New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-21
rho ETEOCElIIC HELPERS.

Missouri IS doing its utmost To prevent re-
viyal OF prosperity. But McssrS. Bland ami
Hatch Of Missouri. could accomplish nothing.
unless there were Il ma ior.ty Of Democrats In
the House 10 favor their Silver and AntI-Option
bills The Democratic clllcS socrGnly resolves.
mt Mr. BANDS suggestion, that every Democrat
ought 10 be present and votc.on the bill 10 coin
the silver Scign.oracc so called. which Is in fact
the silver notes imitation bill. He has Il great
ina joritv of the Democratic members present
and voting for thc measure all the time but
Il few with ;hc Republicans have been able 70
block the passage If the bill for more than
week by preventing quorum Mr. Hatch
would have about rs large Il Democratic ma
ioriiy for his bill 10 suppress commercial boards
and exchanges. Possibly its passage may be
DELAYED or prevented by the Republicans In the
same way. But for that opposition. it is plain,
bo;h measures would pass ut once
Mr. Bland does not see that silver notes intla-
ton would add to The trials of The Democratic
party by obstruciing revival of business That
il because hc does not know that out of $50,
OOO.OOOOOO actually paid in commercial pur
chascs or settlements in a year about $4,000
100000 are paid with crcdi. and not with cash
of any sort His bill would add SJ5,OOOO00 to
the volume of paper 10 be- used in making pur-
chascs but would increase distrlist and apprc-
hcnsion, and th.ls would probably reduce by at
least a tenth, or 5000, 100000, the volume Of
credit used I'm purchases and payments. For
every dollar of expansion there would be con-
traction of ut least 500. and yet Mr. Bland
thinks his imitation bill would raise prices and
make business more lively Such is the prac
teal wisdom of Democratic statesmen.
Mr. Hatch thinks the suppression Of gambling
operations on the exchanges would be bless
Ing 10 the farmers They could then sell their
grain and cotton he imagncs, without having
prices dictated for them by the spectators in Il
few cities The theory Is interesting and At
tractivc but his bill would put the farmers
completely at the mercy of Il small and power
full conspiracy of buyers, who would have In
comparably greater power TO fix prices TO suit
themselves than all the exchanges put together
now possess But in addition, his bill, If it
could be enforced at all, would drive ont OF
business thousands Of cntcrprsing men in each
large commercial city. aud many thousand more
in smaller towns. and would disorSanizc trade
10 Il fr!ghtful extent This alone would cause
a great depression of prices. The mere threat
Of such a bill has repeatedly forced prices OF
great staples down to the lowest points ever
r"oru'u. nat the passage ana cIlorc"in"ht
OF such a bill would do not even Mr. Hatch can
guess.
These two measures, though not yet passed
by either ho,Ye, already have considerable
influence in retardnc the recovery Of business.
Cnhappily. there are not many cheering signs
Of recovery until tho tariff question has been
settled. But what Improvement is possible,
with that question yet open, the threat of silver
notes imitation and the threat Of closing the
commercial boards and exchanges tend strongly