The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-01-06
COMhBRCIAI AND FINANCIAL.
Government Bonds.
f5ou, the Philadelphia Ledger.


The principle business doing in Gov
ernment bonds consists in the exchang-
ing OF one class of bonds for those OF
another, supposed to be cheap. Just
mt the present time there is daily in
creasing disposition to exchange the
gold bearing $40 six per cent. bonds
for the six per cent. currency bearing
bonds, issued by the Government to
the Pacific Railroad Company. These
latter bonds are issued as subsidy by
the Government to the Railroad, at SO
much per mile, on the completion of
each successive twenty miles. They
bear six per cent. interest in currency,
payable by the various United States
Assistant TreRsurers, semi-nnnually,
i'll January and July in each year, and
are redeemable thirty years from their
date of issue. Being long bonds, they
commend themselves to capitalists in
that particular over the gOld-bearing
5 2OJ, which the Government has the
option to redeem in coin or its equiva-
lent any time after five years from
their respective dates of issue. Not
only individuals are making the eN-
change, but banks, insurance and trust
companies are doing the same in large
amounts. The supposed advantage
consists in this: The holders of the
5-2Os get the premium OF, say, ten per
cent. on the 5-20s, and purchase the
thirty year Government issue of bonds
to the Railroad ut par. Thus far they
make gain OF ten dollars on each hun
dred of bonds, and get long bond of
the Government in exchange for
short one. The present loss i'll the eX-
change is the premium on the annual
gold interest. which is fully three per
cent. The gain, it will be seen, IS ten
per cent. in hand as against the annual
loss on the premium on the gold, which
should the currency continue depreciat-
ed as at present, Tor more than about
three years, would equal the gain
realized in the sale at the higher price
of the 5.2OS. But should there be an
early resumption of specie payments,
making the currency convertible into
coin on demand, then the annual
income from the currency-bearing
bonds would equal that from
the gold bearing bonds. Those who
believe that resumption will be earlier
than three years, and that the currency
until that time will continue to appre-
ciate, will profit by making the eX-
change. Those who think that re-
sumption will be longer postponed than
three years, and that the premium on
gold in the meantime will not decline,
will naturally hold on to their gold
bearing bonds; and, as they shall be
right or wrong in their conclusions on
this point, will they profit or lose by
mont Is stimulated just now by the agi-
tation in Congress of the subject of a
return TO specie payments. Thetone of
the politicians Mt Washington favOrs
the conclusion of an early consumma-
ton of this desirable result, and all tine
best interests of trade and business are
certainly in the same direction. But
Congress is prOverbially slow in mat
ters of this character, and politicians
are most unreliable. What half
dozen of practical, sensible men would
determine in three days, verbose Con-
gress, assailed by hundreds of outside
sinister influences, may not accomplish
AS satisfactorily in as many years. AS,
however, the popular idea all over the
country, with politicians as well as
with the industrial interests, seems to
be on the side of an curly return to coin
payments, we can but think the de-
sired end will be early reached.