The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-12-14

We also knew that many conservative businesl
men would zee through their spectsclss, In thl
distance, the !" old monstsrS Unitsd States
Bank, which they had hoped was long aso killed
never again TO come 10 life. The measure thu
urged upon Congress at its special seseioa In
July, was adopted, and We believe h the most
popular of al our great financial movemsnta-
We doubt not Secretary Chase viii favor sx-
tending this safe expedient for raising mo0sy,
and We hope he will b authorized By Ccnsresl
to issue $3.50, ,000, 900 more Of these noese, q
his discretion. when the war shall havs sedsd
is will be proper for the Government 70 look
carefully At the then existing circumstances, and
adopt at once policy which shall insure safety
and most conservative course In ell future
financial movements. Till then, what We have
to do Is to fight, to crush the rebellion with all
the means we can possibly command.
There are two requisites TO . perfect pspsr
currency; FIRST, that the paper promise 20 pay
should be worth its face in specie, or--which is
practically the same thing-those who hold Il
should confidently believe it to DO so; and.
second, that it should be worth precisely the
same sum in all parts Of the country. Does the
paper currency Of our banking institutions an
swer to either Of these requirementsf Every
body knows it doesnot Every man knows that
he is at almost any time liable to find in his
pocket, or bis till, the bill Of some bank which,
since he took 1t. has stopped specie payment !;
and that he 10 hardly ever without some paper,
if he handles much Of it. on which, if be wishes
to turn it into real money, he must submit to
discount, greater or smaller. Our paper money
is not worth its face, as whole, and sometimes
not at oil, in specie and it Is neyer an equable
currency, worth as much in one place q an
other. The annual LOGS to all classes Of people
from this source, in shaves and discounts, IS
almost incalculable-many millionC annually.
We have remedy for this state of things in
an issue of demand notes for small sums from
the National Treasury. Such notes would be
everywhere as good as gold, because the people
have the most positive confidence in the i'm
pregnable solvency of the Government, and
know they can always be changed into gold
when their necessities require it. Five dollars
in such paper ia as good in Nebraska as it is In
New York as good in Minnesota "a It is in
Maine. Such paper would represent an actual
specie basis, partly in the vaults Of the Govern
ment and partly in the confidence in the Gov
ernment to command all the gold that could, in
possible contingency, bo needed. The issue
would, it is true, take the place Of bank paper
to some extent now in circulation. at least 90
far as to wind up all the irresponsible and "wild
cat" concerns now in existence; and in this the
country would be the gamer. II is safe to %
sumo that in ordinary times there are three hun.
dred millions Of bank bills In circulation based
on not more than one hundred millions of spe-
Gle. The losses and inconvenience on this in
exchange, depreciation 10 value, and insolvency
Of banks, are immense. Tho same amount In
demand notes, based on the same value, viz,
Sl0O, ,000, 900 in the Government vaults, would
give US q currency of the same value everywhere,
which would always be equivalent to gold, on
which there would be no discount and NO ex-
change which would save the people from great
loss, and be great convenience both to people
and Government. Mr.. Gallatin, in recent in
terview between the Secretary of the Treasury
and the New York bankers, objected to such an
issue of demand notes on the sole ground that
it would lead to Excessive issues which shall
degenerate into an irrsdeemable paper curren-
cy." To US it seems that We have, in great
measure, precisely such paper currency now,
and we may be precipitated, at any moment, into
q condition when it will be altogether irredeema-
BILE. Our only safeguard is an issue of demand
notes based on gold ard on the faith and conf
dence in the Government, which may be limited
by act Of Congress to the exercise of power
when reputation would be possible. We do
not ignore the fact that the result would be to
wind up many concerns, and to confne others,
with real working capitals, to the business of dis
counting and deposit. But We believe that this
would be blessing to the country, and no sane
man can doubt it.
We need to hoard and not to be lavish of our
specie. The expenses of the Government, at this
moment, are not less than the enormous sum of
a million and quarter of dollars day. Il
must still be borrower to the extent of hum
drcds Of millions. Debt is not q pure evil .
National Debt may be good or evil, according to
its management. In the present crisis of our
affairs, We may make it an unmitigated burden.
or partial benefit. One ofits benefits may bs
to effect reform in our vicious paper currency.
A loan Of one hundred millions may, on Govern.
ment credit, be made to represent the value of
three hundred millions. 1t is better to do this
on the perfect credit of the Government, than
on the irresponsible promise.to-psy of the banks
"a promise perpetualy broken especially is it
better when by 30 doing We substitute curren-
cy which answers its purpose for one in which
nobody has any confidence. The issue of de-
msnd notes, in which the Government should
pay its dues, would at once relieve the country
from all embarrassment from its domestic ex-
changes; would facilitate all its business; would
renovate confidence; would make dollar worth
as much in one place as another; would give to
the farmer of the West the actual value of q
bushel Of wheat; to the manufacturer or merch-
ant of the East the real price for which he os-
tensebly sells his goods; aud would enable the
Government, which is doing an immense busi-
ness, to use its good name, 40 all enterprising
and wise merchants do, as part of its working
capital. Credit is the handspring of modern
commerce, and the Government of our day, that
is borrowing and trading, 10 not up to the times,
if 1t does not use it To borrow q hundred mil.
lions of dollars in gold at 80 per cent, and
pay it out in the same gold, is an operation ON
which there is an unnecessary loss TO the Gov
ernment. 1t is loss the people have to pay
for first directly in the nature Of the operation.
and then indirectly, in handing over to other
parties the credit of the Government, on which
they make still further profit, while in the
meantime the currency of the country is left In
their hands to bring down periodical ruin upon
those who trust in II and are left to Its mercy.
If the Government will make that currency reg
ular and trustworthy by the issue of small notes,
payable on demand without interest, it will IA
clitate its own business and the business Of the
country, and will put panic, from the stoppage
of specie payment by the banks, beyond posi-
bility, even If the balance Of trade should be
against us, and there should be . demand for
specie for export. That demand will never be
so large thatit need, with proper care, alarm %,
| while We know that We have paper currency
founded on the faith of the Government, and In
which the confidence Of the people 10 universal
and unbounded. Congress may provide for the
wants of the war by an act authorizing an issue
of such notes, whether the banks shall be In con.
dition to make further advances or not, while q
the same time that it insures certain degree ol
prosperity, it may save it from Q not improbable
financial panic.
One year ago we would have strongly protest
ed against any such step % the ons now pro
posed, but we are now decidedly In favor Of it
and 80 are the PEoPLE.-lN 7. Independent
Among the news intelligence appears the fol
lowing communication from Charleston volun
teer at Manassas:
For my own part find Manassas far NOR,
preferable for q stationary residence than th,
camps At Cen,reville. The two places ere span
ned BY six miles Of the muddiest mud end d,
ruttieet rutty roads that ever were worn, an,
the only relief from the aspect Of desolatio
which the entire route presents In the shaps Q
missing fences, atumpy remnants Of forests
stripped fields and trampled vegetation, b u
picture at either end Of the journey Of wars
hearts, hospita5le 6resides and the good chez
which marks the welcome back.
Centreville il the temple to which xanassas |
the porch, but it happens in the present instanc
that the entrance 10 of moro enduring interss
than the edi6ce. Here one can deep IN Z housl
though your correspondent Il just now roemin
in IN amended hen rooss, through who's shor