Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1896-09-05

both gold ana silver IN preference 70
bank currency, The present adj .inis
tration has rejected. on the hcance
question, the traditions of the D,mo
cratic party.
THE CAUSE OF PANICs.
Nothing is so harmful 20 business,
nothing has caused so much misery.
suffering and despair as the frequent
periods Of depression and panics which
have visited the country. The cause of
these panics in every instance has been
the same-money contraction. The
great panic of 1881 was caused by the
demand of the Federal Government for
specie in payment for the public lands,
and although all gold and silver was
then coined at the mints, the volume of
metal money was entirely inadequate to
the requirements of business. Demand
on the banks was made for the required
specie, to which the banks could not re-
spond, and the whole fabric of bank
currency, based on the money distrib-
uted by the Federal Government among
the several states, became nearly worth
less. The business of the country, re-
stricted to the insufficient volume of
metal money, became crippled, and dis
aster and ruin followed.
The panic of 1857 was primarily
caused by the act of Congress, Febru.
airy, 1857, demonetizing foreign coins,
which up to that date had been legal
tender money, In 1853 Congress had
demonetized all silver halves, quarters
and dimes in sums over s., and now,
Congress, having demonetized foreign
coins, the banks could no longer hold
such demonetized silver as reserves, and
they were sent out of the country never
to return.
The panic of 1878 was caused by the
contraction of currency to the amount
of over one billion dollars. This vicious
legislation of Congress visited upon the
country one of the severest psnics in
the whole worlds history. The pros
perity which had prevailed even during
the war was followed by q period o.
unparalleled depression. The census re
turns show that the wealth of the ooun
try in 1880 was fifteen billions; in 1876
it was thirty billions. With sufficient
money, more wealth was created in on,
decade than had been created in all tht
previous years of the nations existence
From 1885 to 1878 the contraction of the
currency, exclusive of coin, was 81 $50,
900, ,065. With the loss of the currency
was indissolubly linked stoppage o
business enterprise, the depreciation o
values, the stagnation of trade, and tn
enforced idleness of countless thousand
Of American citizens, who were con
verted into tramps by the very sam
legislation that had converted the bond
holders into millionaires.
The panic Of 1898 was caused by tn
most foolish and criminal pCNcy inaugu
rated by the Harrison administrator
and followed by that of Cleveland, o
making gold alone the money of redemp
ton. Since that policy has been adopted
and since silver has been discarded a
standard money, the business of tn
country has been dwarfed to the narro,
gold basis, and wreck and ruin have fo
lowed in the wake of the contraction G
the volume of legal tender redemptio
money. History, reason and experienC
of mankind all teach the same lesson
finance, but the inonometallists heroic
ALLY combat all these lessons. They al
wise only in their own conceit. The 70
lowing statements are furnished withoJ
comment:
Amount of currency, exclusive {
| coin in treasury and circulation O
September l, 1896, as taken from bool
Of the treasury department by Moses "
Field, (Our Money Wars, page 173).