New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-12-14
FINANCIAL.
LETTERS FROM TIE PEOPLE TO TIE TRIBUNE
AND REPLIES.

LETTERS FROM TIE lIolLh ~ A'4+' $1,000
AND REPLIES
r, ne Ed.,,r OF T's ntttHe
S,p. IN an article entitled Resumption in
Fxtonso" published few days ago. you "cle h,"u
,uouch 10 rcply o. a note Of mue ASKING ior oe"I''
,.,,.I, ,,r t,c manner In which you would resume
,ec. navmeut Immediately. There are two important
cons1er1l .i a,S ~, mons of onr bonds bcld abroad,
Cic, cost o holders from 80 to 20 cents ON the dollar
H. n NOT proHblr. 10 tie event OF immediate ltSluO'
la-ge norton OF these bonds wOald be return ca aU ou
aias MO ra uoueyi Your response will Doubtless
ia mat PARTIES holding bonds IN Europe COLslu,r
item good investment. and prefer holding TO IeaXihs.
Ts n0,,ibv may he tie cas' but cannot regard " as
probable. hasmuc as immediate Resumption "ou ~ o
able foreign boudhoders 10 sell at roht OF 10 o.
cent, IS IL Lot reasonable 70 suppose tn1t
avail themselves OF ~ Men engage ~ ,r,,ole of
enterprise and invest ther caPlta !3L no ~ to
pakng money, and rarely neglect the opPor S;cV
rralze large profits Second; Immediate Iesnmli.y e
would cause heavy decline in all kinds OF mechaiuSga,
reultingin general commercial disaster ne irre.
Grated currency; thousand Of our business neu M avoid
able, by close economy and careful at ~; orr fna1
ces thew will recuperate; but II your plan is % disor
SnlSd ano ers5e time must elapsc before values
can DO settled. These are thc olyecLoimst Immediate
ut6Du y; ~, Tcy may he cbimcrical ANY explanation
you may furnish VII be gladly Iee0''u SPECIE.
p.n,, -yyyho+bsr resumption Of specie payments
would cause onr bonds 10 be sent here, would depend
on whether we would be ableto oer better procession
tbom than they would command IN Europe ii We
could II must be because money, G. gold, would be
rsntier here than there compared with the present
state of facts. If we buy up four bonds now heid
abroad because money is plenty here that we can
better afford TO hold them than let them 90 else
where it will be u most encouraging fact for 10 inc
extent that our debt is held by our own people the
taxes paid to maintain it return TO our own people
instead of draining the country TO maintain foreign
incomes OF course, rs the bonds now held III
Europe are not due ia many years resumption VIII
make no legal difference IN their value AT present
They are not due. The only theory on when they
can be expected 10 come here IS that under resnhp
kionrmoney will he plentier than now-not paper OF
deprecated money. but actual money gou' surely
If the bonds Tor this reason, they are "econo
indeed. Sneh a condition Of things Is just what
We are striving for. And it Is just what
we EXPECT. The resumption of specie payments IN
England in 1921 was followed by three years OF won
derfnl plethora Of money, feveTish rise in prices
Great activity of speculation large expansions OF tue
circulation of the notes of the country banks ana
finally, in 1924 10y kiting, stock bubbles, South Sea
and balloon enterprises, ending IN great lnahcai
smash in 1925 Instead of resumption in this country
causing tight money market, 1t Will release the
gold now locked up and thereby expand the cucua-
ton by the addition of at least Sl5OWO'OOo 10
AIS 600 OOO-Controller Hubbard says <4000OO0OO-of
gold coin This will impart the utmost actviyto COM
Inerce will at least sustain all prices if not advance
~@N'NAAN@ N-AN
lions and enlarge their circulation For every dollar
of gold coin returned to circulation the tendency OF
banks will be to run out several dollars OF
paper, and thus here as IN England, the
result of return to specie payments VIII
be great imitation of credit, confidence, and paper
money. and speculative stimulus to business which
will need repressiye measures TO prevent the Tecur
renee here in 1870 of the general crash IN England III
1924 and 1875. Our correspondent Is utterly vide OF
the mark when he suppOses that return to specie
payments then accomplished will make money scarce,
or hard times. 1t will have an overwhelming effect
20 stimulate enterprise, and give an onward bound
70 business Of every kind.
W tie Editor Of 7Es Trbms
SIR: We, the people, soldiers, and civilians,
furnished during the late effects aud labor, for
which the Government recOmpensed us by paying us
ASO0O0OOO worth Of promises to pay on demand. by
Asystem OF taxation We are required 10 pay into the
United States Treasury Sufficient amount annually to
the Government and leave surplus Of $4,000 900 for
Secretary McCulloch tOdestroy.
First we perform labor and furnish effects for the war;
next paid for this labor &c, Ia promises tOpay
Then taxed TO get these promises to pay nom
Sow what have we labor. &c. Is this or is #
moi. repudiatiOui YOur views, through The WEEKLY
read. M VIII ~ 4 SOLDIER
Giaerru, o., Dec. 10. 1867.
Repy-In stating that the Government has no re-
sources but its gold, correspondent is in error,
1t has all that portion of the property Of the Nation
which the people afford TO pay in taxes amount
ing to three four hundred millions year. 1t is
the knowledge of this which will make the people
willing to take the notes of the Government in lieu
ofiRold just as they formerly took those of the
banks, provided the Government VIII set them the
example So long the Government says to the
people. Go and payi specie" they viii stand back.
But when it says Come, let's pay specie" the peO-
pie will cheerfully follow where the Government
leads. The Government is the heaviest operator in
the money market, and unless it takes the lead,
nothing will be done.
We distust estimates which place the present
amount Of gold in the country at $4500O0OOO TO
&475OOO0O0 The usual, almost inevitable effect of q
depeciated currency and suspension of specie pay
ments, is to drive gold out Of the country To sup
pose, therefore, there is nearly twice much gold
in the country at the outset of the war,
very unwauantable. All that is officially reported
in the Treasury and the banks amounts to only
sl20OOO0OO. Where is the remainderi
70 ne Editor Of The TrbrA&
SIR: In article IN Saturday Tissue entitled are
sumption In Extenso you assert that the Government
Immediately its god because 10 has
Onefourh much Of the latter the amount Outsand
ing of the former while the banks before the
fine demands them in specie with amount OF gold
"a their vaults from onefth TO Oneeighth only their
liabilities You forget that the banks had In addition
Che small amount Of gold hand, amount OF other
assets which could in short time be converted into gold
than sufficient to meet all their liabilities The
knowledge Of this made the people willing to take their
instead Of gold, not the small Of the latter
lying idle in their vaults As Government has no
such outstanding assets for which payment coin can
be demanded ~ has 10 such basis for its circulation
Controller Hubbard and the Financial Chronicle have
hhoWa that we nave from tl5OOOOO to S2o00O0O more