The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-07-07
A GOLD STANDARD


Washington despatchs of July 2nd,
say: Ex-senator John B. Henderson of
Missouri, chairman of the National Re-
publican Convention of 1884, who has de-
voted long and careful study to finance,
las sent to Secretary Carlisle by request
a long letter on the currency issue:
To Hon. John G. Carlisle, Secretary of
the Treasury:
II promised to give you in writing the
substance of my statements made in
conversation touching the monetary con-
dition of the country.
81 then expressed the belief that the
present stringency is produced, not by
any lack or insufficiency of our currency,
but by the loss of confidence in that
currency.
''There is no erro more common than
that the abundance of money adds to
the commercial or business energy of a
people, A certain amount of money is
essential to effect the smaller exchanges
of commodities. But money does not
create exchanges. 1t does not grow
wheat and corn, nor manufacture cloth,
nor operate railroads, nor sail ships.
Labor and skill do these things, and
among a people entirely civilized, over
95 per cent of the exchanges necessary
in those operations are effected by bank
checks. The bank check having per-
formed it's Office ceases to circulate, and
we shall never have perfect currency
until every note used for circulation
shall be destroyed on its return to the
authority issuing it. England has come
to this, and America, with England's ex-
perience. will do likewise.
The amount of money in circulation
| - 40 N
named was: In 1873, $lS.03; in 1875,
SIT. .I6; 1877, S15.5S; 1879, $16.75; 1880,
Sl9.41: 1882, S22.3T; 1884, $22.65 1886,
so. 80; 1888, $22SS; 1891, S23.41; 1892,
| S24.47; June /, 1893, $23SS.
II think l am safe in asserting that
from 1879 to 1888, we enjoyed very great
prosperity, individually and nationally.
| There was no lack of money. II sufliced
not only to fill the Treasury, but it
abundantly answered the demands of
commerce, and an extraordinary busi-
ness activity was followed by very high
prices The average per capita circula-
| ton was SPOOL From 1890 to the pres
ent, period of great monetary stringen-
cy, the average was $23.65. 1t is there
fore apparent that, times may be hard,
and money scarce with the most abund-
ant circulation.
sIf, on a given day, the active business
men of community, for reasons good
or bad, resolve to make no further con-
tracts, to quit business transactions, a
seeming scarcity of money is the result.
If anybody wants his labor or his prop
erty neither the laborer nor the property
owner can get money.
"The per capita circulation in The
United Kingdom of Great Britain is now
S19.34. OF this S14.49 is gold, circulat-
ing freely among the people.
"The per capita circulation in Ger
many is still less, $l7.56. And yet in
these countries, with their vast com
merce and manufactures, there is no
dearth of money. England adopted the
single gold standard in 1916, and has ad-
hered to it ever since.
Germany adopted the single standard
IN 1872, and since that time she has been
rapidly advancing in all the elements OF
national greatness. France has $780,
600, 900 in gold coin alone
Senator Henderson then reviews the
financial legislation of 1878 and the re-
sumption of gold payments by the Re
publican party in 1879. He shows that
the moment we, as nation, ceased
making bad money, good money began
to come to us from all quarters of the
globe. Thus, in the next six years after
1915, the imports of gold exceeded the
exports by Sl02,00O,OOO. As soon as we
began to coin silver again under the
Bland act and finally under the Sherman
act, no matter how great the apparent
balance of trade was in our favor, nc
matter how large our crops and our eX-
ports, we could not prevent gold from
going out of the country. If we had
maintained the one gold standard, Sena-
tor Henderson says, the magnificent ex
ports of 1892, amounting to S203, 600 600
would have been paid for in gold by the
foreign nations which took our products
Instead of that we sent over S13, 900, 00C
of gold after the merchandise Now
that the balance of trade has also turned
against us the country is being drained
of its remaining gold. The Treasury