The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-12-24

The bsalu witAost esatsag o. vs!shiag thea.
and AFTER having pAsssd frsn bask to bark. they
are frequenuy brought back Wit their seals nm
broken; but thsy sss nsver received back nts the
depository without recount;
the government has security In the strength q its
badsgs vaults and safes, in the peculiar consruc-
ton o. their fastsnings, and In me waschmen ON
For every receipt and every payment vouchers
are ssnt to Warrington, and every receipt and
every payment Is duly audited.
Once week each depositary makes . return to
Treasurer Of the United States Of his receipts and
payments during the week, and the money on hand
ct the close Of the week
Once month 4 8. tie dsposis9Sss. except !ssss
burg, Bufilo and Richmond, the books, accounts
and money on hand are required to be examined BY
officer. deignated BY law for that purpose, who
amaze sss1 = me tho
The depositcries at the places where there are no
officers resident required byt law to make periodic
examinations Of them are, In common with the
other dcpostoFies, examined from time to time by
special agents appointed by the Secretary OF the
Mistakes may occur under any system; but in
such manner are the accounts OF the officers OF
bureaus in Warrington city that no mistake OF any
moment Can long remain undetected.
In former years many losses occurred through
O sa s p SsS
lations In which they had been engaged proved I'M
fortunate. Against abuses Of this kind the consti-
tutional treasury law provides severe enactments.
II any depositary should be bold enough to trans
gress them hs would DO sure to be detected in tho
periodic and other examinations OF his Office.
If any depcsitazy should, through careleszness Or
misconduct lose any part q the money entrusted 70
bonds and those Of his suroties.
| Since the law was passed, hundreds Of millions OF
gold and silver hare passed through the deposito-
by government. II any losses have been sustained
through collecting, 11sburHng, or transferring
officers and agents, such losses have been 0ccasoned
not by adherng to, but by departing from, the con-
This system has now been in operation for
between eight and nine years.
The first act was passed July 4, 1910. At that
time the banks, In the greater part Of The Union,
had suspended specie payments The public reve.
nue. was deficient, and II was necessary to have re-
to the issue and reissue Of treasury notes. in
order to complete the public payments s The
ties that attend on changes In the fiscal system of
large country. New places had to be provided for
the safe keeping Of the public funds and new modes
mount can be properly appreciated BY those only
who know with Whist tenacity persons long in Office
| cling to established forms. But notwithstanding
all it had to encounter, including an opposition from
some CT the most powerful interests In the country
the system worked well. In those parts Of the
Union in which the banks continued to pay specie,
the public receipts and payments were made partly
in he proportions then prescribed BY law. II those
parts in which the banks had suspended specie pay
ments the receipts and payments Of the government
were in gold and silver and thus tho legal Standard
was preserved, though the common currency was
degraded below that standard. This measure
facilitated general return to specie payments.
In AuguH. ls4l, owing 70 party political changes,
50 much Of the act Ct July lsaO a. prohibited de-
bank notes, repealed but - much Of It was re-
tanned a. prohibited public officers from converting
to their OWE use, lending Ia any way, the public
money intrusted to their care.
On the eth ofAugust, 1916, the law of July, 1910,
was re-enacted with amendments, but due provision
was not made to carry It into effect A sufficient
appropriation was not made for properly fitting up
were, In common with others, prohibited, under
severe penalties, from lending, using for private
purposes or depositing in banks, the public money
entrusted TO their care or from paying the public
were specially prOvidedf0r them in which to deposit
their funds. This hss led to great Irregularities In
not few cases the government has been collecting
the banks, and through the agency Of its isbursng
oficers and the banks employed by them, has been
paying the public creditors With bank notes instead
Notwithstanding the imperfect manner In which
the law wsscazried into ef6ct, It did much good.
All the receipts for lands, customs, and other public
ri IN sS and s ,s5 o
ted States we're in gold silver and treasury notes.
In this way . circulation Of gold and silver was
created-a limited one, indsed-chiefy from the
from the banks to the public depodtories. But IS
the banks are the heart Of our practical monetary
system, keeping them sound, or in state ap..
preaching to scTndnsss Is acnisyIg an object Of
al system are to be judged Of, not 80 much by the
amount Of solid money It causes to be retained in
the treasury, 81 by the stream Of gold and silver
treasury, and the other stream which is constantly
flowing out. The aggregate is the whole amount Of
receipts and payments by government In the course
It was time Of war; large loans were necessary.
They were al effected without calling in the agency
| OF bank notes and bank credit; and the important
and extensive fiscal operations Of the United States
were carried on without disturbing in the least the
action Of the banks or the merchants Loans Of bank
credits to the amount required In the Mexican war
would have deranged everything.
In ether ways the system has done much good
Through the increased production Of gold and sill
ver the specie level has been raised but in times Of
prosperity the paper level rises above the SPECIE
Just as naturally as oil rises above water The banks
have expanded greatly; and the cause that they
constitutional treasury system. If the public mo-
ney had been deposited With them, they would have
made it the basis of new issues and new discounts
Our impcrtations of foreign commodities would
have been much greater than they have been, and
the attempt to pay for them would have drained
the country Of its specie. The constitutional trea
sury system, and that alone has saved the country
from scenes OF inf alton aud speculai such as we
bad in 1866, which would necessarily have been
followed by Of distress and disaster such as
we had nom 1887 to 1S43. This truth is admitted
by many who were once the active opponents Of
the system.
Some complain Of the money in the treasury
Offices lying dead and unproductive the only use
to which, in their opinion goli and silver should be