The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-01-11
A Flexible Currencv.

Liz OcCIetaTy OF CnC treasury de-
clares that the seeming prosperity to
which it leads is all fictitious and un-
real, and he urges contraction as the
only remedy. All this is sound, and
but repeats the argument so often
employed by us in opposition to this
expansion before it became the settled
policy of the department. But why
not carry the argument to it's logical
conclusion? If the currency should
be contracted, because imitation leads
to ruin; and if that contraction
should be without any fixed limit.
because only a flexible currency can
adapt itself to the requirements of
trade, why not argue for the repeal of
the fixed limit in the issues of Ma
tional Banks This limit is now three
hundred millions, and it is proposed
to make it four millions. Is this a
flexible currency? But it may be
said that this amount is an outside
limit, and that the currency will still
be flexible within it. But is this true i?
Must not every National Bank, or
ganized under the law, deposit GER
tain proportion of its capital for part
OF this currency and is it not thus
compelled, by every motive of self
interest, to issue the whole amount :?
Under the flexible system, (for the
State law established sach system,
our city banks voluntarily reduced
the volume Of their circulation from
about ten to little above two million
dollars. If the national act permit
ted such n discretion, few of them
would now take out q dollar of the
new issues But there is another rea-
son for this charge of want of fexi-
bility in this arrangement. Under
the old system, provision was made,
In the natural order of cause and
effect, for the contraction of the cur
rency when trade did not require it.
Under the new system, this is re-
versed, and provision is made for its
expansion when trade does not re-
quire it. It is legal tender from the
Government, and may be crowded
out to the full extent of the provision,
without the least sympathy for the
requirements of trade.
We make these suggestions because.
we desire to perfect the action of this
system, since it must be tried. To
carry out the principles laid down by
the Secretary, Congress must First
Repeal the clause making the Ma
tional Bank notes legal tender, and
simply authorize their receipt for dues
to the Treasury. Second: Change
the limit of deposit, and allow each
bank to take out as little of the new
currency as it chooses. Third: Au-
thorize the Secretary of the Trea-
sury to arrange with all the banks to
redeem their issues upon notice of
their accumulation in the Treasury.
These improvements would go very
far to commend the new system to the
popular approval, and to give uni
formltyof valne to the CURRENCY thus
provided.
SECRET OF MAGIC. .-Robt. Houdon
concludes has memories with a chap
ter of Arab miracles, which are eI-
planned. The Aissaona eat pounded
glass. Houdon pounded some for
himself and ate it, and he AYERS that
his appetite for his dinner was i'm
proved by the same. They walk on
red hot iron with bare feet, and pass
their tongues over white hot plates of
iron. Professor Sementrici disco
vered that by rubbing into the skin
solution of alum evaporated to q
spongy state, it was rendered insensi-
BILE to red hot iron. He rubbed him
self with soap, and found that even
the hair did not burn. He rubbed
the alum into his tongue, and Tapped
the glowing metallic surface without
pain. Houdon himself then tried
passing his hands, slightly dampened,
through stream of melted iron, and
found, as others have done, that it
left no scar on him. An English con-
lurer used to thrust sword through
his body, shove knife up either nos
tril to the haudle, and thus spitted,
sing song. Houdon bought the
secret Of tine invulnerable, and now
divulges it. The performer was very
thin. With waist-belt he strapped
his tender paunch tight down upon
the vertebral column, substituted
cardboard stomach for the COM
pressed part, covered all with flesh
colored tights; between the true and
false abdomen he fastened scabbard,
covered the apertures on the sides
with rosettes, placed sponge filled
with red liquid in the scabbard, and
there thrust his sword, which came
out covered with bogus blood, of
course. The pug-nosed mountebank
enjoyed q physical conformation
which permitted the delicate and
frightful performance.
The Philadelphia Press, of the 4th