Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1862-02-11
TREASURY NOTES.

There can now DC but little ionut W
that the Treasury Note Bill will pass
the Senate as it already has the House,
with the legal tender clause attached.
It is an unified step-a leap in the
dark, and the most wise financia! men OF
the country disagrce as to the result.
One thing is certain, specie and paper
currency can never exist together while
AZ ing independent OF each other as !.
proposed in this case. One or the 9th
err must di.appear-mnst 90 cut from
gc,cralnsc. Which will it be! When
there are too grades Of money in com
munity it is always noticed That the
uosrer is the most universal. 1t is per
fectly natural. We keep the best aud
pay ont the poorest-we hoard up what
We know to be safe, and only use upon
the surface what We feel assured is ques
tiouable. Hence we believe that PLAIN
specie and plain paper, which has nc
specie foundation, and prctcnds 10 have
none, can never operate together. 1iuc,
the people will accept the paper as
equivalent to gold-that is they say the.
will. but i, is taschood every time
they say SO. They v II neither use II nor
consider il as spccic-ncycr consider
IT equal in value to good specic-paying
bank notes. The declaration OF Con
gress that paper with appropriate sigma
lures AMI embellishments is equal 10
value with gold amounts to abont as
much "a it would for the same body to
declare Duck Creek navigab,e by YES
sells OF war.
In the course Of few weeks the legal
tender law will 60 into effect. The pre-.
else result OF this uncertain step is not
clearly torescen. The New York I0st
takes the ground that it will not be
come the medium of circulation, but
will be slowed away, and that the now
specie paying bank trash will continue
to be used in its stead. We append tie
Posts remarks
ut appears to us to be very clear
that, when made legal tender, they
must cease to circulate, and will fall into
the vaults OF the banks, as tie substi-
tntc for specie. The banks will be
obliged, by law, TO accept them in pay
,nent OF debts TO themselves; and will
no doubt be obliged, tor the sake Of the
general convenience, to receive them on
deposit. But, once in possession of the
banks, they arc Just as good to them for
the payment in turn OF their own in
debtedness as coin Is now f.; and, as they
will be less value than coin, the bar k
will naturally, and under the prompt
ings Of individual interest, keep their
reserves in legal tender notes instead Of
com. We have experience to guide us
on this point. Our older readers will
remember when by law either gold coin
or silver coin, a, the option Of him who
had to pay, was legal tender, whether
the amount to be paid was large or
small. Our gold coin at that time was
OF little more value, intfinsicaly, than
our silver coin. American gold all went
abroad; the banks held and paid out
nothing but silver. When two different
means are provided for paying debts,
every one will, of course, use exclusive
ly that one which is the cheaper. Our
ordinary circulation will still be bank
notes, but the bank notes will be practi-
cally converted into promises to pay in
Treasury notes instead OF coin.
"Ihc legal tender notes will no more
circulate than the coin, for which they
are substitute, now does. They will
not get into general circulation until
they have first filed and overhowed the
bank vaults. Indeed, it may be doubt
cd whether the banks will allow them TO
flow ont of their vaults, except in pay
ment tor government stocks. They are
much more likely, in those States where
no security is required for circulating
notes, and even in those States where
security is required, but where United
States stocks are accepted as such Sc,
curlty, to make the Government notes
in their vaults foundation for largely
increased Issue Of their own notes. from
which will result, as heretofore, a great
increase OF nominal prices and erea,
decrease Of the comforts of those who
live by manual labor, and, in tact, of ali
who live by earning money and not by
their specializing wits. And tic last
Consequence must be terrific financial
explosion, not unlikely to make a sud
den end, aud forever, in this couotry. O,
oil sorts OF paper money.
The banks will, Of course, as the le
gal tender notes flow into their wants
sell their useless coin at the apparen
premium it will bear, and the coin vii
go to other countries where it is yalue,
and used. 1t is not improbable, if tn,
legal tender bill be passed, that all tn
banks in the free States will, within
year, hold, altogether, less than Eve mil
lions Of COIN"
Patriotic and Eloquent Appeal.
We take the following extract from