US Presidency
1874

To the Senate of the United States: Herewith I return, Senate bill No. 617, entitled An act to fix the amount of United States notes and the circulation of national banks, and for other purposes, without my approval. In doing so I must express my regret at not being able to give my assent to a measure which has received the sanction of a majority of the legislators chosen by the people to make laws for their guidance, and have studiously sought to find sufficient arguments to justify such assent, but unsuccessfully. Practically it is a question whether the measure under discussion would give an additional dollar to the irredeemable paper currency of the country or not, and whether by requiring three fourths of the reserve to be retained by the banks and prohibiting interest to be received on the balance it might not prove a contraction. But the fact can not be concealed that theoretically the bill increases the paper circulation $ 100,000,000, less only the amount of reserves restrained from circulation by the provision of the second section.