Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-03-19

summer ad despite the grdat incubus of this
loan, hope, will still find inducements to
make investments there. s--
Yours truly, G. s. Dow.
Communication from ]. W. North,
Esq, i'm reply to the Money Article OF
]. Jay Knox, e Co., Bankers, In the
Minnesotian OF Saturday.
To tie Edisors Of to A1n~ssossa~:
j. JAY KNOX & Co.-Gents Your money
article in the M1NNEsorIAN of Saturday, like
others that have preceded it, discusses some
what plainly the character of the Minnesota
seven per cent. Bonds, and particularly those
issued to the Minneapolis and Cedar Valley
Railroad Company, as the only ones now re-
ceived by the Auditor As basis for Banking.
would by no means question your right,
as writers of financial articles, to discuss the
value Of State or Railroad securities or to
express your own opinions Of their Value
But while concede to you this right, you
will not, trust, deny to me the exercise Of
the same right. And while you deal plainly
with cur financial matters, you will excuse
me for dealing with equal plainnsss with your
article.
For year or two past believe you have
been issuing to the public as money, what
purports to be bills of the Gray Bank of
Maine, having no value except what is given
to it by your endorsement. This you have
asked the public to take at par, as money;
and the public, reposing confidence in your
ability and integrity, have accepted, and still
continue to accept, this currency at your
hands, and still continue their generous con-
fdence in your ability to redeem it, by which
you have been greatly benefited and the pub
lie convenience subserved. find no fault
with this for in the existing scarcity of cur
rency, even "endorsed currency" is much
better than nothing. But every business man
has long wished for currency regulated by
law, and having more substantial basis
This the State of Minnesota has attempted to
provide for, by issuing her State Bonds, and
passing law making those Bonds basis for
Banking may also add, that our Railroad
Company gives what additional value it can
to these Bonds, by its own endorsement, and
by placing in the hands of the State all its
lands, Road, property and franchises, as Sc
curity for their payment.
These State Bonds, thus secured, you very
unceremoniously pass judgment upon, as re-
ally worth but seventy-five cents on dollar !;
and in your money article for the MINNEso-
TIAN, tell the public that it is not safe that a
larger amount of currency should be issued
upon them. Thenit would seem, that in your
opinion, the responsibility of the State of Min
nesota, and that of Land Grant Railroad
Company combined, fall short of the value of
your own endorsement, twenty-five cents on
the dollar. have no objection to any one
having comfortable estimate of their own
powers, but 1 would respectfully suggest
whether this is not placing it rather high!
But have another inquiry to make at this
point Is it quite right for an intended pur-
chaser to use the columns of newspaper to
depreciate the article he wishes to purchase,
and thus to try to bring it down to his own fig
ure9 may be misinformed; but I have
been told for the last two weeks.-and by
what consider good authority-that your
self, with two or three other bankers, stood
ready to purchase all the Bonds issued to our
Company, provided you could get them at
about the figures named in your "money or
ticle." And further, that unless you and
your associates succeeded in getting them, we
might expect you to fight, not only the cur
rency issued upon our Bonds, but the law it.
self under which it is issued. tits, to say the
least, remarkable coincidence that your f.
nancial article" agrees so well in its estimate
of the value Of our Bonds, with the figures
which purport to come from the same source
in private.
! But why should you wish to have these
Bonds sold at seventy five cents on the dol.
lar9 If you were the purchaser, would you
not demand of the State or the Railroad Com.
pany the par value of them, with INTEREST,"
In that case would the Loan be properly ap
piled to its intended object? We receive a
loan from the State to enable us to build q
Railroad, in which the State is deeply inter.
ested. Should we be faithful to our trust il
we put twenty-five per cent. of this loan into
the hands of two or three st. Paul Bankers
You may tell the public, that if we do this,
there will be a safe currency" But does
not that come with an i'll grace from dealers
in endorsed currency9 Why not have the
public themselves to judge of this matter, and
not seek through your privileged articles in
the public newspapers, to produce the result,
that you, with all others, should deprecate 2
But look at this in another light. We have
received these State Stocks in good
faith, and are bound to pay for them dol
lar Tor dollar. Is it quite right in
you to endeavor to make us take seventy five
cents for what costs US dollar? Is it the
"dear people" that are to be benefited by
such process or is that scheme for the ben
eft of (?) the st. Paul Bankers? Besides
this, the contractors take large amount Of
these Bonds at par, in payment for work done
at cash prices. Their workmen and their
families are justly entitled to the par value Of
of these Bonds; and during the last three
months, there has been actual suffering and
want among some Of them, for the reason that
a few st. Paul Bankers, with others, were ex-
erting themselves to the utmost topreventt the
sale of these Bonds. With what motive this
is done, let the public judge, when one of the
most prominent of these selfconstituted guar
dams Of the public veal, is heard to say that
he will yet "buy these Bonds at fifty cents
/ on tho dollor TLo4 q A. -