Year: 1877

must be discontinued, and the entire business
Of $500, 900, 600 year transacted In gold coin
or It's practical equivalent, as the beforemen-
toned $t10,00o0Oo worth of business Is already
DONE


Now, am not q. financier. In fact am 80
bad financier that I can neither find my
debtors nor avoid my creditors. Hence 1t
would be manifestly impertinent for me to
enter into q disquisition on


THE SCIENCE OF FINANCE.


Moreover, the weather Is too sultry to admit
OF treating financial topics in any other than
the terse but profane style in which John
Sherman discusses them. will try to be as
terse as John is, though cannot hope to be
SO profane.


It strikes me that


THE TREASURY CAN RESUME SPECIE PAY
MENTs


By inaugurating either of two measures; that
Is to say, either by beginning to pay out coin
in discharge of all it's own obligations indis-
criminately, or by beginning to receive it's
own paper in payment OF all dues accrl1ing to
it, The Inauguration Of either of these pro-
cesses would speedily bring about the opera
ton Of the other, and when both processes
had been set going, neither would stop unless
the other suspended. But it is obvious that
in order to begin paying out coin the Treas
ury must have on hand more of that article
than it has now. And very eminent financiers
tell us that the same Is true of the other pro-
cess, to wit: Beginning to receive paper.
In either case, then, when we get down to the
bottom of the business more coin is needed
l J.. 4b<X hoF, WrS
observe that the premium on gold is now
lower and less fuctuating than it has been at
any time heretofore since 1868. But If we
examine statistics we shall find that this is
not because there Is now more gold in the
country than there has been atany other time
within that period; it is because gold Is a
| commodity, not q currency, and the market
| for it as commodity is less active than it has
been heretofore. Between gold as a COM
modify and
| GOLD AS A CURRENCY


there is O vast difference. AS a commodity
It's price depends upon the operation of the
law Of supply and demand. But as a curren-
cy it's value Is fixed by the operation of the
laws of coinage. To carry the distinction d
step further, it should be observed that there
is grave difference between the price of
| GOLD VIEWED AS A COMMODITY


and its value as a currency. For example, as
q commodity, a certain number of grains Of
gold are worth 81 seven and one-fourth cents
in the currency of the realm. But, as cur.
rency the same number of grains of gold
would be worth only 81, while at the same
ratio dollar OF the currency Of the realm
would be worth only ninety-four cents. Now


while the value OF a currency is not regulated
by laws of supply and demand, its volume il


SO regulated. just now it happens that tht


volume Of gold in the country is more thar


sufficient to meet the demand for it as q com


modify, and hence it's price is low. But w


know that the volume of gold now In th'


country would be insufficient to meet the de


mand should it become currency. Thus, /


it were made currency, the demand woult
speedily exhaust the volume, and as soon al


that was accomplished it would cease to be


currency and become q commodity again as


it is now.


Il But John Sherman proposes to


RESUME IN 1879 OR BE DAMNED"


That is to say, If, at the end of nineteer





ceased to be commodity and become eur
rency, John will descend into hell. We havs
4 seen that, in order to produce this desirable


result refer to the redemption of speci,
payments, not to the damnation of John-th.


volume of gold in the country must be largely


increased. Now, then, is it increasing? M
statistics that are available go to show that /
is. Is there any visible or palpable reason t,


suppose that it will so increase at any tim


within the next nineteen months and sever


days2 This question I shall not attempt Il
answer. That [ leave to the financiers. Fo
| my own part / say that, if there is any rea
son for such a supposition / cannot discove
it. But upon this question may be said t
} hang Johns salvation, according to his ow
: gospel. / cannot, for my life, see how he
!. going to resume within the stated period {
nineteen months and seven days. I am there
fore forced to adopt the other and NOR
} melancholy horn Of the dilemma, and avo,
) my deep and abiding apprehension that job
will be damned. A. G. BUELL..
, THE LEE MONUMENTAL ASSOCIATION
| NEW ORLEANS Nav % 1877