Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-06-30


way directly and indirectly to Vienna
aud to Buda-Pesth, and more will have
to go to those cities before the drain up
on our stock ceases. 1t Is also true that
during the past few years, under the
reign vi the gold standard, the prices of
agricultural products have fallen, but
this has been accompanied by an in
crease, in this country at least, of the
quantity produced, and by a rise in
wages which makes the low price of food
and clothing a benefit to workingmen.
1t is further possible that some branches
of manufacturing industry haye been
unfavorably affected by the uncertainty
of the country's future tariff policy, but
this cannot seriously be set up as causing
all over the country the extraordinary
demand for currency and the failure of
so many banks and of railroad corpora
tions. All these three agencies combined
are inadequate to account. for the phe-
nomenon we are witnessing, and we
must therefore conclude that it results
from something else.
Since the beginning of our history the
dominant financial heresy of this country
has been the belief in the efficacy of an
abundant currency to create wealth and
business prosperity. Observing that
rich countries haye more circulating
medium than poor ones, it was illogically
Inferred that all that was needed to
make country rich was to give it plenty
of money, no matter of what kind. This
was like inferring that because the mer-
curry in the thermometer rises in warm
weather, a rise in the mercury produced
by warming it over a fire will raise the
general temperature. Before the Revo-
tuition the thirteen original colonies went
through various phases of this delusion
and emitted such quantities of paper
money that the shilling sterling at the
close of the war had fallen IN New Eng
land to one-siXth of a dollar, in this
State to one-eighth, and further South to
one-seventh. AS for the money of the
Confederation, it ended by going out of
sight altogether. Since then the country
has had to endure numerous financial
'collapses, all preceded by an excessive
issue of paper currency Coupled with
this delusion has been mama for bor-
rowing money and doing business on
credit. which, while it has undoubtedly
facilitated the efforts of enterprising
poor men to develop our natural re-
sources, has also afforded an equal facili-
'ty for reckless speculations, 10 the fail
'ure of which, more than to any other
cause, the revnlsions which we have ex-
perienced before, and that which we are
experiencing new, are to be attributed
"At present.. the currency of the
country, which is declared by so many
to be insufficient for our wants and as
needing future increase, comprises
,S346, 000,000l in legal tenders, Sl35, COO
900 treasury notes; Sl75, 100000. nation
al bank notes. and about 800, 900
OF silver certificates and dollars, which,
like paper dollars, are kept at par with
gold only because they are practically
iinterconvertible with gold. This makes
Sl,O56,0O0.000 of credit money for co.
O0O,0OO people, and all the gold available
Tor Its redemption, when redemption is
called for, is the S06, 900 in the
treasury and the SIS, 100000 or there
abOuts in the national banks. making
altogether s26S, 100000 Contrast with
this England and Wales, which, with a
population of 29,000000, have only
about Sl35, 100000 of paper money in
circulation, nearly the whole of which
is Issued By the bank of England, and
is secured by Sl35, 100000 of gold
France, which with population of 3S,- (
600, 600, has 500, 900, 900 of paper money
secured by 100000 gold, and Ger
many, with a population of 10000, 900.
having S231,OJJ,VOO PAPER secured by
S22O,W@.J00 in coin and bullion, of
which small portion only is silver. In
view of these figures talk about the in
'utlleleney of our currency for the Wants
IL business is Justified only by a cont,i-
ion like the present one, when general
'i-tru,t If the solvency of debtors is
'r"ating IL demand for the payment of
heir obligations in the Obligations of the
II Iht nation. Ia ordinary times MS vol
Ihe is not only ample for all needful
but its abundance. lie the
asy giving of credit to Spectators, has
perniclOu> EFF ct.
The crisis through which we are pass
ng, much as it is to be deplored for the
uffering it infiets on few individuals.
legitimate result of the abuse of
redit' and as began by saying, is a
evere but wholesome process of reestab-
shing healthy state of affairs. If, in
lie course of it, inflated values are re-
leed, If chimerical enterprises have to
abandoned, if firms whose liabilities
Iceed their assets and whose partners
ave been for wears lIVino ,,,non tha