Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1868-12-18
The Ley0i Tenders.

Treasurer Spinner has addressed the
following letter to David Wilder, Esq
concerning the effect of repeal of thu
legal ten or acts
TREASURY OF THE UNITED STATES, !
WASHING .oN, December IL, 1865.
S1R: "a Your proposition to
irepeal the Legal Tender act instdnfer'
IA simply the enactment of law to COM
MI the Immediate resumption of spcci,
paymen,s on the part of the Government
the banks, and the people. Are tn
poorer sections of the country prerasoo
Tor this? Think OF it. The Gov arnmenl
has of its own over S. 0,000.0O0 OF out.
standing liabilities that are over due. l
IL the indorser of the whole issue of the
circulating notes of all the nationa
banks. amounting to SO 1000, % more
Then bear mind that these banks ow'
their depositors some Sc O,0O0,0 900 more
Here YOU have an aggregate oil Sl,ooJ'
OO0, 900 o. debts, Immediately que, al |
payab in coin, Tor all OF when IN
Government would have to stand t1t
brunt. The Government has, say 800
OOO. 600 in gold in ats vaults, or about Q
Der cent nf t is Indebtedness. You vii
Say: "The Government need b. car
for Itself; it has nothing to do with the
debts OF the National banks" Wei
let's see how this is If one Cf tles
banks fails to pay its deposits on call,
of course fails TO pay its circulating note
on the happening of which the tontroii
$rof the Currency puts the bank In IL
hands of q Receiver, and the Treasur
of the United States immediately be
comes, in effect the makero the note:
of such bank, and is by law compelled
to redeem them. Few banks could stan,
such sta of things, in their presen
condition, for a S ngle day, and the in
evitable result would be that the banks
tn business men, and the credit of th'
Government, woul 90 to pcrdtion to
gether.
7 However desirable the return to speci
payment may be, we should make hast
10 accomplish it slowly, if we wonl'
make it sure and permanent. Failure
would be fatal. To apply the rule t
'all future contracts" would not b
cutie 50 had, ut it is to n degree liabl'
to the same Oh ections and besides, /
would strike every kind of business will
paralysis. All your after reas oning seem
to me to be perfectly soui d. We agre
in all, but the mode by which the de
sired good is to be attained. We SHOULD
not be too impatient. The world wa
not made in day. Neither can we pa.
arfebt of 81 ,G0O, 900, 900 in gold 'instdnter.
We should, however, at once set our
selves about preparing tn. way ova
Which we may soon pass, ia periec
sa ETY.. to the promised land that sh Il
flow, not with milk and honey, but will
gold and silver. Your other proposition
''that all the currency contracts now il
70, &C should be converted into specie o
ITS equivalent when due, say at % cent
OH the dollar" is Objectionable, tecaus
it m ght possibly be d, cided to be uncon
stitutio al, in that, that it would i'm
RSitr lib. !he Obligation a Of Sontractfi ,w tae
makes something else than gold an
silver coin tender in payn ent OF debts.
But that was enacted IN time or grea
peril, which has Low passed.
-HOpin, that tn. action of Consre .
will be such as to be satisfactory TO a,
right-thinking men, l am very respec
fully yours, u. T.. SPINNER.
David Wilder, Esq, Boston, Mass.