Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-06-14
TWELVE PAGES
WEDNESDAY, JUNE II. 1899.
A PLENTY OF MONEY.

OF all the flush times ever known in
6hiB country through discoveries and
Inventions, production, acquisition,
speculation, &C., including the issues of
paper-money, as we'll as the extraordi-
mary developments of gold and silver,
immigration and the high-prices caused
among us by failures of crops, famlnes
surpassed or approached those of the
war between the States-from 1861 to
1866, both inclusive-and the years i'm
mSdiately following. During the ac-
tual conflict everybody was employed
all the time, everything was demanded
Hnd consumed, all our resources were
strained. all the world poured men and
supplies here, and money-papcr- money
-flowed like water.
From the beginning of the war. specie
payment was suspended by govern
ment. banks and people. But green
backs, treasury-notes and bank notes
nbounded. Prices were high, but money
body suffered. while many grew rich
or laid the foundation for future
wealth. The currency was undoubted-
ly inflated to some extent, but there
was little or no loss. or danger of loss,
while the paper was Issued by the FedA
eral treasury.
Nevertheless. prudence dictated rea-
eonable contraction of the currency,
and It was necessary If to resume spe-
Gle payment fully. This was general
1y agreed to. and greenbacks and other
treasury-notes were withdrawn in large
quantities from circulation. AS soon
as this process began. every capitalist
and speculator a I once saw that as the
volume of circulation diminished. the
value Of every dollar still outstanding
Increased proportonally in value--in
purchasing power; and thence arose al
most mania for contraction among
capitalists. bankers and spectators.
Not content with reducing the amount
of paper-money, the contractionist at
tackled specie Itself, although there was
practically none In circulation in the
country; and though this scarcity of
coin was manifest to all. and though
the problem of the resumption Of spe-
cie-payment was then pressing for So
,ution-statesmen and bankers in straits
to provide sufficient amount of coin
to justify an attempt at resumption
the internal craze for contraction was
80 strongly backed by English nnu-
ence, that the consprators in haste to
be rich by contracting the volume of
money, and thereby enhancing its
value, actually had the audacity to
sneak through Congress, under false
pretences, n bill demonetizing silver
metal, abolishng its free coinage and
closing one of the two sources of specie
against government and people!
This astonishing operation occurred
In February. 1873 in direct contraven-
ton Of any actual resumption of coin
by government or banks: and it was
not until over five years later that the
so-called resumption act was enacted.
20 take effect in 1S79,-nor could 1t have
been carried out then but for the fact
that in 1873 Secretary Sherman had di.
rected all branches of the Treasury De-
partment to receive the greenbacks at
par with gold for ali purposes, which
at once caused preference for green
backs to nulllfy the demand for coin
resumption. Not only so. but this or
der OF Secretary Sherman revealed that
1t was only because greenbacks Aand
ctner treasury notes had not been re-
esiyAble for customs. &C.. that they