The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-01-29

fencies would be no more uniform than before.
That the Government could buy half a million
of collars in gold day with paper ''simili-
| tudes," which can be issued to any required
extent, and continue to do this from year to
| year until the country would have 'growu
| up to" specie payments, more smoothly,
chesply, and tficiently than it coald collect
that sum for duties, General Batter may
| fully believe. We do not. He explains to US
| with great clearness that the value Of our pre-
| sent currency depends upon, and is conferred
| by, that of the bonds, insOmuoh that when the
| rect mt German war caused Prusslans TO SSH
| our bonds largely, in order to invest in the
new loans their own Government was putting
| on the market and in consequence our bonds
declined for q reason wholly disconnected
with our own credit or business, all the efforts
of Secretary McCullooh by selling gold to
prevent our greenbaclts from declining also,
as shown by the continued rise in gold, we're
unavailing. Greenbscks fell to the level of
our bonds. General Butler was on a good
scent here, and he should have followed it
further. Having shown that the value of
our present currency depends on that of the
bonds, he should have told us what the value
of the bonds depends upon. He could not
have avoided the conclusion that the value of
the bonds depends upon the adequacy of the
provision made by us for paying their coin in
teres'. Capitalists Judge of the value of any
the interest. II that is kept right they can
get the principal at any time by selling the
bond. German, English, and American capi-
telsts will pay only IS per cent. Of its face for
an American bond, because under our system
of government there is about one chance in
four that all provision for meeting the in
teTest will be repealed. Oar bonds sell a 79
at Frankfort, because we can show our Ger
man friends that we have gold revenue
OF SlG0, 600 900, all pledged to the payment
of coin interest of only $3.50, 600, 900. If on
this argument alone the consents to pay 78
cents per dollar for our bonds, and if this
causes our green backs to be worth 72, what
would either bonds or greenbacBs be worth il,
as proposed by General Butler, all provision
for gold revenue were repealed, and the Gov
eTDment could get no gold whatever, except
by buying IL in the market? What would be
the nature and extent of the corners and
the gold gambling which would result if the
brokers of Wall street knew that the Govern
ment must buy gold at the rate of half mil
lion q day in open market, or repudiate its in
terest at the end of six months Whether it
may not be possible st some future time to
base a paper currency enliiey 0n credit, to
have it irrsdeemable ia gold aud yet maintain
a steady value in exchange for other forms of
wealth, is a proposition apparently utopiaD,
but upon which, as we have said, we are not
disposed to dogmatj2e. We DO strongly be-
lieve, however, that if to, day General Buffers
bill repeating all provisions for gold revenue
from customs, with which TO meet our annual
interest, were passed, our bonds would tuna
BILE down to twenty five or thirty cents, gold
would rise to three hundred, the Government
would find it impossible to buy half a million
of gold per day with its new Butler "simili-
tudes," and, unless it promptly returned to
its present position, it would have to repu-
diate its interest within six months for want
of coin.
General Butler argues in circle as to the
value of these ''similitudes." He says they
| will be valuable because they will pay GUS
toms as we'll as taxes and debts; but he for.
| gets that the value of the customs will de-
| pend on that of the currency in which they
are paid. He cannot rest the value of his
similitudes on the customs duties and the
value of his customs on his similitudes, with
nothing for either to rest on. In reality, the
value of the 'similitudes" will be only what
they derive from being "Iegal-tenders;' and
this, as General Butler shows, depends on the
value of the bonds which in turn depends on
coin interest, which General Butler abolishes,
by abolishing coin revenue. This let's the
bottom out of his whole plan. General But
ler's currency would fail in soundness, there
fore, even more signally than in uniformity