The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-08-27

| the legislative duties with which they
solely are charged the present evils may
be mitigated and dangers threateni ng the
| future averted Our unfortunate anan-
cial plight Is not the result Of untoward
events, nor Of conditions related to our
! natural resources. Nor Is 1t traceable to
any OF the Affections which frequently
check national growth and prosperity.
With plenteous crops, with abundant
promise of remunerative production and
! manufacture, with unusual invitation to
safe investment, and with satisfactory
assurances to business enterprises, sud
den financial distrust and fear have
sprung up on every side,
Numerous noneyed institutions have
suspended because abundant assets were
not Immediately available to meet the de-
mands of frightened depostors. Surviv-
ing corporations and individuals are con-
tent to keep in hand the money they are
usually anxious to loan, and those engaged
In legitimate business arc surprised to find
that tho securities they offer for loans,
though heretofore satisfactory, are no lon
ger accepted, Values supposed to be fixed
are fast becoming con- njectural and loss and
failure have invaded every branch Of busi-
ness"
The Cause of the Change.
What startling aud sudden change
within the short period OF eight months,
from December 1892, to August, 1893?
What had occurredp A change of ad-
ministration; all branches of the govern.
ment had been entrusted to tho Demo-
cratic party, which was committed against
the protective policy that had prevailed
unlnterruptedly for more than thirty-two
years and brought unoxampled prosperity
to the country and firmly pledged to its
complete overthrow and tho substitution
of a tariff for revenue only The change
having been decreed by the elections in
November its effects were at onco antici-
pated and felt.
Wo cannot close our eyes to these alter
ated conditions, nor would it be wise to
exclude from contemplation and investi-
CATION the causes which produced them.
They are facts which we cannot us II people
disregard, and we can only hopo to i'm
prove our present condition by a study Of
their causes. In December, 1899, we had
tho same currency and practically the
same volume of currency that we have
now. 1t aggregated in 1872, $2,372, 500, ,50l;
in 1893, 81 1928 O0O, ,OO0; in 1894, 81 323, 49,
1852, and in December, 1895, -, 1914 ,0oO,23O.
The per capita of money has been prac-
ticnlly the same during this whole period.
The quality of the money has been identi-
cal-all kept equal to gold There is moth
ing connected with our money, therefore,
to account for this sudden and aggravated
Industrial change Whatever is to be dep
recated in our financial system it must
everywhere bc admitted that our money
has been absolutely good and brought
neither loss nor Inconvenience to its hold.
crs. A deprecated currency has not ex-
listed to further vex the troubled business
situation
Good Money Never Made Times Hard.
1t is mere pretense to attribute the
hard timos to the fact that all our cur
rency is on q gold basis Good money
never made times hard. Those who assert
that presentindustria and financial de-
preston is tho result of the gold standard
have not read American history Alright, or
| been careful students Of the events Of
recent years. We never had greater pros.
perity in this country, in every field Of
employment and industry, than in the
busy years from 1880 to 1892, during all Of
which time this country was on u gold
oasis and employed more gold money in
before, We had too, protective tariff
under which ample revenues were col
lected for the government and an accumu-
lating surplus which was constantly
applied to the payment of the public debt.
| Let us hold fust 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. Vixen money is employed men
are employed. Both have always been
steadily and remuneratiyely engaged dur
| ing all the years of protectivataritf legls-
lation. When those who have money lack
confidence in the stability of values and
Investments thoy Will not part with thair
| money Business Is stagnatsd, the life
| blood of trade is checked and congested.
| We cannot restore public confidence by an
act which would revolutionize all values,
| or an act which details deficiency in tho
| public revenues We cannot inspire con-
| 1dence by advocating the repudiation or
| practicing dishonesty, Wecannot restore
| confidence either to the treasury or to the
| people, without change in our present
| tariff legislation.
Tho only measure of q general nature
| that affected the treasury and tempera-
| 1ltnb VI DuT ptbplc puSSOu ny tiio L II
| third congress was the general tariff act
which did not receive tho approval of tho
! president. Whatever virtues may be
claimed for that act there is confessedly
| one which it does not possess. 1t lacks the
| essential virtue Of its creation-the raising
| of revenue sufficient to supply the needs
of the government. 1t has at no time pro-
vidcd enough revenue for such needs, but
| ~ L. lnn al t,,% %A,
treasury and steady depletion in the
earnings of labor and land 1t has ccii-
tribuod to swell our national debt more
than 1862 0000 0O0 n sum nearly rs great as
the debt of tho government from Wash
ington to Lincoln including all our for
eign wars, from the revolution to the re-
bellon. Since its passage work at home
has been diminished, prices of agricul-
| tural products have fallen, confidence has
been arrested and general business de-
moralization is seen on every hand.
The Tariff. of 1890 and 1894 Contrasted.
| The total receipts under the tariff act of
1891 for tho first twenty-five months Of it's
enforcement, from September, 1894, to
juno, 1898, were S557 65,32S, and the ex-
| pendtures 500 4lS,35', or deficiency of
So. .S13 OBS The decrease In our exports
| of American products and manufactures
during the first fifteen months of the pres
ent tariff, as cOntrastod with the exports
of the first fifteen months of the tariff Of
1890, was s22O, 1853 800 Tho excess of ex-
ports over imports during the first fifteen
months of the tariff Of 1890 was $2l3072,-
| 95S, but only $50 75s, ,633 under the first If
teen months of the tariff Of 1894, II loss un-
der the latter Of Sl57,2l4,3i5. Tho net loss
| in the trade balance of the United States
has been sl95, ,9s3,G07 during the first tif-
teen months operation of the tariff of 1894,
as compared with tho first fifteen months
of the tariff of 1890. The loss has been
| large, constant and steady Mt the rate Of
| $13, l30, 900 per month, or 500 900 for every
business day of the year,
| Losing In Both Directions.
We have either been sending too much
money out of the country or getting too
little in, or both. We have lost steadily in
both directions Our foreign trade has
| boon diminished and our domestic trade
has suffered incalculable loss. Does not
| this suggest the cause Of our present de-