Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-11-29
Secretary MeCuHooh's Errors in Fl
nanc.-The Policy for Congress.


The financial situation at the close of
the war was in its principal features as
fellows, according to the able report OF
Samuel S. Hayes, of the Revenue Com
mission:
The coin debt was over ], 100 millions;
the interest bearing debt payable in
currency about ], 900 millions the legal
tender currency about 45S millions,
making 1853 millions of debt paya-
bic in the currency Of the time. The
volume Of the currency atthat time.was
about 900 millions, estimating Sc mil
lions for State Bank notes. The Gov
eminent was then collecting 558 mill
lions of revenue, while taxation was
less a burden than now and out of iU
was paying 200 millions q year on the
principal Of the debt, before the extra
ordinary expenses Of the war had ceas-
ed We urged that this situation was
we'll enough, and should be let alone
till the payment of the currency debt,
and that no more of that should be con-
verted into gold bonds but that finan-
ciaI genius should be devoted to means
to float the currency debt by attractive
short loans at any required rate Of in
terest until 1t could be redeemed in its
own currency, and that contraction to
the specie basis should await the accom-
plishm6nt of this.
The principle upon which we urged
this financial system is this: The ease
Z
un1e OF money IN circulation. We had
900 millions Of paper money. We had
not come to specie payment without re-
ducing the amount of money to at least
400 millions, including coin and paper,
| literally estimating the stock of coin at
200 millions. This would make the dol
| lar twice as hard to come by, and in ef-
feet would double the currency debt.
| We have found no one to dispute this
rule. Yet our hnancieEs, from Mr..
/ McCuuoch down, strangely insist on
| calling paper dollar a dollar, when it
/ is to be turned into gold obligation in
1 the hands Of the creditor, although they
repudiate the idea that it is a dollar for
paying him. But Mr.. McCullOch in
| sisted that the above described situation
was rUinOus, and that nothing but i'm
/ mediate payment could save The cOun-
/ try. and that the way to this was to
| consolidate the currency obligations
| into a gold bearing debt, creating ne
/ cessity to pay 100 millions of gold in
| terest a year. This policy was every
| thing for the public creditor and moth
/ ing for the country.
| Let US now look at the results of this
I policy up to this time. On November
/ 3Oth, 1855, the public debt bearing inter
/ est in coin was 81, ,167, ,169, 81. The pres
/ ent November statement shows that it
I is 81, us, ,110, ,991, being an increase Of
| e6IO 94I .O5O which has in effect been
| cy obligations to gold interest bonds.
/ Or if we estimate it only by the premi-
/ um of gold, forty per cent, it is an adj
/ ditjon Of S244, ,376, ,420. We insist on the
| rule that ease of payment is in ratio to
| the amount Of current money, and that
| gold is not at this time a criterion of the
/ value Of greenbaclzs but those who
| cannot comprehend that gold may not
/ be the standard of all values when it is
| thrown out of circulation by legal ten
/ ders, cannot deny that the debt has
1 been actually increased at least to the
I amount of the difference in the market
I value Of the gold dollar and the green
4 back dollar, by converting this curreu-
/ cy debt into gold bonds.
4 The payment oftWo or three millions
/ a month on the principal of the debt,
/ which Mr.. McCuLOch reports. is but a
trifie compared with this rapid increase
/ of it by sheer financiering. By this we
/ have increased the debt for two years
I after the war closed as rapidly as du-
I ring the war. The sum of about GIL
L millions is what Mr.. McCulloch's H.
| nauciaI policy, sustained by Legislators
I who assume to be great in finance, has
cost the country directly in the increase
/ of the public debt, III the two years that
/ it has been in operation. And in the
meantime he has greatly crippled the
This is irreparable. We have now to
consider the existing situation, and see
what can be done for the future.
We have still outstanding currency
obligations as follows:
Greenbaclzs and fractional cur
| rency .,.,,s ,....... ......... s357, ,87I AZ
Compound interest notes.. 7l,876,OA
Seven-thirty notes.. ..s....... 829Ol0,70l
Six per cent. bonds. ...,.-.-..- 18,O42,O0,
Three per cent. certihcatesss.... II, ,5G0,O0l
S828 s59, ,21t
The question yet remaining is Wheth-
er we shall deYote our financial genius
to means to float this until we can pay
; il of on the present currency basis d