Year: 1873

SENATOR SHERMAN ON PANTCS.


The Inevitable reporter has been inter
viewing the chairman of the Senate
finance committee in reference to the
situation, and that statesman has ex-
sressed himself quite freely upon the
cause and results of the present panic,
but he is exceedingly careful about IN
,imating his views upon a remedy for
the business arrangements caused by
money stringencies or q destruction OF
confidence of business men in each other.
The views of Senator Sherman are en-
titled to careful consideration on account
of his sound and conservative method OF
reasoning as well as by reason of the
special attention and study he has given
the questions of finance during the al
most twenty years he has been continu-
ously in Congress, twelve Of which he
has been chairman of the committee on
finance of the Senate, and as such has
had charge of most of the financial legts-
latiOn of that body.


While we concede to the venerable
statesman from Ohio great depth of
thought and soundness of judgment upon
this special subject, we would be pleased
to know by what course of reasoning
he makes himself believe that the coun-
try is not ready for free banking; andif
we are to have it, we want light upon
the question of what good would result
from a law declaring that the people
.'have a right to convert greenbacks into
five per cent. gold bonds, and to recon-
vert them into greenbacks within the
limit of four hundred million dollars.
We believe that this humbuggery Of clio
thing banking business with mystery,
and limitation by law, is one of the
prime causes of our business stagnation,
and that the monopoly now allowed the
national banks, is an evil to the business
that can only.be cured by allowing capl-
tai the same untrammeled liberty to seek
profits in the business of banking that
it has in any other commercial enter
prise. There need be no fear that more
men or money will flow into that busi-
ness than can make profit by it, if the
ordinary laws of trade were allowed full
scope in this business as well as others.


There is one proposition of the learned
Senator that startles us, and that IS that
we ''haye no right to increase the limit
of our currency above the amount OF
four hundred million dollars" as 1.-THE
faith of the government is pledged for
that amount, and it would be unjust to
our creditors and the people to increase
it," If the Senator means that this limit
of four hundred millions of circulation
is all the government can righttuIly IS
sue directly or through the national
banks, we care nothing about the ques-
ton, but if he means that banks under
system to be adopted must be limited
to that, although they are ready to Sc
cure the redemption of larger sum IN
gold, silver or greenbacks, then we de-
mur to the power of Congress to put
such a restriction on the business OF the
people. The absurdity of such limita-
ton can readily be seen by what the
Senator says of our recent panic, when
he very earnestly asserts that ''we have
1000, 900 of farmers, and that if each
holds twenty dollars it causes par
alysis." We have 100000, 900 of people
allow each one of them to put ten dol
lars in his pocket and the entire volume
of the currency is used up, with not
dime left with which to do the immense
business of the country.


The suggestion, that a knowledge
among men, that there is only a limited
quantity of money in the land, has
tendency to make them hoard what they
happen to have and create panic and
distrust by locking up currency IS
worthy of consideration. We concur
with Mr.. Sherman that it makes no diff
ference what the currency is, about a
panic being produced, and it would arise
as easily from specie circulation as
that of paper, but we think it is APP
parent that the limit of four hundred
millions has a great tendency to produce
panic and a general financial crash,
and we look upon repeal of this limt-
tation and of all restrictions except that
of absolute safety, for the banking
business, as far more efficacious to pre-
vent financial panics, than ''the annihila-
tion of the credit system and resort to
barter" which Senator Sherman declares
10 be the only way to prevent panics.
This elucidafion of method of preveh-
tion is almost as clear and conclusive as
the reasoning of a clergyman in a reeent
sermon, Who tried to prove that there
had been no panic; because there was no
visible necessity for it. The man who
argues in favor of monopoly and re-
strictions upon the legitimate enterprise
of the people has a heavy burden to
carry.