The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1862-11-25
m the Washington Chronicle, l4th. j

presumed to represent the views of the
Secretary of the Treasury on the cur
rency question::
The question Of national currency is
beginning to excite discussion, in antici-
patton, we presume, of the agitation of
the question during the next session of
Congress- What shape the discussion
will then take we have no means of judg-
ing, but that the question should arise
is inevitable. We have already large
amount of Treasury notes afoat through
out the country, which-serve the busi-
ness of the whole people, from East to
West, as currency. 1t has been issued
by the Government at a time when no
other expedient would have rescued us
from the difficulties that beset US. 1t
was as much necessary measure as the
equipment of the army, for the army
could not have been equipped without it.
1t was as necessary as anything could
be- The nation was to be saved only by
an unprecedented and lavish expendi-
ture Of the money. We had neither the
gold nor the means of obtaining it in
sufficient quantities to supply our wants.
Therefore, we reSorted to Treasury
notes.
Since Congress has, by this arrange
ment, procured our supplies, equipped
our army and navy, and forced upon the
people these treasury notes as substi-
tute for coin, and since the people have
willingly agreed to accept the necessities
of war, and take these notes in payment
&C Jobtc ho pavf huc Of tba
ernment is to protect its creditors and
the people, so far as possible, from loss.
When the debts of the government, con-
tracted on the faith of these notes, were
made, the prices of goods they bought
were based on the value of gold at that
time. A large proportion of the people
were, at that time, living on salaries and
working at wages which were fixed on
coin basis; and private debts, con-
tracted at the time of the issue of Treas
ury notes, were also arranged on coin
basis. Since the issue of these, coin has
advanced, or, rather, paper money has
deprecated thirty per cent, This is a
great loss, and it is felt by every citizen
of the loyal States The capitalist pays
higher taxes, the merchant higher prices,
the poor man is obliged to use less of
tea, sugar, and other things which have
become almost the necessaries of life.
Every thing we eat, drink, burn, wear,
or shelter ourselves with, has advanced
in price. The consumer pays all The
masses being the principal consumers,
suffer most materially. We leave it for
experienced fnanciers to cypher out the
exact sources of this appreciation OF
gold. 1t is certain that one great cause
has been the increase in the amount OF
paper currency Ifw are correctly in.
formed, the banks of the Northern
States, which, by some means best un.
derstood by themselves, have the faculty
of indefinitely increasing the volume Of
their paper currency with very small ex
| pense to themselves, have been, during
the last year, issuing an unprecedented
amount of bills. 1t is said that they
have been so exceedingly prolific in this
respect, that they have vastly exceeded
the supply of currency needed for the
transaction of business. 1t is well known
that certain quantity of circulating
medium is indispensable to the busines,
| of the country.
| Ii IhCAC NClC plChll SOlQ
could be readily obtained, we should use
gold. AS gold is boarded, and banl
notes, based on real property or publ,
credit, are substituted, we use those
But we do not want too much of either
We all remember how prices increased
and speculation grew rife immediatel,
after the imp prtation of gold from Cali
fornia commenced Gold is simply
commodity, exchangeable for other com
modities. When it becomes plenty i
becomes cheap, like wheat, cotton, su
gar, railroad transportation, lawyers
ministers, insurance, or any of the thou
sand and one things which, in highl
civilized state of society, are turned int
property and accumulated by the cap
talist So, when the amount of pape
money is increased, money become
cheap; an essential difference, nc
necessary to be borne in mind in thi
article, being, that paper money, unles
Immediately convertible, is not a con
modify.
The circulating medium, therefore
being increased, the price of all othe
commodities is raised. If this increas
goes on beyond proper bounds, and th
circulating medium is everything els
than gold, which is now recognized /
all commercial nations as the basi
there must eventually come a crash,
commercial crisis" because the circr
: lating medium, having become plentiful
/ depreciates relation to everything els
among other things, gold; and gold b
ing a standard we cannot get rid c
when the crisis comes every man fnt
that the commodities he has in hand a
= valued nominally far above the gold tn,
n will buy, and he cannot pay his debts
q 1t is, therefore, of the utmost impol
o ance- to. keep our circulation with
d bounds. There is only one way to !,
: this-to tax all notes of private corpor
le tions which are used as currency. T.
amount of the tax cannot, of course,
IF fixed upon without much careful consi
ID Grafton; but it should be sufficient
10 make it Improbable for private corpol
tons to'issue their notes to be used
currency 1t can be easily ascertain
what amount of currency is necessa
for the transaction of the business of t
country. Let the currency be kept