gravest compercial disasters which
threaten our future might be avoided.
| These disasters have always come when
unusual activity in business has caused
an abnormal demand for money. as in
| the autumn. for the movement of our
| immense crops.
There will always be great danger at
those times under any cast iron system
| of currency, such as we now have. Had
it not been ior the peculiar conditions
which enabled the United States treas
ury to disbuTse over $75, ,000, 900 in about
| two and half months last autumn am
firmly cr7nvinced that the strlngency IN
August and September would have re-
suited in widespread financial ruin. Like
| ia1 1v
occur but it is not at all probable that
| they can be encountered and their con-
sequences averted by like action of the
government; nor is it desirable that such
power should be lodged with the secre
tary of the treasury
am thoroughly convinced that a bet
| ter method can be devised, which will |
in large degree place the power of ex-
pansion and contraction in the hands of |
| the people themselves. The opportunity |
for securing such currency may be
found in our bonded debt, which should,
in my judgment, be in part exchanged |
for interconvertible bonds, bearing low
rate of interest, and always interchange
able for money at the will of the holder. |
OF course | cannot now enter upon an
argument on this subject, but l may be
excused for briefly mentioning the only |
objection have ever heard to the plan
which has any apparent weight-viz.,
that it would cause an outflow of money
from the treasury when speculation run
high, and an inflow in times of threat
ened panic, and would therefore tend to
initiate imitation and contract contrac-
ton"
This objection was conclusively an
swered and the policy triumphantly
vindicated in 1862 and in 1853. under the
administration of Salmon p Chase, who
was one of the ablest secretaries of the
treasury we have ever had. Mr. Chase
had urged and congress had authorized
what he called the Savings Bank of the
People, whereby they could deposit in
the treasury up TO the limit of 500, ,000,-
600, and receive an interconvertible
bond, drawing not more than five per
cent. interest, which bond was again
convertible into cash at the will of the
holder on ten days notice 1t is well
known that the year 1862, and the first
half of 1868, was period of most active
speculation, and yet those deposits con-
tinually increased, until on June 80,
1868, they had overrun the limit and
amounted to $104, 1884, 102
In August and September of 1868 the
unusual activity of business had placed
the country in the same condition as it
was last autumn. A severe stringency
set in and panic was threatened. Did
this vast deposit of over S100, ,000, 900 re-
main in safe hiding, and thereby in
tensify the stringency? Exactly the re-
verse occurred. At the time when it is
argued that everybody who could would
avail himself of this safe and convenient
place for boarding money, and draw 4
and per cent. interest ON it until the
storm should pass, the money actually
flowed out at the rate of millions day
until on Dec. 1, 1858, $50, ,427 900 had
come out to the relief of business, and a
commercial crisis had been thereby avert
a1 &1,;s i+o,,, &c |