The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-02-29
OUR FINANCIAL ILLS
CONTROLLER ECKELs SAYS THEY
ARE DUE TO THE INFLATIONisT,
And Until This Enemy OF sound Mon
ey Is DfslOdged There Can BE No
Cure for Present Evils.

BOSTON, Feb. 2S-Two hundred members
of the Massachusetts, Reform Club attended
the dinner at Young's Hotel tonight. Presi-
dent George 5. Hale introduced Hon. James
II. Eckels. Controller Of the Currency, and
his speech was enthusiastically received.
After a complimentary allusion TO the ac-
compHshments OF the independent in politics,
and saying that there were now questions Of
constitutional rights and political action
growing out Of the war and the, reconstruc-
tion period 10 be determined, Mr. Eckels de-
clared that 'it is the questions affecting
trade and commerce to-day which flow from
action taken during the of civil strife
which the citizen demands shall be dealt
with, and the public man who does other
wise misinterprets the evidences about him."
He would undertake TO touch upon single
one of these, that OF the currency. which
he ranked as always commanding a wiser
statesmanship than the problem Of national
taxation. He was not unmindful of the re-
cent marvellous display of the abundant re-
serve wealth of our people and their purpose
to MAINTAIN the governments financial honor.
but this very demonstration was in itself
proof positive of the defects of the currency
system We were striving to uphold.
Continuing, he said, in part THE interests
of trade, the cause OF labor, the undertakings
of the manufacturer. have all to-day given
hostages to fortune because of the currency
system which has been fastened on them. IL
is in general and in detail inadequate to meet
their daily necessities. The, government is
striving to maintain the single gold-standard
OF value and continue gold payments under
conditions wholly unnatural and in defiance
OF all monetary laws and experience. The
dliliculty, so far as politics enters into the
concerned. ( Is
the cause, but politics is the effect. The
cause OF the weakened condition of the credit
of our American currency is to be found in
the fact that from the Issuance of the first
treasury note, in 1862. to this very day the
infiationist has been the controlling force In
American monetary legislation. He stands
to-day the strenuous opponent of the single
gold standard OF value, and he ill conceaIs
his attitude by taking refuge in his an
strated impossibility and absurdity of bimet-
alIism, whether it be national or interna-
yional Until the infationist Is dlsodged
there can be no permanent cure for our finan-
cial ills. When his career is ended the
treasury OF the United States will cease car
ryng on the operations of bank. its notes
baneful influence lifted from all the indus
tries in the land. There will then be none
who for this people would have other than a
single gold standard, and none who would
suggest dollar. whether of silver or paper
which is not everywhere. under any and all
circumstances. and in whatever quantities.,
1alrly lntercnangeaDle with every other dol
lar which circulates without entailing loss to
any one. In that day the private citizen and
the lawmaker will have learned the truth.
announced a half century since by one OF
1taly's most distinguished students of
finance: Money Is essentially rebelious to the
orders of law; IL comes without being called
" goes without being arrested. deaf 10 ad-
yances, insensble TO threats, attracted solely
by the allurement of profits +"
Professor F. ". Taussig, of Harvard, said,
in part: Controller Eckels and President
Cleveland have given us a sound and unquali-
fled answer as 10 what they proposed TO do.
ries OF haphaZard compromises which have
only produced our present condition. The
party that brought about the depletion OF the
surplus by the issue of paper had the ef-
frontery on gaining power to charge the
other with having caused it," He agreed
with Controller Eckels that the government,
should stop the issue OF paper and Stang
good gold and leave the issue to care for st.
self