The leader., 1895-09-10
THE COMING rrNANcIAL CRISIS.

country are gathering their forces Tor
a mighty struggle during the next ses-
sion of Congress.
No public proclamation has been is
sued and no brass bands have been
employed; but unless all indications
are misleading, there is on foot def
mite, concerted movement that is like
ly to change the whole line of battle
on the currency question.
The purpose of the bankers is this;
To strike with all their power for a
law that will put out of existence, once
for all. the entire issue of United
States notes known as greenbacks.
The plea which they will make will
be the highly patriotic plea that this
action is necessary to rescue the treas
ury from its perilous position and es-
tablish the nations finances on firm
basis.
The plea will be false one, the pa
triotic professions will be delusive, and
the result of the action proposed will
be far-reaching disaster whose ulti-
mate consequences are incalculable.
Here are the facts. There are in cir
culatpn today about s34o,OOo,00o of
greenbacks. These greenbacks repre-
sent policy in direct antagonism to
the policy underlying the national
bank system, and they have from the
beginning been regarded by the bank
ers with hostile eyes. They insisted
on their retirement as part of the plan
of resumption 20 years ago, and this
retirement was actually begun. So i'm
mediate and stern was the popular pro-
test, however, that that provision of
the law was repealed and the green
backs preserved as part of the ma
tional currency. From that day to
this the bankers have sulkily watched
for their opportunity and they think
they have it now. Whether they have
it or not, they can not safely wait any
longer. The national bankers con-
vention held few weeks ago took
steps to urge upon Congress the re-
tirement of the greenbacks. The jour
mails that best represent the thought of
the organization have been for six
months, with infinite tact and skill
testing the public temper on the sub
ject. The public has not taken alarm,
the time seems suspicious. The plans
have been consummated. The bill is
already being prepared for effecting
the desired end.
What is the motive behind all this?
The ostensible motive is this: The
greenbacks are exchangeable on de-
mand, at the United States treasury,
for gold. They are the vehicle by
means of which the gold reserve has
been taken out of the treasury. On
the face of affairs, they are to blame
for the treasury's recent troubles.
What more plausible, therefore, than
to say, as the bankers do, that the real
remedy is to retire these greenbacks
as fast as redeemed, destroying them
at once instead of reissuing them, and
thus putting a stop to the ''endless
chain of buckets" that is carrying
away our gold?
This is the argument. 1t is plausi-
BILE. Is it sound or sincere?
No. On the contrary, 1T is impossible
ichen one is acquainted acith the facts
either to believe that the proposed &c
ton ,UiH remedy matters, or to believt
that the bankers believe 1T aciH.
In the first place, the greenbacks
have not caused the treasury's trou
bles, for they have circulated for q
years without trouble of any kind, and
conditions, so far as they are concern
ed, are the same now as heretofore
The gold drawn from the treasury has
been drawn for export. Destroying
the greenbacks would not destroy the
demand for gold for export, nor rem
der it any more difficult to obtain it
The situation would be as Matthew
Marshall, the financial writer of the
Sun, says it would:
eff the legal tenders were all retired
debts, including bank deposits, would
become really payable in gold, tho
nominally in silver also. The export
er of gold would demand it from the
banks and the banks would have Ell
Their to pay il or to refuse to pay it. II
they paid it the country would lose
the gold just as it is losing it now, and
if they refused to pay it we should
come to the suspension of gold pay
ments, to avoid which we have for the
last two years made such strenuous eff
forts"
The treasurer now reissues the green
backs in payment of government ex.
penses. If he is, instead of that, to de
stroy them, he must pay those ex-
penses in some other way. If he must
receive greenbacks but cannot any
longer pay out greenbacks, it is as evi
dent as that two and two make four
that the treasury instead of being re.
lieved will be still more greatly embar
raised, and more in need of help than
ever.
No; the associated bankers are not
proposing this action for the relief OF
the country. Their ostensible motive
is not their real motive. 1t is impos.
sible to believe that it is.