Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1865-01-17
From the Now York Post


There are one or two circumstances in
the recent history of the currency of this
country which are worthy of attentive con.
sideration. That the Secretary of the
Treasury sees clearly the Importance of
forebearing to take any step the effect of
which will be to increase the amount of
paper money in circulation, We are very
certain, and no less so that it is his desire
to diminish the amount of our already TOO
voluminous currency. Yet when we look
a : 'l4, aIe."'eot1s' ssHllRh are published in
th0t department OF our daily PAPOrS 1vhioh
chronicles the transactions of the money
market, We find a state of things which we
cannot help viewing as an essential expan-
sion of our papercuErency. Ga Thursday
we published the following comparative
statement of the government currency.
U s. si6o5so s4s5 s5,is65so siss IS Ses
FhotSs%::.!.... 4Las66ss As5saOOOl.- 4452oOoO
no notes....:...... s. 1a,9s1osl 1574sOOO 1e,4soOOo
Do with coup's 6030s,450 61,1s6, ,Il0 70337, ,6O2
Treas notes on
which inter-
esthascoas'd .....,...... 1851 1Ga.1O1
Fency..n...... 100000 2o,725,s71 24O17,s42
COmp'nd notes 1ll,479,s7O 1O282l6SO 4l36O'OJO
Total....s671, ,254, ,988 &676 6,88074l $889. Ola
The national bank circulation compares
as follows from June 80, 1864, to January
Z, 1865:
June 2S5 40
August 81 5,210
october 6S lS4 $50
December u, 76,3Q9 $50
January u 1861 500
The government currency proper though
larger than in August last, is apparently
less than 1t was in October but this de-
crease proves, ifweJtake into consideration
one or two important circumstances, to be
apparent only. a very considerable part
of the circulation set down in the table
which we have copied is composed of FIVE
per cent notes. These are not notes which
have reached such g. stage in the accumu-
lation of interest that they cannot be said
to bein circulation without a rather violent
figure of speech; they rarely pass from
hand to hand like ordinary greenback5, but
are laid by on account of the interest due.
These notes the government has withdrawn
and cancelled to very consid amount
that is to say, nearly twenty millions be.
tween August and October, and about fif.
teen millions between the last of October
and the close of December. But this being
inert paper, the withdrawal cannot be said
to lessen the volume of paper in active,
efficient circulation. In place of these inert
notes new issue of notes bearing COM
pound interest has been made, which from
forty-one millions in August was increased
10 hundred and two millions in October,
and received an addition of nine millions
more before the close of December.
| These compound interest notes are as
lively as the microscopic eels in vinegar,
and when first put forth form an important
part of the effective currency. The with
drawal of the old Eve per cents, therefore,
and the issue Of the active compound in
terest notes, has increased the quantity of
our effective currency to much larger
extent than any one would suppose who
should merely reed the table, without con-
sideriug the comparative activity of the old
notes cancelled and the new ones Issued.
1 Then there is the issue of notes by the
national banks which are paid ont by the
government to the soldiers aud for other
purposes as freely 90 the notes of the gov
| erumsut itself. These issues, in round
| numbers, became fourteen millions larger
in October than in August, and eighteen
millions larger in December than in octo
Der. Taking merely the apparent balances,
| somewhat deceptive as we have shown
them to be, the currency which may be
called national had increased since October
twelve millions, and since August sixty
four millions. In stating the issues ofthe
national banks, there are no adequate OFF,
cial tables, We must content ourselves with
such notices Of them as we find in the pub
lie prints, making them as accurate as we
are able. l. appears, therefore, that be-
tween August and January the govern
ment, by issaing its paper, borrowed thir-
! tF two millions of fdollars from the people
4 i ~. nbd a Ill a