Year: 1874

/ Vic AuhLCG tee DEIuQ before
That body, Mr.. Schurz spoke as follows:
he said the issue now seemed to be
| between resumption aud imitation. He
thought the doctrine of procrasbination
IN redeeming the legal tenders an alarm
ing and dangerous one. He was sur
PrIsed to hear the statement of the sec
ator from Massachusetts, BoutveID
| about France, since the credit of that
country has not been impaired. He
| (Schurz) thought the public credit would
/ be seriously impaired wheE the govern


ment adopted the doctrine of the gen
tIeman that the government redeem its
promises to pay only when it pleases to
do so. Mr.. SchuTz expressed his dis
| approval of re-issuing any portion of
the forty-four million reserve, and went
on TO give his views as to the cause of
the recent panic. and continued


We have neither a foreign war nor
domestic rebellion at our gates to-day,
nor any other disaster upon us, to cause
an increase of our currency. This
| proposition to invest the government
with such power meant it should exer-
else the power at its discretion, to issue
any amount of irredeemable legal ten
der paper as money, or, in other words,
! 1t placed all the private fortunes in the
country at the mercy of the federal
| government. Did senators think the
American people would ever invest any
branch of the government with this
great power? None but despotic gov
ernments ever claimed such power. It
was virtually debasing the coin of the
realm, and he hoped congress would
consider well before il adopted any such
measure. If the currency should be ex-
panded to ten thousand millions, the
ranngaIa xury7l1 ,1oTr 0f s,So


Why? Because an excessive issue gen.
orally effected rise in the prices.in the
commodities of living, while return
TO specie payments decreased the prices
of those articles. An irredeemable cur
rency always diverted capital from le-
gitimate business enterprises. Hence
the continued and Unsuitable demand
for more. The more the currency is
expanded, the greater viii this evil be-
come.


He did not agree with his colleague,
MIR. Bogy, that new national banks
should he started in the west, or that
the issue of these should be increased,
as he did not believe that the money
issued by them would stay there and
benefit that region. He argued that
the relief sought by an initiation of
the currency would be mere illusion.
Let it be supposed that every individ-
ua1 in the country could wake up in the
morning and find ten dollars in bis
pocket in place of one the day before.
What jubilee there would be among
the fools Did any sane man suppose
the wealth of the country would be in
creased? a? Not in the least. Or wealth |
OF auy citizen be the greater? Not a |
particle. For, on going to market next |
morning he would have to pay ten dol |
lars for what one dollar would have |
purchased the day before. Every con-
sideratiOn of good faith and sound pol |
icy seems to urge us to put an end to |
this ubiquitous system in regard to a |
return to specie payment. He said he |
desired to enter his protest against two |
plans That presented by the senator /
from Michigan (Ferry), to first expand |
the currency and revive the posterity of |
the country, and, second, that proposed |
by the senator from Massachusetts, |
BoutwelD, to donothing, but let things |
remain as noWs Return to specie pay |
ment must be preceded by severe re-
trenchment in public and private eX |
penditures, by prudence in our business !
enterprises, by a recognition of the /
truth that honesty and productive labor |
is the true source of wealth. He thought |
that if the plan of the senator from |
Michigan should prevail, it would be |
goodbye rstrenchment ! Good-by |
economy J Let imitation prevail! AS to |
that of the gentleman from Massachu- |
sett (Boutwell), he said it was a do |
nothing policy, and the country had |
already seen the evils Of it. The gen.
tleman had adhered to that policy faith
fully while he was secretary of the
treasury, and his successor had followed !
the same course. He (Sehurz) thought
the country should understand these
teachings and profit by the lesson. The
plan Of the senator from Massachusetts
was the most dangerous, because it
bore some aspect of plausibility, and
would present itself as feasible to a
large class of people who did not study
deeply the question of finance. 1t was
not proper for congress- to stand still
and let disease wo~k its own cure.


We would present a sorry spectacle
to the world by hiding our heads In the
sand and saying we are afraid to move
lest we break something, when the
break down has already occurred. He
declared it to be his candid opinion that
the present time is the most opportune
since the close of the war to resume
specie payment. If this time be lost
be would have to await another inan-
cial crisis and overcome greater OBJ
stacles. Many of the difficulties in the
way of specie resumption has been sur
mounted by the crisis. Let it be under
stood that we are to return to specie
payments, and every sensible man viii
take care to run IN debt no more than
is absolutely necessary, when he knows
that with which he is to pay such debt
Wild ally appreciate in value. He ar
gued that the west and south had never
been benefited by imitation, but those
sections would be greatly benefited by
resumption. Another difficulty, which
presented itself against specie resump-
tion, arose from the sinking of prices
which would accompany such Fesump-
ton. That difficulty is less than ever
now, the crisis having brought down
prices, and for months past merchants
have bought carefully, and the losses
from shrinkage in prices would now be
lighter than ever before could be ex-
pected. Tho resumption policy was
opposed by three classes First, hon
est men who had formed erroneous
opinions second, men who think every
move TO increase the currency is popu-
lar and Join in it and. third, a set of
thoroughly reckless gamblers and specu-
lators who wanted imitation without end
that they rlight settle up old scores and
set out again in full sail Tue tirst class
could be convinced by sound arguments,
the second by a new breeze of public
opinion, and the third, to-day. were for
tunately in a crippled condition and
would give less trouble than ever.


In conclusion, he argued that the
government is in law bound to redeem
its promises as soon as possible that
the crisis was not produced by an in
sufiiciency of currency that a sudden
scare might be checked by an increase
of currency, but panic brought about
by over speculation could not be RENE
died by expansion; that an expansion
of currency would divert capital from
the legitimate channels of business and
demoTalize commercial as we'll as social
life that any further expansion would
increase the difficulty of resumption
that any addition to the currency would
not satisfy but excite a demand for
more money. and pnt the country still
further on the road to bankruptcy. Re
sumption now would lay a basis for our