Year: 1868

| House.


Disturbances Of the Money Market-The
/ Cause ard Remedy.


The chef topic in all business circles for
some days past has been the stripgency IN the
money market, and many respectable mer-
chants and tradesnen as well as stock gamblers
have felt keenly this stringency. The only
! parties that have profted by this state of
! things are the ote-shaying bankers and irdi-
and they have been the authors chiefly OF the
present disturbance in the money market
/ They watch the flow Of currency from or to
commercial centres for the purpose Of control
ling the market and putting the screws to tho
trading community. In the present instance
they have taken advantage of flow of cur
reney to the West and South for removing the
/ crops TO form combinations in order to make
money scarce. By locking up few millions
Of currency under these circumstances they
have been able to seriously disturb trade and
change values TO the amount Of hundreds Of
millions Yes; few individuals under our
monetary system can make money scarce
raise the interest of it to ruinous rate and
| plunge the whole commercial community into
difficulty.


The specie payment theorists urge that this
state Of things would be remedied by resump-
tion, and, strange to say, they advocate q con-
traction of the currency in order to force
specie payments and to bring remedy. They
go upon the principle Of the homeopathic
doctors that like cures like. To cure a strin-
gency in the money market which arises from
a want of currency they urge contraction or
still more restricted currency. If few spec
ulators in New York can tie up the currency
while there is comparatively liberal amount
| in circulation throughout the country. what
could they do il there were one or two hun
| dred millions less Under our present sys-
ten foreigners cannot sensibly disturb the
money market, because they could not draw
| the currency abroad. We are free from that
danger. But otr own speculating capitalists
and bankers can create disturbance and o
stringcncy to some extent, as we have seen.
In specie-paying times the vast commercial
interests Of this great and rich country
are at the mercy Of foreigners. The
Bank of England could ut any time put
on the screws and drain twenty, thirty or fifty
millions Of specie from the United States, and
thereby paralyae our trade at home and throw
our merchants into bankruptcy. Probably q
single foreign house, that OF Rothschilds, could
do the same il il should feel so disposed. Ought
this great and wealthy country to be subject to
such state OF things? Is it not monstrous that
the manipulation Of few millions of currency
now by SPECTATORS al home or the drain OF a few
millions of gold by foreigners in specic-paying
times should disturb trade and values amount
ing TO thousands of millions In this mighty EN-
pire? Such state of things is unnatural, q
nonstrous anomaly, and ought not to exist


What, then, is the remedy. How shall
this country, which is new, original and differ
emily situated in many respects TO the countries
OF the Ola World, cmancipate itself from their
financial dogmas and evils? Shall we not
leave The beaten track of the past which has
involved Europe in pauperism and stupendoua
standing debts, aud create monetary system
adapted TO our own circumstances and institu-
tons? This IA The great problem Of the day for
the statesmen OF America TO solve. Upon It's
solution will depend In a great measure the
future progress Of the country and whether our
enormous national debt shall be perpetual
burden or not. The first thing necessary Is 70
have sufficient currency, for that is the Ifd-
blood Of trade To determine what the amount
should. be we must not go to England or any
other country for au example. With our vast
area of territory, widespread industry, variety
Of interests, large population and intense
activity We require q circulating medium fur
greater than that Of any other nation. Nor
can we take the currency, including all the
bank notes and specie before The war, as a
basis Tor our circulation now. The oapitaliza-
tion OF the enormous amount Of wealth ia the
national debt; the greatly ipcrcased demands