The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-04-02
Tho supplementary currency Bill-Redissxt-
button Of Circulation.


button Of Circulation.
After great deal Of discussion the Senate
has passed the Supplementary Currency bill.
It has yet to be acted upon by the House.
Looking at the length of time Ii has been
under discussion in the Senate. the diversity
of views upon 1t in the House and the probs-
bility of an early termination Of this session Of
Congress, there is not much chance Of the bill
or any modified form Of it being passed. This
would be the best end of the matter, probably;
for though the national bank currency 10 very
unequally distributed, and though the South
ern States particularly are in great need Of
currency and banking facilities, this sort OF
crude patchwork legislation does not meet the
wants of the country and is more likely to do
harm than good.
The debate in the Senate on the bill has
brought out prominently the fact that our ma
tional Legislators are lamentably ignorant Of
the subject Of national finance and currency.
II hardly rose above that Of small village
debating society. There was no conception of
great principles or of facts that are general in
their application. Each Senator viewed the
question from local standpoint as affecting
his own State or some particular interest in
1t. The views expressed were contracted,
crude, varied and contradictory, and hardly
any two Senators thought alike. The ma
jority voting for the bill did so probably more
from desire to dispose Of the question than
from any clear conviction of its merits.
The whole legislation of Congress with re-
gard to the currency from the beginning, and
all through since the national bank acts were
introduced, Is based upon wrong principles, is
vicious and opposed to the interests of the
masses Of the people. II is all in the interest
Of the few large capitalists and the bondhold-
ers who own and control the national banks.
The secret Of this is that probably half the
members Of the two houses Of Congress are
directly or indirectly interested in these banks.
Then the influence Of the enormous capital in
vested in the national banks over Congress is
almost supreme, and FAR greater than that ever
exercised by the old United States Bank, which
required all the power Of General Jackson to
destroy 1t. Instead of tnkering with the
national bank currency Congress ought to go
to the root of the evil and repeal the acts Gre
ating the national banking associations, with
draw the whole of their circulation, and issue
in the place of that legal tenders. The coun-
try would then have o uniform currency, in
stead Of the mixed one now in circulation. And
who among the people would not sooner have
greenbacks, based directly on the credit of the
fbau uol hou M NH; oh
in a crisis might not be represented by bonds
enough for their redemption? But, admitting
that they would always be good and redeem
able, or that the government, as some say,
would be bound to redeem them, even at
loss to itself, is not uniform legal tender
these bank notes which have not the character
of legal tenders, nor any character at all,
except that which the government lends them?
With greenback currency only there need
| be no difficulty about the distribution. Let
banks anywhere-banks in the South or
West, as well as in the North and East-use
that, and let as many banks as people choose
| to establish or support be established. This
would not initiate the amount of currency
| Only the same amount Of legal tenders need
be newly issued as there are now national
bank notes, and merely in place of these notes.
The volume of currency would be the same,
and the distribution of it would spread and
follow the course of trade naturally without
legislation of Congress- One uniform greer
back currency and free banking would natu-
rally distribute the circulation according to the
wants of each and every part of the country.
By substituting three hundred millions of
legal tenders for national bank notes the
bonds which the banks now deposit as security
and draw interest from would be bought up
and cancelled, and thus reduce the interest
bearing debt nearly three hundred millions and
save to the Treasury and people eighteen mil
lions in gold year, or about twenty-four mil
! lions in currency. The result would be, then,
better currency, and one which the people
| prefer, and at the same time a saving OF
| twenty-four millions year. Why should the
banks get this enormous profit of q national
circulation? Why should not the people-the
overwhelmed taxpayers-get the benefit Of
It? Why lavish this vast privilege upon o few
capitalists?
Our narrow-minded Congressman argue
that specie payments would be retarded by
maintaining q legal tender circulation. This
is q delusion. We should be more likely to
return to specie payments sooner with uni
form greenback circulation than under the
present mixed currency or under a national
bank currency only. AS the population, wealth
and trade of the country increase there would
necessarily be q greater demand for currency,
and IL the circulation should be kept at its
present volume it would appreciate and gradu-
ally come to par with gold. The laws OF