The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-10-31
no currency Question
AVON which


IT., rrorosition of Aid. BRANCH, "n'e'
was adopted by the City Council on
90 call in all outstanding orde" aesday
r,;.- .ra re-issne them against the
a., IN denominations Of
not less thah on' ,r more than twenty dol
lars, SO as 10 ; apply currency for the City
seems to meet with a good deal of favor
among our business men. AT an adjourned
NEE ling of the citizens held at the City Hall
On Tuesday evening, the proposition was full
ly endorsed.
The proposition also goes much further
than this. 1t takes up all outstanding certi-
fcates against property holders for street and
other improvements, on which there is an &C.
cruing interest OF twenty per cent. per an
num- and issues these UNCONVENTIONAL orders
therefor, the city holding the certificates
and making a clear profit of the accruing in
terest by the transaction. 1t is believed by
Incorporation that upwards of SlOO,OOOin city
orders will be issued and converted into q
home currency.
1t is no new thing for a city to issue its
orders in the shape of currency, and it has
been the practice Of some Of the city corpor-
atoms Of Iowa for several years past. What
benefit or evil the system may have created
there, we have never been informed But of
one thing we are entirely convinced-if the
system is faithfully carried out there can be
no harm resulting therefrom. The City will
issue orders for no greater amount than it
homes ly owes and is legally bound to pay to
the parties to whom they are issued, and it
takes up and holds all the outstanding certi-
ticates that have been or are about to be is
sued against the property holders for city
Improvements, thus itself becoming the hold
er instead of the contractor. These orders
are bound to be received by the city for any
Indebtedness accruing to the city, such as
taxes, license, wharfage and fines, and thus it
is believed all will be redeemed and cancelled
beforc year will expire.
Inasmuch as the city will be bound to pay
dollar for dollar for the whole amount thus
issued, the advocates of this system are san
guine that q home circulation will be created
that will be of great benefit to the money
market the coming winter. They reason
thus: the farmer and mechanic will take it
for their produce and labor, by whom it will
be transferred to the merchant, who in turn
will use it to pay his local bills including his
landlord; and by the landlord it will be trans
ferred to the city treasury in payment of tax
es. We have heard it confidently asserted
on the streets that some of the leading bank
ing houses in the city will take such cur
rency on deposit at par, and also have person
ally heard number of the leading merchants
express willingness to exchange any of
their commodities therefor.
But while we do not see any particular
harm likely to result from the adoption of the
system, we arc not prepared to admit the full
benefit inevitably to accrue which its friends
claim. That there is much opposition to the
measure. and that some of the leading mer-
chants are opposed to the adoption of it, is
not to be disputed, and that some of the
banking houses look upon it with distrust
cannot be denied. But, say the friends of the
measure, this will soon wear off, and by the
time the orders are issued, all will unite in
circulating them. This is a question, how
ever, that time alone will soon determine.
In the meantime, we will say to our friends,
we mean those who owe us, that for their in
dcbtcdness We would be glad to take almost
anything, and will not be the first one to re-
fuse the currency of Aid. BRANCH; and our
greatest concern is, that we shall not be able
to get enough Of it to cancel at par value
our legal obligations.