Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-01-07
MAIN STR EET

b8UdU0Ider=, induce them % take new
five per cent bond.
Iff,bs The judgment Of Congress that
@ IS is honest and right, the passage Of g
Jaw Jg dat effect, accompanied by cor
responding set aiiOwin- the holders Of
The 70 bonds 50 change them at the
Treasury Department for q new five per
cent bond viii DO sufficient, thus tradin Z
directly with the b0ndhLideTs, aud say
ing 70 the Government sLeYsp million
. dollars ts1l .o00, 600.
Second, another node by which the
bonds may be changed, is FOR the sscre-
tary OF the Treasury TO dispose OF dty
millions Of the new loan, lock up the
legal tenders received for them, thus
creating panic in the mOaey-market,
end forcing down the price Of the old
bonds &C. par, aud then buying them.
I Af-sTw ar,is w G,g6e the money market
+ easy 5y releasing the ieksi sgDders given
/ ju payment Of the old bonds, sHd repeat
ing The same operation until all the
. bonds are Chguged These operations
/ would certainly be better for he brokers
[ who would Iec7ige the coggm missions,
thsn for Ihe GJvsFallsnJ ~ anything
7 which distu-us The MONEY market must
. be exceedingly injurious TO the business
T interests of tie whole country, rejecting
directly upon Ebe iuc0me Of The q 'vern-
mrrt derived from taxes, bOtn internal
aId foreign
as ths hi.l authorizes the Secretary OF
{ the Treasury 10 dispose Of the new bonds
( as ha riaases, is places the entire finances
( Of the country Ia his Eaa1s for au in
I definite period giving hiE absolute poV
I "a to tighten or make easy the money
( mGTkat II bis discretion; and as the
{ prie-s Cf Eil other zsEurit e., Of all mer-
( cissndisF, Of labeF. and tie products Of
( the country sFe 50 dependent on the
state " tie money market, II may be
/ well To pause before putting such power
/ into the bands Of any man Wno, ID mat
/ ter COW bouest he may be- would 5e sur
rounded by corrupt influences TO the
. rIia aud distraction Of the best interests
: of tle country.
: So this -auaeGti0n it may not be i'm
proper Co state td1s the buying and sell
/ Ing ct bonds by JheEfeasGyy IePsFiRent
during The past yeEr. was the subject of
. much comment ana Justly severe criti-
/ cism, owing 90 the secrecy aud favor
& Iti-m OF such purchase, and s2les.
( IEg yoEaE OF the Sscra Jdry should be
( limited o. strictly eEHcuuve fuuctiOns,
1 and al l1a-g should ue offered directly
/ 60 the peopla by the Treasury Dspass-
meut, W.lGDUt iEe expensive intsrven-
7 ton Of hgnktTs.
The authority to izsge foreign loan
/ egnunt be tolerated. The people Of this
! country have always, and rightly,
I been uprospd to DC. We must be inde-
{ pendeu, Il Europe in cur fnances, and
/ nos fa,len the chains already put on Us
I by the cheap purchases Of our bonds
/ therf.
/ There are ample Fessons 0f pGbliG
( policy against any such seieme, aud the
/ bold il would give few officials over the
! exchange market for years 20 come, is
{ sufficient tn condemn it,
Do not ssgaciJus observers see that the
manage uleLt Gt such trust may not
/ always be in clean EGujs}
There hardly could be devised S
source Of official corruption equal to the
Z manipulation Of large portion Of the
public debt across the Atlantic. The
ambiguous wording Of the expense Of the
sale or exchange of such bonds is such as
would authorize tie payment OF at least
1 nineteen million dollars 80 coo GOO
( commission. In order to understand the
rate 10 be allowed FOR dispOsing Of the
foreign IOsn, it viii be necessary for
I Congress 10 take a lesson in French and
( StffhDK exchange.
The agersgs rate of sterling exchange
/ is not ever iOS for tb3 year, 8s,Sing at
this rate pound sterling worth abost
/ four dollaF and eightyf five cents "a S5.
/ l0Gl C2bout its intrinsic value IN gold. J
/ a pound sterling Is worth 10 PSris IS >
/ francs, which reckoning tvs francs t. a
/ dollar, es provided for IN the biil, makes
each pound sterling worth Ave dollars
and fouF cents S 10G).
the Differences between s. S5 and S. 04
I is nineteen cents on each 2 und, or three
and eighty hundredths Is Sc 1907 per
/ cent. On this basis, or caCllaii0n, Whioh
/ is strictly Correct, the Secretary Of the
/ Treasury is authorized TO Bay nineteen
million collars lsi0 0G50Jl IN yold to
convert or sell the i've hundred million
i 500 co., O0J| foreign loan, end the very
\ saia of the foreign loan will reduce the
! msFKeE rate Of sterling exchange and
thus incTesse the margins for commits.
siOns 10 even very much greater
] amOunt.
Now it viii he seen that the funding
] bin thus authorizes the Secretary Of the
| Treasury to pay commissions of eleven
million dollars lSIl O00, COO currency and
/ nineteen million dollars $4,000, OOO)
! gold, all put in the bill in few ambigu-
Gus words. Experience shows that
where the authority is gigen the money
will be spent without giving any account
1 OF it.
Were il not for the high character of
! the Finance Committee there might be
pfsve suspicions that the disbursement
/ o. this vast amount Of money is the real
object Of the bill, and The placing or sell
I inc OF a foreign loan has other objects
/ than the good Of the country.
The argument that the holders OF our
securities abroad have 10 suffer mate
rial ioss in having their coupons csshed
! il incorrect, as the composition Of brokers
/ il, Fprope makes it easy to have coupons
/ cashed in any of the principal cities Of
! Europe for one per cent OF the value Of
/ the coupon; that is, 3 person with 500
Of coupons can get the value OF S99 for
/ them
] The. sooner we can get our bonds back
| from Europe, instead Of endeavoring to
I nermanently locate them there, the
I sooner will we recover our financial inde-
section 5th Of the Funding Bill makes
/ the Treasury Department place to de-
posft non interest bearing notes, and puts
I the Deople to the expense Of paying five
! Der cent in gold for the privilege OF the
/ Goyernment having 3 reserve fund Of
! fifty naillion dOllaFR.
Capital that would be used in indus
] trial pursuits, or enterprise, would BE at
/ traetei by the high rate Of I've per cent
I in gold interest, Ia the shape Of demand
I loan against the Government, and thus
i be kert out Of channels where it might
/ be usefully employed.
There can be no object for the Govern
nent 70 pay i've per cent. interest in gold
j for money it does not require. Now il
/ Congress should determine the debt 20 be
| payable in coin, there viii be no object
il funding it, as il cannot be supposed
the people would voluntarily reiinquish