The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-18
The High Tariff and Treasury Rings.

of the Treasury rings auxiliary forces
and we give in another column the cir
cular and petition therein mentioned,
which on their face seem to be in the
interest Of every needful reform, but really
are designed to gather and husband up politi-
cal influence and power to control Congress
during President Grants administration, or,
in other words, to use the cloak of legitimate
reform to cover up and defend the long stand
ing abuses and wrongs upon the taxpayers
perpetrated by that clique of commission
brokers known as the Treasury ring. The Off
GERS of the great national reform and high
tariff league or association ostensibly advo-
cate in their circular new tax BILL aiming to
simplify and improve our internal revenue sys-
tenn, Mr.. Jenckes' Civil Service bill, great
reduction of the army and navy, large reduc-
ton OF the clerical force in the departments at
Washington, the transfer of the Indian Bureau
from the Interior to the War Department, the
abolition OF the Indian treaty system, new
naturalization law, reduction of the number
of United States judicial districts, law retiring
superannuated and decrepit judges, the adop-
ton OF measures by Congress ''to turn the
balance of trade in our favor, and last, but not
least, Legislation that will encourage our
home industry'-which means, interpreted by
| the constant utterances of their newspaper
organs, higher tariff. Though apparently
advocating every really needful reform, in ad-
dition to their Ichronic demand for q higher
tariff, the omission Of any mention Of Trea-
sury ring operations in this universal reform
| association circular is remarkably significant,
| and, when taken together with certain facts,
| clearly shows that the real animus of the asso-
citation managers is quite different from any
thing that appears on the face of their mani
festoes excepting their demand for higher
tariff In that they are unquestionably sincere.
Though attacking every minor abuse, not one
word have they to say in condemnation Of the
legalzed atrocities of the Treasury ring, in
| comparison to which all other abuses sink into
absolute insignidcance. During the long four
years just past our Secretary of the Treasury
has been constantly engaged in secretly ma
nipulating our national debt of two thousand
dve hundred million dollars, together with the
Contents Of the national Treasury, to bull and
bear alternately the entire industrial inte-
rests of the nation, benehting meanwhile only
small clique of commission brokers, work
ing his great financial crushing machine as
though the people were natural enemies emit
tied to no consideration whatever; at one
time placing thirty or forty million dollars of
bonds secretly upon the market to make money
scarce, and at another purchasing secretly a
similar or larger amount to make it plenty;
secretly selling two hundred million dollars in
gold and buying many times that amount of
bonds in such a way that the business commu-
nifty could make no calculation for the future.
For years past no business man has been able to
would be the result of any transaction what
ever. No one but the Secretary Of the Trea-
sury and his little coterie of commission
brokers has been able to penetrate the pro-
found secrets of the department.
The Erie Railroad and Wall street ring justly
received universal execratlon on account of the
great lookup or bear movement of last month;
but the Secretary of the Treasury has, by
authority Of Congress, for years past been en-
gagged in precisely the same sort of business,
and Of such magnitude that the Erie operation
sinks into absolute insignihcance when COM
pared with 1t. Where the Erie combination
used ten million dollars to bull or bear the
market Secretary McCulloch used five hun
dred million dollars on government account
for the same purpose, he having been
enabled to make secret sales and purchases
Of bonds alternately, through commission
brokers, amounting to hundreds upon hundreds
Of millions of dollars. The loss to the business
interests of the countryside needless loss-by
these abrupt and frequent fluctuations Of values
has been greater by far than our entire
| national debt. This secrecy, taking every
business enterprise Of the country at disad-
vantage, is the great wrong Of the system.
| One Of its minor abuses is the payment by
| the Secretary Of the Treasury of over seven
million dollars commissions to ring brokers on
these secret sales and purchases of gold and
bonds, besides giving them an opportunity to
make some twenty million dollars additional
profit on the operation. If these favorite
brokers must be pensioned to this extent
| from the taxpayers treasury IL would be
far better for Congress to appropriate say
five million dollars per annum for the
purpose, and then oblige the Secretary Of
the Treasury to return to the old method in
vogue previous to the rebellion of advertising
| all loans, that the people may know what to
depend upon, that some degree of steadiness
and regularity in business affairs may again
prevail Previous to the rebellion no Secre-
tary Of the Treasury would have dared to bull
and bear the market by alternate secret sales
and purchases Of bonds on government account
through outside commission brokers as Secre-
| tary McCulloch has been doing ever since he
| has been in office.
IT,, urnAt 7. haa Tina and anain callod r,iil-