The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-09-11
Our Public Finances.
From the Times.

From the Times.
Dir. McCuloch has put forth statement of
the public debt which creates universal astonish-
ment and almost universal qualification. He
can never hope to please everybody connected
with Wall street banking or his captious critics
of the New York press. The first will have
their disappointments and the last must in
dulge their censures. But he is doing more.
He is pleasing the people 10y the rapid;ty and
skill with which he is reducing and funding the
public debt. His success thus far is wonderful
the more so as he Is neither disturbing the
general business of the country or sacrificing
the credit or market value of his stocks. The
progress made in the month of August -
to 90 no further back-amply vindicates hls
discretion, and justifes his steady refusal
TO place his SIX per cent. bonds for thirty
or tOrty years beyond the power or privilege
of the Government to redeem them in gold
at much earlier date. He has fairly demon
strated in the last .few months that the
entire public debt can be paid off in less
Wall street advisers have been insisting he
should take, on straight-out or uncond ltiOnal
loan at the highest rate of gold interest. And
by the use OF his new bonds OF 1865, for funding
so much of the temporary obligations of the
Treasury as he may not be able 10 pay at ma
turity III 1867 and 1868 from his surplus reve-
nues, he intlmates his unwlllingness to commit
the government to high rate of interest a
single day longer than the money can be bor-
rowed, after tive years, at a lower rate, where
with 10 pay OIL the 5-2Os IN gold coin. That
there Is no necessity for such committal is
shown by the premium which the new ZOOS no W
command in the market, and the premium
borne by the 1880 per cent. notes, convertible
into 520s. Indeed, there was no real necessity
for exceeding five per cent. from the start. had
Congress afforded proper announcement to tine
consolidation of the entire debt at this rate last
summer
T. A few months ago the public were rather in
Credulous in regard TO the practicabhty or
even possibility, OF reducing the debt to two
thousand millions before or by the time the
short Treasury paper-then outstanding in the
shape of certificates of indeb btedness and deposit
and compound and 7'30 notes-would fall due
or required to be paid or renewed. Yet it Ii
now seen that this object is not only feasible
but the fact itself almost accomplished. From
Ave or eight millions per month, while yet thu
arrearages of the war were absorbing most 0
the receipts OF the Treasury, the rate of reduc
fion has gone up to an average reduction o
twenty-five millions per month since the 1st o
single month of August. The application O
9he cash balances left in the Treasury at tn
close OF that month, if it were demeed advisa
bIe to convert the gold portion thereof, woul
at once reduce the Understanding DEBT, as
stood on the LIST september to $2,l34, ,46l.91i
and the surplus revenues of the next fou
months would undoubtedly bring the fguT
down to 1000, 900, 900 by the 3lst December
1860 in place of the 3Oth June 1867, leavin
outstanding S46l, ,221, ,254 OF greenback an
other circulation, free OF all interest charg
upon the Treasury.