The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-01-21

/ was issued, and when the Chambers were about
| to meet.
The new Hapoleonc movement will be
watched with great interest, both as to cause
and in its effect.
| Congressional Action the Currency and
| for Liauidatinz the National Debt.
The Committee on Banking and Currency OF
the House of Representatives reported last
Friday, through its chairman, Mr.. Randall,
very important bill to provide sinking fund
to pay the national debt and to give us uni
form sound legal tender currency. Dir. Clarke,
Of Ohio, delivered speech the same day on
| our national finances and against contracting
the currency, much in the same tenor oil Mr.,
Randall's bill Other members have lately
taken up the subject with corresponding views,
all Of which goes to show that our public men
begin to see the Importance OF reform in the
present system of currency and finance.
The bill referred to provides in substance
for those changes which we have over and over
| again urged upon Congress; that is, the sub
stitu,on oil government legal tenders for
national bank currency, the buying up and
canceling of interest-bearing bonds 10 the
| same amount, thus saving to the government
and people something like twenty million
dollars annually in interest on the debt, the
| application of the amount 50 saved as sink
ing fund for the extinguishment of the debt
and The prevention Of an injudicious contrac-
ton of the currency. These are the principal
features of the bill.
4 ha ianl AZ iha
| Citations, their organization, enormous priv-
leges immense profits, dangerous power, vast
monopoly and the bad policy which
established and would perpetuate their immu-
mites and power, the more surprised we are that
Congress has heretofore shown SO little wis
dom about this important matter No such
privileges were ever given before, in this or
| any other couatry, to private corporations.
Only think of allowing these corporations the
immunities and profits Of three hundred mil
liors of circulation, without paying anything
| 10 the government and people for it Well
| may they be able to declare dividends of fif-
teen 10 twenty-five per cent, and carry be-
sides large surplus to their capital. Twenty
! millions year is stupendous gift-a gift
which is taken from the pockets of the people
and put into those of few oyergrown capital
lists. We cannot characterize this in any other
way than as monstrous fraud upon the indus
trious masses of the country. The Bank of
| England, with all the valuable services it has
| rendered the British government, always paid
| tor the privileges granted to it. Directly or
indirectly it pays the government for its circu-
4 Votso rvha I'm oh hos Yoo,
rene wed, which in the course Of its history has
occurred many times, the government has de-
4 handed payment in money, in loans without
interest, or in some other way. The British
government does not, like our Congress, give
away such valuable advantages without some
equivalent. The right and profit Of circulating
money belong to the government. The cur
rency Is money, and If private associations or
the national banks are allowed to circulate this
they ought to pay for it. No one can be so
| ignorant as not to understand such plain and
simple proposition. Yet we see that the banks
not only have all the profits OF national cir
culation, but their liabilities in part are guar
anteed by the government. The act creating
and maintaining this system is, we repeat a
i
Let us have but one kind Of currency-thst
Of legal tenders. If the present national banks.
or any other banks, choose to do banking
business let them do so on this uniform and truly
national currency. There are many other
evils connected with the national bank system,
some Of which we have referred to before. aud
some we have incidentally mentioned in this
article; but we confne ourselves here mainly
to the question in financial point of view. BY
substituting MISUNDERSTANDING legal tenders
for national bank notes we shall have better
currency, based directly on the credit Of the
government, and shall save twenty millions a
year instead Of making gratuity oil that vast
amount to rich corporations. To accomplish
this is the object of the bin reported by Mr..
Randall. Who so blind as not to say it should
passs There will he determined opposition,
doubtless. for the national banks have great
power and abundant means but we hope
there may he found patriotism and sense
enough in Congress to carry this measure
through. With a uniform legal tender cir
culaion, limited to the present volume of
currency, we need not trouble ourselves about
contraction. The business of the country will
absorb that amount, and we shall approximate
steadily and BEAUTIFULLY specie basis, without
revulsion and without enriching few wealthy
bondholders at the expense Of the rest OF
the community.
Unnacceuntable Newspaper FinancIcrisE.