The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-08-28
The National Credit.

WE have no tears that the Government or
people of the United States will ever be
tempted to repudiate their financial obllga-
tions. The high premium which our bonds
command in the market is a sufhcentsecurity
against such contingency, setting aside the
question of our national resources as COM
pared with our liabilities The world has
realized the fact that tnere is no better or
more desirable class of securities in which the
poor and the rich alike can invest their means;
let it likewise be understood that the nation
will never break faith with those who have
reposed in its sincerity such unlimited con-
fidence.
Notwithstanding these commonplace truths.
which are upon the lips Of every one, there is
and has been persistent effort on the part of
a certain class of men to lose no possible OPP
portunity for decrying our national credit,
and thereby involving us even more inextri-
cably in the quagmire OF financial distress.
For example, the steamer JGUd, which sailed
from New York few days since, carried to
Europe copies of a circular over the sigma
ture OF a well-known firm of brokers, in
which we find the following remarkable pas
sage:-
'These proceedings of Congress and the sub
sequent action OF yne Treasury can only be IN
terpIeted as contO4 plating the payment in
greatly deprecated currency of the 500 bon Is
of 1862, falling due next May, aohich by er,Sttng
taaos are not payable IN goa, nor eoen an tegal-
tender qreenbdckS but only IN notes of the national
banks"
This statement bears on its face the evil
dence of it's utter and absolute falsity. At
the time the bonds in question were issued the
National Banking system was not in exist
ence. These bonds, as is the case with
nearly all of our other securities, are, by
express legislation, made payable in gold.
The only question now is, Shall the Secre-
tary of the Treasury purchase coin at a high
premium, to redeem the bonds as they fall
due on the first option; or shall he wait until
we have reached specie payments, as he is
permitted to do, and then pay of our obliga-
| tions without ruinous loss to the Govern
ment? The New York Tribune of this
morning has the following sensible comments
on this subject
"For any American banker to say to European
| bankers that IL is intended 10 redeem the issue
| of 1862 in May next, with currency, is to assert
| an untrue and mIscheYous statement, which
| Will seriously injure our national credit if uA-
| contradicted. We now see that if Congress had
passed the proper legislation, and not restricted
| the Treasury to the amount of reduction OF cur
| rency, we should have been back to specie pay
ments on the LIST of April next and after May we
| should al any time have had the riGht TO pay
the S5l4 100000 Five-tWe enties OF 1862 in coin.
and have sold the funded loan to furnish the
| coin 20 do il with.
'Our duty Is to wait, and not exercise the
option OF laying the ssue of 1862, until we can
do 1t without being compelled to pay large
premium tor gold. until, in shot, we reach
specie payments. Above all things, our bankers
should not go abroad with SANDERS upon the
national credit, and especially with hints OF
national reputation. The American securities
now bid far to rule foreign markets. Every
dispatch tells us OF the largely increasing de-
mand for foreign securities. The Five-twenty
is the favorite investment in Hamburg, anC
Paris, and London. We should be proud o
this RECOGNITION, and thank the men who have
kept our credit so steady and unassailablc."