Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1853-12-14
Operations Of the sub-Treasury.

The Hon. John A Dix, late assistant Treasure
of the United States in the city of New York, re-
Gently addressed the meeting of the Democracy il
Tammany Hall. In the course of his speech
General Dix explained and dwelt upon the oper
ations of the sub-treasury. This is subject with
which the speaker was entirely familiar, and from
his experience in conducting, in the great com
mercial emporium of the country, this important
financial Office of the government, his views and
opinions entitled to the hihgest consideration.
General Dix, in his speech, paid high and de-
served compliment to the present Secretary of the
Treasury, the Hon. James Guthrie. We give be-
low the portions of his speech which relate to the
working of the sub-treasury system:
"In May last the specie under the key of the
assistant treasury of New York was about six and
risen to ten millions and quarter; and on the
9th of November it had subsidized to six and half
millions. The salutary influence of the sub-treas-
ury is thus explained:
"From May to September there was prevalent
blast to over-action in almost all business, egit-
mate and illegitimate-in trade, banking, stock
jobbing, and land speculaton-under the impulse
given to commercial enterprise. The treasury
balance ran up to more than ten millions. This
rapid accumulation of coin, and the enormous sum
of ten millions thus withdrawn from the reach of
operators, checked in very salutary manner the
general tendency to over-action.
'Speculators could not command the money
they required to carry on and extend their trans
actions. Merchants were COMPEL ed to limit their
orders for foreign goods. Debtor banks, pressed
for balances, were obliged to contract their dis
counts; and as the flood of specie poured into the
sub-treasury, the channels from which it was
drawn was nearly exhausted, and some of the
bolder adventurers were left high and dry by the
receding tide, This was the first good influence
of the sub-treasury system, gradually drawing spe-
Gle into its own value as the banks extended their
operations, and stimulating the spirit of enterprise
and speculation, and checking the tendency to ex-
cess by law as certain as those which govern the
material world.
"The second good influence of the SYSTEM -
says Mr.. Dix, Hwas as salutary as the first, and
was the result of the same infallible law. This
accumulation of ten millions of coin in the sub
treasury here made money scarce and valuable;
most stock fell in price, and the interest paid for
the use of money rose rapidly and to enormous
rates. In all such cases, holders of stock VIII ich
maintain their prices are tempted to sell for the
purpose of realizing the higher profits of other in
vestments. This was the case with the stocks OF
the United States. The government had offered
a high preminm for them. The holders surren-
dered them and took the surplus coin in the treas
ury in exchange. -. ,.f s......v..., ..f-.-.,
"By this, operation, then, three millions seven
hundred thousand dollars were drawn out of the
sub-treasury in six weeks, and thrown into Wall
street to relieve the pressure caused by preceding
ezcesses in speculation and commercial adventure.
1t is, indeed the only relief Wall.street has had
the only relief it possibly could have had-and
it has saved us from a reaction which, without it,
would have been scarcely less severe than that OF
1897" - 3Ss5.s-ss ~