Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-01-11
FINANCIAL & COMMERCIAL
WEDNESDAY EVENING, Jan. 10, 1st

WEDNESDAY EVENING, Jan. 10, 1866.
The people endorse the financial policy of
Secretary McCulloch. The expressions of
Congress, so far as given upon this policy,
are an unqualified, complete approval. From
this We gather the assurance that Congress
is prepared to authorize and the people to
accept any measures that may be deemed
necessary or expedient in bringing aboutthe
results sought by the Secretary, and regard
ed by him as essential to the reorganization
of the finances and trade of the country
and their restoration to a normal condition.
UNREASONABLE as it is that values are and
have been for some time past moving nearer
to a natural level, and that business men
are restricting their operations to such
bounds as seems to put all question of dan
ger beyond pefadventure, there is still no
reason why we should accept these facts as
an evidence of restored health to trade, or
an assurance that business may not again
suffer the ups and downs of speculative
manipulations, if we leave u~nsupplied those
measures which the UNREASONABLE testi-
mony of experience points out as necessary
to the prevention of excuses. 1t is conceded
by all who reason intelligently upon this
matter that We have a plethora Of paper
moneys large excess over the amount
necessary to carry on the exchanges of
trade and the services of industry. So long
as thisis the case, no stability can exist in
values, and business cannot be conducted
with safety. The remedy is contraction,
and the question, how is this to be obtained?
Secretary McCulloeh, in his reportto Con-
gress, afterentering thoroughly into the de-
tails of this question, offered the following
recommendation:
First. That Congress declare that the
compound interest notes shall cease to, be a
legal tender from the date of their matu-
Tity. Ct II
Second. That the Secretary be author
lied, at his discretion, to sell bonds of the
United States, bearing interest al, a rate not
exceeding 6 per cent, and redeemable and
payable at such periods as may be condu-
Give TO the interests of the government. for
the purpose of retiring not only compound
interest notes, but the United States notes.
And further q That he be authorized TO
sell, in his discretion, bonds of a similar
character to meet any deficiency for the
present fiscal year, to reduce the temporary
loan by such an amount as he may deem
advisable, to pay the certificates of indebt-
edness as they mature, and also to take up
any portion of the debt maturing prior to
1869 that can be advantageously retired"
These constitute the foundation of the
system By which Mr.. MecuIlOeh would pro-
coed in restoring the finances to a proper
basis and meeting the obligations of the
government, and they include all the meas
ures necessary to a contraction of the cur
rency and the funding of that portion of the
debt maturing within the next three years.
Assuming that Congress will provide these
measures, the question arises, when may the
Secretary judieiously commence the work
they are designed to perform? So far as the
current expenses Of the government are con-
eerned, the Secretary has since his report
expressed the opinion that he will require
ne loan to meet them, or in other words that
the revenue of the government will be suf-
icient for this purpose, and thls convection
is justified by the returns of the second quar-
ter of the current fiscal year., which show a
balance in favor of the Treasury of over
twenty-eight millions dollars. This opens
the way to contraction and funding at least
a year before the estimates in the report Of
the Secretary authorized the country in e4-
pecting, for such measures would have been
found totally impracticable had a deficit Of
one hundred and twelve millions, estimated
by the Secretary for the present fiscal year,
existed. This obstacle, then, to immediate
contraction and funding removed, we can
see no reason why the Secretary may NOT
proceed at once, after he shall have received
the necessary authority from Congress, to
carry into effect his recommendations cited
above. That it is advisable to commence
the work of funding in long bonds the ahOrt