The record-union., 1896-08-27

country. While no resort TO history or
official statement is required to advise
us of the present condition, and that
which has prevailed during the past
three years, l venture to quote from
President Cleveland's first message,
August s, 1893, addressed to the Fifty
third Congress, which he had called to-
gether in extraordinary session:
Z" The existence of an alarming and
extraordinary business situation said
he, involving the welfare and prosper
ity of all our people, has constrained
me to call together in extra session the
peoples representative in Congress, TO
the end that through the wise and pa
triotic exercise of the legislative duties
with which they solely are charged the
present evils may be mitigated and
dangers threatening the future may be
averted. Our unfortunate financial
plight is not the result of untoward
events, nor of the conditions related to
our natural resources. Nor is it trace
able to any Of the Affections which fire.
quently check national growth and
prosperity With plenteous crops,
with abundant promise of remunerative
production and manufactures, with un-
usual invitations to safe investment
and with satisfactory assurances to
business enterprises, suddenly financial
distrust and fear have sprung up on
every side. Numerous moneyed insti-
tutions have suspended because abund-
ant assets were not Immediately avail
able to meet the demands of frightened
depositors. Surviving corporations and
individuals are content to keep in hand
the money they are usually anxious 10
loan, and those engaged in legitimate
business are surprised to ind that the
securities they offer for loans, though
heretofore satisfactory, are no longer
accepted. Values supposed to be fixed
are fast becoming conjectural, and loss
and failure have invaded every branch
of business
THE CAUSE OF THE CHANGE.
What a startling and sudden change
within the short period of eight months
from December, 1892, to August, 1898.
What had occurred? A change OF ad-
ministration; all branches of the Gov
eminent had been intrusted to the Dem
ocratic party, which was committed
against the protective policy that had
prevailed uninterruptedly for more than
thirty years. and brought unexampled
prosperity to the country, and firmly
pledged to it's complete overthrow and
the substitution of a tariff for revenue
only. The change having been decreed
by the elections in November, its effects
were at once anticipated and felt.
1--WE cannot close our eyes to these
altered conditions, nor would it be wise
to exclude from contemplation and in
vestigation the cause which produced
them. These are facts which we can
not as people disregard, and we can only
hope to improve our present condition
by a study of their cause. In Decem-
Der. 1892. we had the same currency and
practically the same volume of currency
that we have now. 1t aggregated in
1892 81. .372. 500, ,501; in 1893 S2,323, ,00O,-
600; in 1894. 81, 3323 323. 434 ,362; and in De-
| cember, 1895, 81, 1914 0o0,230 The per
capita for the Nation, too, has been
practically the same during the whole
period. The quality of money has been
identical-all kept equal to gold.
There is nothing connected with our
money to account for this sudden and
! aggravated industrial change. What
ever is to be deprecated in our financial
system. it must everywhere be admitted
that our money has been absolutely
eood. and has brought neither loss or
inconvenience to it's holders. A depre-
ciated currency has not existed to fur
ther vex the troubled business situa-
ton.
GOOD MONEY NEVER MAKES
TIMES HARD.
'It is a mere pretense to attribute the
hard times to the fact that all of our
currency is on a gold basis. Good
money never made times hard. Those
who assert that our present industrial
and financial depression is the result of
the gold standard have not read Amer
ican history Alright, or been careful stu
dents of the events of recent years. We
never had greater prosperity in this
country, in every field Of employment and
industry, than in the busy years from
1850 to 1892, during all of which time
| this country was on a gold basis, and
| employed more gold money in it's finan-
cial and business operations than ever
! before We had, too, protective tar
| if. under which ample revenues We're
collected for the Government and an
! accommodating surplus which was con-
stantly applied to the payment of the
! public debt.
Let us hold fast to that which we
] know is good. 1t is not more money we
want; what we want is to put the money
we already have at work When money
| is employed, men are employed. Both
have always been steadily and remu-
neratively engaged during the years Of
protective tariff legislation. When
| those who have money lack confidence
| in the stability of values and invest
ments, they will not part with their
money. Business is stagnated. The life
| blood of trade is checked and congested
We cannot restore the public confidence
| by any Act which would revolutionize
all values or an Act which entails a de-
| ficiency in the public revenues. We
| cannot inspire confidence by advocating
repudiation or practicing dishonesty
| We cannot restore confidence either to
the treasury or to the people without a
change in our present tariff legislation
THE TARIFF OF 1894.
| "The only measure of a general ma
| ture that affected the treasury and the
| employment of our people passed by the
| Fifty third Congress was the General
| Tariff Act, which did not receive the
4 approval of the President. Whatever
: virtues may be claimed for that Act
| there is confessedly one which it does
not possess. 1t lacks the essential vir-
| tue of its creation-the raising of reve-
nue. sufficient to supply the needs OF