The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-12-03

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
below par, the non-interest bearing
greenback must remain lower; as the
bonds advances, green backs advance; as.
the bonds fall, greenbacks fall. Thus
bond, are selling at 106 in greenbacks,
which IS equal to 70 cents in gold,
while greenbacks are worth 70 cents.
The bonds form the great bulk of the
Federal debt, and they must apprecl-
ate before green backs will advance. !,
Congress, by its legislation, should
arrest contraction at its present point
and direct that the Treasury Depart
mcnt shall sell In New York ten to
twenty millions Of gold every month
until the gold in the Treasury shall
be reduced to the necessary reserve.
The gold in the Treasury has been
withdrawn from the business of the
country; it bears no interest; is that
much actual money capital boarded,
and is a : useless to the country as If it
were yet IN the mines. The ordinary
receipts of gold from customs are
much more than equal to the wants
of the Government. and the sale of
$75 100000 of gold, and the applica
ton of the proceeds to the purchase
of gold interest bearing bonds, and
the removal of that amount from the
market, would have the immediate
effect of increasing their value. The
number of Government bonds actu- I
ally held and sold from day to day in
New York is comparatively a small
. 10 ha hs.ci
of $100,000,000 would wipe out the
have to be replaced by drawing upon
those held for investments. CAPITAL
lists 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 10 |
be obtained at an advance, which pos
sibly would not stop short of fifteen
cents, carrying the bonds upto 90. |
Let those VINO are urging contraction |
as means of preeipitating specie |
payments estimate the effect Of an
advance In the price of bonds from IS |
to 80 The purchasing value of the |
$4,000. 900 currency of all kinds
now held by the people would be adj
vanced in their hands $4,000. 600;
there would be an addition of $75,-
100000 of gold to the circulating me-
tallic medium of the country, and the
debt would be reduced by one hum
dred millions, and the interest in gold
stopped thereon In every possible
form the benefit of such proceed
ing would reach the people. The la
borer with his ten dollar'bill would
have one dollar aud a half added to
its purchaseable power, the gold mar
ket would be relieved by the liberal
supply not imported but already col
lec;ed from the people and lying
boarded and useless in the Treasury;
and the annual tax In gold to pay the
interest would be diminished S6,000,-
coo. ~
The experience of two years and
half has demonstrated that the public
credit cannot be improved by burning
up the currency. If the Government
put all its greenbacks in bonds, it will
not improve the value Of the latter;
but if the value Of bonds be improved
by reducing their number, the value
OF the greenbacks viii advance in the
same ratio. The funded debt of the
country has been increased by the
amount of currency withdrawn; but
as every dollar added to- the funded
debt reduces its market value, Of
course the contraction of. greenbacks
has not had the slightest improving
effect. Let the greenbacks alone
they do not regulate the value of the
bonds; and let the Secretary direct
his energies, not to depreciate the
bonds BY constantly adding to their
amount, but by throwing his boarded
useless gold into circulation and re-
t5@ing as many bonds as it will pur-
chase Every bond paid off with gold
now idle improves the value of the
ones, and relieves the mar
ket By returning to it the real capital
which the Secretary now abstracts