The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-23 00:00:00

We translate an article from the Pattie issued
last Sunday on -American securities in Europe.
Congressmen should read what this influential
French journal says, for although not absolutely
right in all its assertions, it may teach these
gentlemen how successful have been the efforts
made in
_Abe great capitals of Europe to main-
tain the credit of the United States, and how
easily ill-advised resolutions, supported by ill-
considered speeches, brought before the Legislature
for mere party purposes, may damage and undo the
work. If the French get hold of the idea that the
most secure government is that of Washington ; that
the most rising country is the United States; thatthe
most scrupulously honourable among communities
is the Great Republic.—an immense strength will
be given to American credit. Germany is impressed
with these notions, and the consequence is that the
strength of American credit in Europe centres in
Frankfort. The time will shortly come when that
credit will be as strong in Paris ; for if the French
do not send forth so many emigrants from whom to
hear of America, they receive more wealthy Ameri•
can visitors ; and those in the habit of estimatiKig a
country by its travellers learn to regard Amerie'. as the
richest country, and therefore plssessed of the beat
credit. Nothing wore tended to impress Europe with
a belief in England's wealth than the lavish expendi-
ture of her travellers in olden days, and the Parisian
can scarcely escape being impressed with the wealth
of the Republic over the water, when he has before
him a line of great banking firms occupying one
side of a principal street in his capital. That these
establishments have their effect no one can deny,
that they are beginning to tell is evident, and
this is hastened by bringing the facts of American
finance so prominently as the Patrie does before
the people. France is a mine of hoarded wealth,
but the French put little trust in any Government
except their own. If they did, and knew the sound-
ness of the security and the liberal interest offered,
Five-twenties would not long remain at their pre-
sent price. But they are more ignorant of all per-
taining to America than are the Germans, although
this can excite little surprise in those acquainted
with the extraordinary ignorance on this subject,
even of the upper classes of England.

THE DOLLAR.
(Translated from the Patrk.)

The " Almighty Dollar"--the all-powerful
dollar !—How often m e bear and read this excla-
mation in Europe, which we now begin to compre-
hend better than ever. In former times it was used to
express ironically that Americans worshipped their
dollar before any other idol. Now we have learnt
I not only to bow before this divinity ourselves, but
r to understand what it is worth, because there is not
a European bank whose coffers do not contain the
bonds, or the notes stamped with the effigy of this
reputed god of the New World. Americans have
proved that they did not worship this idol to the sup-
posed degree, as they have thrown copies of it in mil-
lions into circulation, to save their national credit.
At this moment all the principal banks of Europe
have been flooded with these bonds, and whether
they like it or not, the financiers of ie Old Hemi-
sphere have been compelled to admit American se-
curities into their markets, which certainly do not
appear at the foot of the list. Shall we be friendly
or the reverse to this "powerful dollar," this in-
truder from the New World ? This is the question
—above all since the last speech of General Grant
—which has made all feel that he will be the future
financier of the United States during the four years
of his Presidency, commencing on the 4th of next
March. Let us try to answer this question. The
dollar, which recalls by its sound the Spanish
douro, and which is worth intrinsically five francs
to five francs twenty-five centimes, according
to the exchange, has undergone three transforma-
tions in the United States. It was at first like all
the old Spanish-Mexican dollars a silver piece, then
they were only made in gold, and at last when the
civil war occurred in 1861 they appeared as bank
notes (greenbacks, so called from the colour of the
paper on which they were printed) of the value of
one dollar or five francs, up to 1,000 dollars or
5,000 francs, or thereabouts. What is called chiefly
in Paris " the dollar market" is the speculation not
only in these gold pieces or these greenbacks, but
in bonds or titles of the debt of the United States,
each representing an amount more or less consi-
derable of these dollars. The monetary system
of the United States is decimal, the dollar being
the unit. This unit is divided into one hundred cen-
times or cents, pieces of nickel money nearly equal to
the French piece of five centimes. Indeed the dal-
lar cm be assimilated to the French hundred-sous
gold piece, and is represented by the following sign
S.. Bence fifteen dollars are writtedsls,oo, the
noughts can be replaced by figures on writing
fifteen dollars, 25, or 40, or 75 cents or sous. The
Bonds—or dollars as they are styled on the Bourse,
are the representation on United States paper of
the number of dollars in gold that the American
Government engages to pay to the holders of these
bonds. We say in gold, because a certain portion
of this debt is redeemable in paper. But in Europe
there are only bonds of which capital and interest
must be paid in goldaccording to the law authorizing
theirissue. A mong these Bondsthose most in circula-
tion on European exchanges are the Five-Twenties,
called on the Paris Bourse by the general appella-
tion of " dollars," and with the specification 1882,
because they are redeemable at that period, being
20 years from date of issue. What is the meaning
of these denominations? They apply to certain
values or securities which represent the debt of the
United States, and which by law have the first
claim on the resources of the country. Before the
late war, which broke out sth April, 1861, with the
first gun fired on Fort Sumter, the American Re-
public had, comparatively speaking, no debt, as it
only amounted to 61 millions of dollars, or about
320 millions of francs. To suppress the rebellion mil-
lions of dollars were expended,and on the subjugation
of the South, July 1, 1865, the United States found
itself with a debt amounting to two billions seven
hundred millions of dollars, equal to fourteen bil-
lions of francs. Has this debt augmented, or has
it diminished up to the present ? It has diminished,
as we were informed by a telegraphic message from
New York, on the 6th inst., that the debt does not
now amount to more than twelve billions of francs.
This remarkable financial result was accomplished
principally during the last year, and since the
chances of General Grant's success became more
and more evident. During the last six months the
debt has steadily diminished. What chiefly con-
cerns the holders of the bonds which are made
the medium of so much speculation on European
money markets is, that these American securities or
dollars have the first lien on the resources of the
United States. These resources can be classed
under two heads. Ist—Those that can be relied
on at present ; and 2d, those that can be counted
on in future. With regard to the first class,
namely, the present resources of the United States,
it is evident that they are sufficient not only to pay
the interest of the debt, but sufficient to liquidate
the debt itself in about twenty years hence. In
short, the annual interest of the American debt
is about 700 million of francs, while the revenues
of the States amount to two billions and a half,
which would be more than enough to pay the
current expenses, the interest, and annually to
sink a large portion of the debt itself. If another
comparison is desired it is found in the following
figures :—The public debt of the United States
Eg.n
averages about 225 francs per head, that
Eng-
land 675 francs, that of France 400 francs. On
this we have to remark that the revenue of the
United States is 200 francs per head, of England
55 francs, of France 30 francs. Thus on the one side
the American debt presses less heavily on each
citizen than that of England or France, and on the
other, the American citizens contribute a larger
proportion towards the extinction of their debt. It
is not therefore surprising under such circum-
stances that these bonds enjoy so much favour
in European markets, when no credit even
is here made for the enormous receipts that
accrue to the Washington Treasury from emigra-
tion, and the sale of public lands. We conclude
by observing that if the Washington Government
bad been inactive the light would have been hid
under a bushel. It would have taken a long time
for European speculators to understand the true
financial position of the United States if these poli-
ticians had not exerted themselves in the matter. It
is not enough that a thing should be good—it must
be made known —and this was understood by the
present Minister of Finance at Washington. He
has established agencies in the principal cities of
Europe; he has chosen Treasury agents; and we
learn from Colonel Norton, principal of one of the
great American banking houses, and agent of Mr.
M'Culloch, that this Minister sends to all the
bankers a monthly statement of the financial posi-
tion of the United States.