Buchanan County bulletin and guardian., 1868-02-28

The New York Mutton Of the 9th inst.
contains an able article oa the subject Of The
national bonds, from which We make the
following extract:
Now, who are the lenders? Great banks
ing houses in Boston, New York, and Phil.
adelphia? Great foreign capitalists? No.
1t was from first to last q constant subject
Of patriotic rejoicing in the newspapers and
on the platform that all United States leans
were popular loans," that they we're the
sum OF the savings OF the masses freely Of
fered TO the nation, not simply as good in
vestment, but Us proof Of their affection.
One tavorite topic Of loyal writers and ora
tors in ls63-the history Of this matter is
imporsant-was the fact that France and the
United States were the only two countries
which were able to make the people st large
the creditors Of the State or, in other words,
To place their finances as well as other things
on . democratic basis. The newspapers re-
corded every day with pride the taking Of
one, two, of three millions Of bonds, not by
six or twelve or twenty persons, but by huns
dredi all over the country. and we were in
formed at the time that if the figures in pos.
session of the Government in 1863, showing
the way in which the bonds had been diffu>
sed amongst all classes and conditions of
people, aud in sums Of all sizes, could have
been used, they would have furnished per.
haps the most curious and instructive of all
illustrations Of what was meant when the
WAT was called . "people's war" At the
present moment, the registered bonds which
are generally issued in large denomination
and represent more nearly than the coupon
bonds the portion Of the public debt held by
eapiialists or wealthy me', are but three>
eigh,s Of the value Of the United States se>
curities, or $500, 81, ,S50-the remaining
fve>eighths, OF 81 ISL ,509,700 being cou>
pom bonds. Moreover, the denominations of
the coupon bonds issued average $732, while
those OF the registered bonds average 3l,.
800. In fact, the bonds have long formed
tayorite investment Of all the thriftiest,
that Is, ost valuable portion Of the working
classes, because they possess over the "a.
sings>banks the advantage Of not being ia x.
ed, and Of being convertible at any moment.
Most people who know anything Of the hab>
its of the more careful and intelligent me-
chanics, gardners, farmers, and household
servants, must, in fact, have been surprised
to find how largely they hold Government
securities.
The other classes who, a. classes, are the
largest investors in these securities, are the
banks Of loan and the savings banks, and
guardians and trustees. If any one mains
tains that it would be useful thing to the
community to break all the leading banks,
or even to greatly impoverish them. ve shall
not argue with him, as our ideas of the na>
tnre and objects OF human society and his
ideas differ too widely TO give as . chance
OF arguing. But the case Of the savings
banks is worth attention, from the fact that
their deposits are the savings of the poor,
and if they be not sacred, nothing on earth
Is sacred. We are unfortunately unable at
this moment 10 state the exact amount Of
these deposits which have been invested in
United States Securities, but we are able TO
state that it is very large. As long ago ss
1862, the difficulty experienced by the man.
ayers Of these institutions in finding invest.
ments for their funds had become yery.yreat,
and when the Government loans we're FIRST
offered they naturally turned to them eager.
ly. In Massachusetts, for instance, the sa-
wings institutions invested over 5000, 600
in Government securities in 1862; in 1863,
they held $l5,727,s26 of them, and had ta>
ken them as collateral security for $2.5S6,.
267 more. We have 70 doubt the process
has been going on steadily ever since. Now,
let any body try to picture to himself the full
consequences Of sudden and violent depre>
ciation-eyen putting aside the danger of
total / ss--of sum of over 81 8 200. 900 in
single State, made up of the savings Of
poor people. Multiply this even BY ten, and
think what the result would be. We have
little doubt, too, that il the figures could be
got at, the sum invested by the trustees Of
orphans, widows, and minors in the United
States securities during the last Eve years,
would he found to be enormous. We know
very well that the Buffers and the Pendle-
tons and Thurmans tell US that they would
initiate the currency, ard pay of the bond
holders in paper, so steslthily and gingerly
that we should never know what they were
at till all was over. But then not so many
Of US are simple,ons as they seem to think.
The greenbacks Of government which had
led the world to believe that il would pay in
gold, and then paid in paper, would bring
about as much in the market as its bonds,
and neither would bring much more than
the Confederate money At the close Of the
late war. We should witness rapid return
to specie payments, but it would be by short