Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1876 — The Finance Question Again. [ARTICLE]

The Finance Question Again.

The grave and serious charges against Congress, contained in our article on the Sherman Resumption Bill, published in the last issue ot the Record, has called down on our devoted head the censure of a few ultra hard money men in this place, and we propose to show, in a brief manner, that our conclusions are correct, and ihat the charges objected to are >iot without a good foundation. The Bill provides in substance that on and after a certain day in 1879, the greenbacks and the National Bank notes shall be redeemable in gold at the United States Treasury, and it was made the duty of the Treasurer to save up gold for that purpose. As soon as it became a law, contraction began, as it was intended it should, and is still going on, at the rate of about five millions per month among the National Banks. Ajidwhy? For two reasons; First.it would require eight hundred millions in gold to redeem the then outstanding paper currency, This amount is nearly one quarter of all the gold supposed to be in the world, and it would all have to be concentrated in the hands of the Treasurer of the United States, which is an absolute impossibility. Consequently contraction of the greenback currency is forced upon lliin, and must continue wutil the amount of gold accumulated in his hanqs equals, or nearly equals, the outstanding paper Currency. Secondly, the National Banks are surrendering their charters and withdrawing their currency as rapidly as they can, because, until the day set for resumption, their notes are redeemable in greenbacks ; that is, at the present value of greenbacks. They can now redeem their one dollar notes for 88 cents in gold, and it is greatly to their advantage to redeem their notes as easily and as quickly as they can, while it may be done so cheaply before the day comes as contemplated in the Bill, when one dollar in greenback will be worth 100 cents in gold. It must be clear, then, that this so called resumption bill is simply a contraction bill, and was intended as such by its Jramers. And if we show that the capitalists ahd the money lenders, and the office holders who draw large, fixed salaries—and this class includes our honorable representatives—are the only ones who could by any possible means be benefitted by this measure, we adprehend that our charges against Congress will need no further or better proof of their truth.

There are but two great principal classes of persons, and those are the creditor and debtor,, or the lender and borrower, and, territorially speaking, the East is the creditor and the West the debtor. The East is the lender and the West the borrower. Greenbacks are now worth only 88 ceuts on the dollar in gold, or in other words, 88 cents in gold will buy as much corn as 100 cents in greenbacks. Now if a farmer mortgages his farm and borrows one thousand dollars of eastern capital for three years, he gets pnly in gold value about $875. For this he will, have to pay SI,OOO hi gold, or greenbacks at par with gold, when bls notes come due. In other words, thelendergetspqe-eighth more money than the farmer agreed to pay him at the time the money was borrowed, in addition to his enormous Interest and commissions. The same rule holds good in all kinds of indebtedness coni tracted under the present value of i paper money, and payable in the future. The same rule also holds good 1 with regard to office holders with

fixed salaries. The purchasing power of their salaries will be increased just one-eighth. Such are only one or two of the most glaring evils of this measure, and in our humble estimation it legalizes the robbery of-the laboring classes of the West by the money power. .Its immediate effect is the entire stagnation of all industries, and if carried out to the letter, the almost entire bankruptcy of the West. — Remington Record.