Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1846-05-28

on the precious metals as they arrive As New York
is the point at which twohrds Of the receipts from
abroad arrive il is Of course, the spot where the mint
is required The importatons Of the precious metals
is effected by merchants and private bankers These
are now in the habit Of deposting specie with the
banks Of New York, where it remains until adverse
exchanges require it TO 20 abroad The largest por
ton Of il consists OF the light gold conis of England
and will not circulate here. The banks pay out their
promises, and these circulate instead Of it. No
will 90 tie expense and trouble Of sending it TO Pbla-
dephia for coinage and there is demand for il to
export; for which purpose it is worth Il per cent.
more than if it in American coins, because 1t IS
not legal tender in England unless Ia English coins
Of full weight The United States laws make all gold
and silver coins legal tender at certain rates fixed
by law. If, now, mint Is located here, it would,
from its convenience become probably the common
depository for all the precious metals that arrive and
the mint receipts be deposited with the banks on ac-
count of the owners all the specie would thus in
fact be in the Treasury Of the United States and the
payment Of duties would simply amount 10 transfer
Of much coin, already IN The Treasury, from the
count Of bank Importer TO that Of the government
and when the latter paid out the money it would be
in the shape Of American coin, which would circulate
freely aud displace that pestilent deprecated
Spanish coin that has long remained in the smaller
channels of circulation Ii is also the case that very
large sums of foreign coin, probably 81, 000000 per
annum, arrive here in the pockets Of the emgrants
These find il impossible TO pass the money, and they
resort to the tender merces of bullion brokers' The
mint will afford ready receptacle for all these in
exchange for United States coin of full value So far
from the operation of the Independent Treasury being
of a nature 10 diminish the volume of the currency
it will rather have tendency TO give stability and
activity to it; and increased activity Of circulation is
always equivalent TO increased quantity. The fact
that the Treasury will demand specie for its dues,
of itself gives additional rdue to the SPECIE and there
itS indu from ahr sbo
ton of the mint in changing its form arrival,
helps 10 keep il in the country, because il makes it
less valuable to export by Ia per cent. So far, then,
the banks and paper credits are benefited by it. 1t
to effect this object that the gold bill Of 1894 was
enacted Previous to that time the proportion of gold
10 silver in the coinage at ID to l, which was too
low. and the effect 10 carry the gold to Europe.
In 1884, and finally in 1887, the proportion 16 to
was adopted. BY this change the gold eagle was re-
duced from weight Of go grains of gold, OF thou
sandths fine, 25S grains, 900 thousandths ne and
the silver dollar was reduced from a weight Of 4I6
grains to Aba grains by putting in 81 grains less cop
per, the quantity of silver remaining as before bv
this means it was supposed, that the metals being
more valuable here as money would circulate rather
than be exported. 1t is very obvious, however, that
this change would effect nothing, unless the coinage
took place. For that purpose the mint should be at
the point of import. The location of mint here, as
Treasury, where specie is demanded for government
uues, Will give 10 law anu nationality 10
our coinage.
The superstition that a regular demand for coin by
the government will embarrass trade more than for
eign demand, which carries coin out of the country,
not be entirely reasonable The chairman of
the finance committee gave for the postpone
ment of the specie clause TO January le47. that the
banks in very expanded state. This is true.
Now if turn TO the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury, we find that the exports of the precious
metals for the year 1915 was So 607, 495; of this
four millions went to England and three millions
TO France all of 1t taken out of bank vaults and left
the country entirelv-most of it from New York
Since that report, further large amounts have gone
and yet it is alledged that the banks continue so ex-
tended, Notwithstanding that export that they cannot
allow specie to pass through the Treasury into crcu-
lation, without leaving the country Such pretence
has certainly ground for it but the desire TO rus-
trate the establishment of an Independent Treasury.
Had that Treasury been in OPERATION it is than
likely that the export would not have taken place
The proportion which the Treasury operations bear
TO the money transactions Of the whole country,
prodigiously overated in public estimation compared
wi present business they altogether Insignificant
and are daily becoming more so. In order to show
the proportion which the Treasury operations bear TO
the general business it may be useful to compare the
present year with 1900 and to do so compile the
following tables from the Treasury Reports:
Imports Specie US.
Population. and Exports. in the country, Revenue
1900 50
s45 9OeOOO 900 --23 900 564 $50 900 49, 769IS5
Increase 4Y69O75 9a7,77O- 900 4s9 s5
In 1900 the revenue for the year was equal to the