16 



Third, expansion means repudiation. There's nothing that can 

 stop it. I am thankful that^this word ^repudiation is a terrible 

 one to us thus far. Would that we could but hope that it would 

 keep its terrors ! But we shall get bravely used to it, sadly used 

 to it, if we go on. Expansion means it. We cannot help it. 



And thus we come — in the fourth place — to the only honest, and 

 the only sound and wise course, and the only course. Does it need 

 to be said that the only course is a contraction of the currency ? 

 And in this connection a great deal of nonsense has been talked. 

 Some prominent papers have said that the only way to resume is 

 to resume. Only let Congress pass a law and resume. Resump- 

 tion ! How are you going to resume ? How are you going to pay 

 specie for those notes, if you haven't got the specie to pay with ? 

 It is a very simple problem. How much specie have you got ? 

 Perhaps one hundred and fifty millions, all told. But we have got 

 seven hundred and fifty millions of currency. Add to that six 

 hundred millions of deposits, and there are thirteen hundred mil- 

 lions, and you have got one hundred and fifty-six millions to pay 

 it. It is very nice for our newspapers to say resume, but what 

 have you got to resume with ? The only way we can get the 

 money is to make a vacuum, and the money comes. The poor cur- 

 rency always must drive out the strong currency, and there is no 

 way to get the strong currency back till you have™abridged the 

 quantity of weak currency which has driven it out. Now, we can 

 not get the specie except we contract our currency, and so this is 

 what, as wise men, as honest men, as fi-ee men, we ought to de- 

 mand of the government, and the government ought to do it 

 without any demanding, and ought to have done it, I had almost 

 said, before it began to do otherwise. 



