The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-08-15

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November, 1S65-one year and nine
months ago. We quote from the
financial reports Of the Secretary oi
the Treasury: sfa ass =
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ~ CALCULATION xov,
se4 dc tsLN l. 1856. lsa1l 1H0 t3f
Legal teneer. greenbacksse.---s42s AIS. ie0. sos
rn aae. nSnn Is c iegs1 tsnders e, 7s'o o}i 'i9 p
rive per cent. Treasury notes.. g, SOC
Certificates of Indebtedness. Ie66.- 55.905,0 0O
Total National currency. 80. Sis ,6sl ,O7s
NATIONAL cURRESoY IN EXISTENCE U i.
-asss 81 1861. asnl ~
Legal tender. $3.50, I61 ,Si4
Fractional currency. .....---. 25,554,7 29
Compound legal eiiders...-...... los .32j.44O
Five per cent. Treasury notes..-.. none
Certificates of indebtedness-..-. none
Total National currencyas5Oe $685. o., Oos
Contraction in p months. -..-s2s 8, 5s6.075
q Here We find that In the short
period of. a year and nine months
Federal currency has been withdrawn
and burned to the enormous amount
of fUo hundred and ten millions effdoi-
lars. But the contraction is not fully
measured by the above figures. On
the 1st of November, 1865. the Treas
ury held $25, 600, 600 Of gold and S32,-
694.7S7 of currency On the 1st of
August, 1867, there was locked up In
the Treasury $102, 905, ia of gold and
$72.474.296 Of currency, which makes
forty millions more of'currency locked
up now than then. The actual cur
rency contraction is therefore two
hundred and fifty millions of dollars.
1t may be said that the circulation
Of the National Banks has been in
creased since November 1, 1865. So
it has. but State bank notes to an
equal amount have been taxed out of
circulation, and the vacuum thus ere
ated was barely filed by National
Bank notes. So there has been no
imitation of the currency from that
cause. In the meanwhile, gold coin
to the vast amount of seventy-seveu
millions have been withdrawn from
commerce, and locked up Ia the
vaults Of the Treasury, which is the
very worst kind of contraction. Still,
in the face of all these facts and fig
ures, the New York Tribune
upbraids and denounces the
Secretary of the Treasury for
being false in practice to
his contraction professions. Most
people wilIthink that he has moved
with considerable velocity in the di-
~rection of contraction when he has
out two hundred and ten mill
ions of National currency, and locked
up forty millions more, all in the short
period of s~wenty-one months. The
New York Tribune. however. insists
that he must produce tight money
market,p knock down the priceHof
grain, and compel farms to throw the
crops upon the market for what they
may bring. That sheet. deliberately
calls upon the Secretary of the Treas
ury to pursue such q course as will re-
suit In a financial panic, and force the
farmers of the West to sacrifice
their products; 1T as proposes
to swindle them fdahout + of
one or two hundred millions Of doll
lars for the benefit of the East and
its spectators. In order to effect
swindle. it demands that the Sec-d
rotary shall sell an extra hundred
of millions of gold bonds, and with
the proceeds purchase compound legal
tenders, thereby compelling the banks
to withdraw an equal amount hofi
g~reenbacks from circulation land, in
addition to this contraction, the Sec
rotary is called on to cancel every
dollar oflegal tender trash the law will
If the course recommended
by the New York Tribune should be
adopted, before New Years day the
country would begin the enjoyment
of a financial crash equalsto that of
1857. And this is apparently what
Fl. @. anxieusly wants to bring about.
The revenue of the Governmentwould
diminish by one-half or tWo-thirds :
the expenses of the Government and
on the debt could not
be paid from the receipts of
the nhoarse C ry of re-
quotation would begin to be heard
over the land; and gold, instead of
would bound upwards as ii
the gloomy days OF 1864.
The motives that actuate the conduct
ors of that vacillating,o erratic sheet
are hard to divine. Its course on
finance is as tortuous and uncertain |
rs on politics. 1t has never been able
10 comprehend the simple. palpable
that in respect to the debt and
he currency the purchasing power of
he latter is governed by the former:
hat the only way in which the green
packs can be appreciated. is by en-
1ancing the selling price of the 5-2Os.
So long as they are quoted In London
It 72@73, greenbacks will not be
worth more than they are now.
On the first OF November, 1865. the
Indebtedness Of the United
states in the shape Of ten -forties,
ve-twenties and seven-thirties.
mounted to one thousand nine hum
[red and seventy-four millions. The h