Year: 1876

when it is Withdrawn by the holders,
when they refuse to loan or buy, then
comes stagnation and paralysis, followed
by general bankruptcy and distress.


Now, then, the hard times being due
to the shrinksge of values, and the
shrinkage of values being due To the
withdrawal of the money from among
the people why is the money thus with.
drawn? What causes 1t? Not the
panic of 1873, for il that panic were the
cause, times would have been the worse
in 1874, but the fact is that the business
of the country was recovering in 1874
1t is not that. Whststhen2 l say, and it
is demonstrable to every intelligent man,
thai it is the attempt OF the Republican
party to suddenly force this country to
gold resumption. Applause.


Why does it produce this effect? l
answer, because it inevitably involves sn
enormous reduction OF our currency, and
consequently an enormous reduction Of
all values we have paper circulation
of about $750,0O0000-nesrly three times
more than any nation on the
face of the earth ever maintained in cir
culstion redeemable in coin. In all
countries, banks issue ali the paper
money they can possibly keep atioat.
| Their profit, OF course, is in exact pro-
portion to the amount they Issue and can
redeem as the laws may require. The
amount the banks ofany country where
they are required to redeem in specie
can keep out depends much on the
amount of specie in the country-only
small part OF which, OF course,
can be secured and held by the
banks as fund to redeem their
notes with Now, Great Britain has
full S700,0000O0 OF specie in the country,
but her banks never could keep atioat as
much as $30O,000 900 of paper currency.
France has II much greater store of the
precious metals than Great Britain, yet
her bank never could keep atlost $780,
100000 of redeemable paper. The Ger
man Empire has about the same supply
of gold and silver as Great Britain, and
less than $500, 100000 of bank paper.
Before the war we had twice the stock of
gold and silver we have to-day, but our
greatest paper circulation then was less
than one third our present circulation.
| The largest estimate of the gold and sill
yer in our country now is 100000
and that is constantly being reduced, be
cause we ship abroad every year more
| than the whole coined product of our
mines. If Great Britain, France and
! Germany. with five times rs much gold
and silver in their countries as We have
| h,, ipt al N "a
redeemable currency of over S3OOOOO,-
! 600, how in the world can we expect to
! do it, We can not DO it, 1t is just as
certain AS that we breathe the vital air
to-day that before resumption is estab.
lished in this country the paper currency
has to be reduced to less than one third
of its present volume.


1t was in the interest and at the lnstiga.
CATION of capitalist class of this country
that this Resumption law WAS passed
| the holders of money and money suretIes.
Their leaders are men of intelligence
and thorough knowledge of this resump-
tion policy; and they know perfectly well
that il involve the contraction OF our
currency toone third,.ofits present volume
and they know too, that this contraction
is going to break down all values in this
country, except the value OF the almighty
dollar and bond, in about the same pro-
portion as the reduction of the currency,
and therefore they have Withdrawn their
money, to a large extent, from legitimate
industries where it belongs.


The only reply that has been or can be
made TO this is that made by the Cincin-
natl ConimerciGi the other dav. 1t did
not pretend to deny my statement as to
the reduction Of the paper currency, but
said that gold would go into circulation
to the full amount of the paper money
redeemed and destroyed. Now, that is
utterly fallacious. The people Of this
country, after resumption, won't see any
| gold in circulation at all. We never have
| in this generation known the time when
rour-ffths of the currency of the people
was not paper, and for the reason that
the precious metals are held here IN too
small quantities to make them the cur
rency of the people With an annual
shipment OF gold and silver OF from
| $50 100000 to SS0,000O 600, q ship.
ment that is absolutely imperative
because of the enormous specie debts
abroad, who can expect that we can Jump
from Sl66,OOO,OO0 of gold and silver in
the country now 70 S50O,OOe,Ooo two
wears hence, WHICH We can retain and
keep afoat ns the common currency OF
the people? 1t is utterly preposterous.
We will not see any gold in this genera.
! ton current among the people. Every
dollar of it that can be got by the banks
after the day Of resumption, after the
green backs are taken up and destroyed,
| will be boarded, and then the banks will
| beg and plead with the note holders not
to demand gold on their notes, in order
that they may hold their reserve, and so
far as it may be drawn out Of their vaults
they will get it back by the establish.
ment OF small premium, which will
efectuslly keep it out Of common circu-
| lation.


Now. to show that this destruction Of
our paper money is inevitable, the Re-
sumption law provide that on and after
the st OF january, 1873, the Secretary
OF the Treasury shall redeem the legal
tender notes. Whist does redeem mean
1t means to take up and destroy. That
is denied sometimes by Republican
speakers. But the law has the same
expression regarding fractional currency,
and declares that the Secretary Of the
Treasury shall redeem fractional currency
in silver. He has redeemed S2OOO,OOO
or So, 100000 already, and when he has
redeemed he has put it intOthe furnace
of the Treasury Department and burnt
it up. That is what he understands the
word "redeeD,' to mean, and what il does
mean in that law. So when the legal
tender notes are redeemed they will he
DESTROYED and cannot be rcissued. The
immense demand for gold FOR shipment
abroad, and 70 pay for the service ot
foreign vessels IN which our trade Is
done, and for expenses OF foreign
travel of our citizens, and for custom
duties, renders it perfectly cerisIn that
all the green backs will be presented Tor


IL ~