The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-24
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
KprroRrAL OPINIONS or THE LEADrNo JOURNALS
UPoN CURRENT ToPIos-CoMPiLBD EVERY
pAY FOR THR EvsNINo rELKGRAPH.
OBEY THE LAW.

I,o,u tht NJ y. Tribune =.
When a prudent business man, in the ordinary
course of his affairs, finds himself with large
surpIus in bank, not needed In his regular trans
actions. what does he do with it? If he have
notes not vet due. on which he is paying
heavy interest. is he likely to delay for an hour
an effort to use his surplus cash in discounting
bis notes2 ,.,o,,,
night millions of dollars, on which it has heavy
interest TO pay in gold Meanwhile 1t has, unused
and unneeded in its Treasury, eighty millions OF
cold That Secretary of the Treasury will best
discharge the duties of his great office who so
manages the money at his disposal as to make 1t
90 the furthest in meeting the Governments OBJ
figations. There is the enormous debt, on
which he is paying high interest. There is the
heavy surplus of idle gold which is earning no.
thing, and paying nothing. What will be do
with 1t?
On this statement alone the case might rest
But there is another fact to be taken into the
account. Here in Wall street this debt, on
which we pay heavy gold interest, is selling at q
discount of about fifteen dollars on the hundred
dollar bond. That is to say, in spite of the
recent sharp advance, eighty-fve of the gold
dollars now lying idle in the Treasury will buy
an outstanding note of ours which calls for
hundred gold dollars, and which bears onerous
interest. Would not any business man in Wall
street who should neglect such an opportunity
be thought unfit to manage his own affairs
But il is objected that the Secretary is for
hidden to take the obvious course which plain
business principles would dictate by this un-
fortunate clause, finally forced into the Public
Credit bill;--
"None OF the said nterest-bearing obligations not
already due shall be redeemed or paid before ma
turity unless at such time United States notes shall be
convertible into coin at the option of the HOLDER or
unless at such time bonds of the United States bear
ing lower rate OF interest than the bonds to be re-
deemed can be sold at par in coin."
We deny the force of the objection. Here is n
clause in the original Legal-tender act of Febru-
ary, 1882 not in conflict with the above, and not
repealed
San duties on imported goods shall be paid in
coin. - And the coin so paid shall be set apart
as a special fund, and shall be applied follows:-
First to the payment in coin OF the interest the
bonds and notes Of the United States; second to the
purchase payment OF per centum Of the entire
debt of the United States, to be made within each
fiscal year after the first day of july 1862 which is to
be set apart a sinking fund, and the interest of
which shall in like manner be applied to the purchase
or payment of the public debt, the Secretary Of
the Treasury shall from time to time direct"
We do not now ask that the bonds shall be
redeemed paid" In our judgment that
would have been wise; but contrary counsels
forbid it. What we do ask, and what the above
unrepealed law makes the absolute, imperative
duty of the Secretary, is that he use his surplus
gold ''for the purchase of one per centum of
the entire debt of the United States to be set
apart as sinking fund, the interest of which
shall in like manner be applied to the purchase
of the public debt" The ''entire debt of the
United States" amounts to twenty-siX hundred
and thirty-six millions. OF that amount the law
not only allows but commands the Secretary to
buy up In open market twenty-siX millions, to
be set aside in the Treasury as sinking fund.
We call upon Mr. Boutwell, to obey the law.