The Richmond palladium., 1867-12-12
How to increase the Value Of Greenbacks.

l. He paper currency VI the - hive"
States, including under that term legal
tenders, national Bank Notes, certificates
OF Indebtedness, etc, amounts in round
numbers to S75O.O00,00O. The Treasu-
ry contains 100000 in gold, and it's
gold receipts average 93,000,000 per
week. or $780, 100000 year. This
currency has a value in money Of II
cents on the dollar. If it were at par, it
would be largely in excess of the bust
ness wants of the country, as $3.50, ,000,-
900 of gold is as much as the country
will need to have on hand at any one
time -
The Secretary of the Treasury has,
since July, 1865, contracted the curren-
cyto the extent of 5000, 900, 900, but has
not increased it's value one cent. Green
backs have no more purchasable power
now than they had before contraction
took place They now stand where they
have stood for a year, with the excep-
tion of an occasional fall of five or six
cents Contra ction, therefore, as a means
of increasing the value Of the currency,
is proved to be q failure. There must
be some other means resorted to. Con-
traction may 60 on until the whole cur
rency is retired; but that promises vir-
tual repudiation Of every private debt
in the land, by the destruction of the
means of paying it. 2 a..@ 'i91
The proper field for labor, in order
to. increase the value of green backs, is
the bonds. As we have repeatedly
shown, the greenbacks are in fact moth
ing else than form Of government bond,
which differs from e-twenties only in
the fact Of bearing no interest, and being
always due. The only proximate. re
demption of these non-interest bearing
and overdue bonds, is theta. re-inyest
ment in other bonds bearing interest,
and having a term. Of years to run. The
value of all promises to pay depends
upon the means provided for redemp-
ton. As long as the bonds, remain be-
low par, the non interest bearing green
backs must remain lower; as the bonds
advance, greenbacks advance; as the
bonds fall, greenbacks fall. Thus bonds
are selling at log in greenbacks, which
is equal to IS cents in gold, while green
backs are worth Is cents. The bonds
form the great bulk of the Federal debt,
and they must appreciate before green
backs will advance ba .y4a9dIL 3oiIssi
Congress by its legislation should ar
rest construction at its present point,
and direct that the Treasury Depart
mentshaH sell in New FORK ten to twenty
millions of. gold every month until the
gold in the Treasury shall be reduced to
the necessary res erye. The gold in the
Treasury has been withdrawn from the
business of the country; it bears no
interest, is that much actual money CAPT
tai hoarded, and is as useless to the
country as if it were yet in the mines
The ordinary receipts of gold from Gus
toms are much more than equal to the
wants of the Government, and the sale
of S75, 100000 of gold, and the applica-
tion of the proceeds to the purchase Of
gold interest bearing bonds, and the re-
moval of that amount from the market,
wonld have the immediate effect of in
creasing their value The number Of
Government bonds actually held and
sold from day to day in New York is
comparatively small portion Of the
whole. The purchase OF 100000, 900
would wipe out the speculative stock
which would have to be replaced by
drawing upon those held for investments.
Capitalists who draw their six per cent.
in gold want no better investment they
will not sell at current rates, and the
supply needed for speculative and stock
jobbing purposes would have to be OBJ
tanned at an advance, which possibly
would not stop short of fifteen cents,
carrying the bonds up to 80. Let those
who are urging contraction as a means
of precipitating specie payments esti-
mate the effect Of an advance in the price
ofbonds from rs to 90. The purchas-
ing val1e of the S75O,OG0,G00 currency
of all kinds now held by the people
would be advanced in their hands 3113,-
100000 there would be an addition-of
s75,O00,00 of gold to the circulating
metallic medium of the country, and the
debt would be reduced by one hundred
J millions, and the interest in gold stop,
ped thereon. In every possible form
the benefit of such proceeding would
reach the people. The laborer with his
ten dollar bill would have one dollar
and half addsd to its purchaseable
power: the gold market would be re-