The Portland daily press., 1869-06-15
finnncial-hIr. HsutweII's Policy Conn
..-A.a s.rsaA nEnGuIIOch,s.


pared with HEcCuIIcch's.
| M En,ro,, -rbe financial article from the
| Na, yorl- Evan;no Post copied editorally In
vo,,r ,,aner of the 11th inst would do credit to
| a. c,,oa;o1 Commissioner Of the Revenue or
/ his nrotege, Delmar
/ According to the Post, while the country
was laboring under the delusion that the cur
/ rency was being contracted to sucn degree
| +bot concress xvos induced to repeal the law
/ author;zino II there was in fact, not only no
| oor,rao.;on bpt an actual expansion
/ 10 Tho amount of more than thirty-twe million
do,lars This remarkable discovery of the
Post has been made by overhauling the Treas
ury reports of 1866 and comparing them with
those of 1869. 1t says;
| In October, 1866, according to The state
ment made by the Secretary of the Treasury
| in his famous contraction report of that year,
| the Treasury had in circulation:
OF Greenbacks So9g' lSo 80 700 soo
Fractional Currency ~ ,oos,Vio
Total currency. ................... SAY ,795
There were no certificates of deposit used as
bank reserves and taking the place of green
backs and the whole amount of certificates OF
| indebtedness was very small.
After two years and half during a great
part of which Mr.. McCulloch's power 10 carry
out his policy of contraction was allnost @ ~ ~apso-
lutte, and during the whole OF "nlcn his proc,
| lamations of that policy were frequent and
earnest his statement OF March l, 1903, gives
the circulation as foiloWs'
Greenbacks 1856 02I ,073
fractional currency ey,a ,sd Sda Sa9
s4Is,ea2, 500
The certificates are used by the banks as le-
| gal-tender reserves, instead of greenbacks;
and therefore initiate the currency precisely as
1 Oraanh1oks Mr r..
Culloch actually added. in twenty-nine
months, 49,, ,138, ,S25 to the issue of treasury
notes; and his famous spolcy of contraction"
was interpreted throughout by an administra-
ton ofinfation. iea
The Post, having thus made it as "clear as
mud" that McCulloch, who professed to be in
favor of contraction, and made everybody Eek
cept the PosD believe, and many to feel, that
he was so, was really an expansionst and pro-
ceeds, by the same process of figuring, to show
that Mr.. Boutwell, who as member of Con-
gress, steadily opposed contraction, has ac-
tually contracted the currency more than
| twenty millions in the last three months.
This contraction according to the Post has
been effected by retiring:
three per cent. certificates. 4065, goo
GreenDacks. 81, ,642
| Fracuohai currency... .34l3,S66
| $7,56S,5sS
| Increase OF currency balance In the
treasury SINCE Apfl lse...'.-'''.'.'' ..iolol,sz1
Total. .$2O, ,745, ,532
To prove that the currency was inflated, in
| stead of contracted, by Mr.. McCullocb, the
| Post has omitted from the October, 1866, stater
ment, the very important item of Compound
Interest notes $14S, ,5l2, 14O. These notes form
ed part of the currency and like the three per
| cent. certificates went to make up the reserve
/! of legal money kept by the banks. Supplying
/ this omission the tables would stand thus
October 1866, X
GreenbacSs. r9o, 9S sSS
| Comnound Interest notes 4S5i2' lao
ltii afrfaaa3 =, ~ 49,. -
March. 1869. -, '
Greenbacks. S556 02i 0!S
Tbree ner cent CERTIFICATES III. i4o 600
| 1--c-e-e-o-o
contract,On. 5s'sa5
| So much for Mr.. McCul,och's expansion =
Now for Mr. Boutwelps contraction. a
The withdrawal of four million three per
| cent. certificates. even if permauent. in no.
| tba bonls hold ,,an,, +;,oas that amount in ax.
cess of the reserve of lawful money reouired
bv law , .,;9-,4..- .,.... ~. ..tssa-,5
The LARGE accumulation Of currencv fnrinci-
nallv tractionan In the Treasury at this time
| is in conseonenca of The chances which are
be;ng made in the ny;nting bnrean of the
Troasuxv Donortmont which nrevents re-;s-
- ,,.o,o,,t "a ~ srts,;t,t;a,, f ;o,,a,
81. ~. rha
soAea's =, 'ne s,''''' ou.es
-, vu ..'s nag
'n s',0 ".'i ,,o0 u'. 40 p'"oo =
- pl'0u ~ su.ai ool
e.. ~ !: -, -,
- 'o - "a = -p..i
/ monthly statements of the treasury
/ Nothing can he more ridiculous than
placing This item of s13 181. .927 currreev re-
ceiyed at the Treasury since April l. to the
account of contraction. A careful examina-
ton of the figures show that there was an ac-
| tual contraction OF over one hundred and six
teen million by Mr.. McCulloch, and that there
has been no contraction whatever by Mr..
| Boutwell,. If figures "won't lie'' the Post
shows that they can be so ingeniously arrang-
ed as to be very deceptive. \
~ S9l#g 1000 100 ----- 7--l
The JUBILEE BALL.-It has been decided
wisely, we think, to have a grand ball at the
Coliseum, on the evening of June 18th. Ger
ar.;r IN o,,r dow and t;on for o,0t,,orno
togetl,er in n hail Of sncb maon;tude the Grace
heantv and cb;valrv of the conntrv Tho ooi,v
5o.e, -. a., ,,,,,, .1,o,,,.,, a. ,.saa
&c +,,o doroo bo,,ooth .,,o ,,ov DECORATIONS and
a. -. 80 l;aI,ts viii present picture
not - he FORGOTTEN. and one that NAV never be
eouaIed aoain in this country or apy other
Five hundred Of the best musicians in the Un-
ion nnder the direction Of Mr.. P. s. Gilmore.
viii fnrn;sb the mus;c for dancino and a con-
bnat,on of four celebyated military hands nm
dor tho control of Mr.. Harvey r Dodvortb
,r;I, ,,arform for the nromenade Thus tbraucb-
ont tbe avan;ng there will be a constant tiow
of melody Of an7extraord;narv character The
.oo,,s nil, 1o fnrn.bod ,v;tf on-
cry eonvehiehce' anu sne spaoe anorueu ispy ppy
tnese apartments some q .nem mucn u larger /
'ni'n oruiniary pali-rooms' wiil prevent 'iie IN
peasant crush 700 irequent ae large gatherings
oi tnis nature. Inc iis1 On che coinni''ee anu