The New York herald., 1870-01-13
TIE NATIONAL DEBT.
The German Plan for Resumption Of Specie
Payments Without Specie--Reply of
Treasurer Spinner to the Letters of
the Domain Steward OF Baden.


TREASURY or THE UNITED STATES
WAsHINGToE, Jan. 7, 1870.
MY DEAR SIR-Your two esteemed letters--the
one OF the 1ith OF February ana the other OF the
lst OF July last--were each received just eighteen
days after their respective dates. Answers were
withheld, not from want OF respect for your hnan-
cal views, ana much less from any want Of regard
Tor you personally. An Illness OF four months
business that has required my constant attention
ever since must plead an excuse for any seeming
Isympsthze with you in your perplexity in read.
ing ana understanding my letters presume. now
ever, that you have no moro difficulty In reAdIng my
since last wrote you have frequently thought OF
you, and your. to me, ncOIEprehenSble project OF
tho s Of do ASK s Rss sy 2, ge
OF tho proposals which were submitted to
your government given assurances similar to mlaef
answer quote from one which Is IN substance the
proposition OF others:--
How to bring tho currency to the spece evo without the
lurbance Of the business the country -
This, as understand you is also the substance OF
l fear tnat Iailed In making myself understood
In regard W the almost insuperIOe difficulty or dong
ment There are . very few cases Wherein II is
Claimed that monarchy Is superior TO u republic;
the case IN hand would seem 10 justify this claim.
Where monarch rules you could go direct
to him, state your case. and at once get
a decision: mol so in ours, >, which we
think q better form OF government. Here SO many
different branches that constitute II must be con-
snted, and alter much open discussion the assent
OF each be separately obtained. before any action
can be had, so That an object ike yours requiring
secrecy wonld inevitably tail to be OF any pecuniary
nenedI TO the protector. The correctness OF your
scheme ike that OF all the others that have been put
fofth can be proven TO he true only by an absolute
trial. much doubt whether any untricd PROJECT to
bring about the end In view wond command the
assent OF many members OF either House OF Congress-
Almost every member mas plan OF his own, In
which he has great faith, and which he believes Is
the only one that Will insure the speedy resumption
OF specie payments anu the payment or the public
debt as well, at q very early day.
III your theory should prove true In practice It
would, OF course be OF IncaculaDc value 10 the
PoopI hrnn 1s anost s out can see no
ernment, SO as to make 1t pecuniarily ben
ehcial to yourself. Other governments and other
peoples are equally interested with ours. am not
AT all sure but your idea OF operating with Roths
cnild Is the very best thing tnst you can do for
Yourself. lie has tho money, and the financial
shsewdness to discern whether il would be safe TO
embark IN Your project guaranty from him
n, mignt even even Mauce our ,csohipieX government to
as you anticipate 1t Will, to allow you and
him liberal consideration therefor. II your
principle" by which an irredecmaDe paper
money can be made equal IN value to Its nominal
representative in gold, rs really true, then II Ii Of
heavy, cumbersome and dear metallic money OF the
the whole world would soon DO replaced by the
COMMODITIES and circulating medium OF exchanges.
Ii you have made "scientitc discoveryO through
by which this can be done then ara sure Roths-
child can afford TO pay you tor 1t, for his own
alone, sum that would be larger than any reason.
ably minded man could find use for.
IL is due to you that should state that am as
great 5ceptc now ~ NJ the beginning our CORE
spondence, and CONFESS 10 an entire want OF conf
aence In your theory & e. tnat lt cap be carried IN
to successful practice certainly was seriously In
earnest, and not joking, rs you seem to suppose,
when said that "the value OF paper money does not
increase with Its reduction, In the proportion
that lt,6epreciates from its imitation. 'sWhen stated
in the same connection that 1t was 'easer
to make people SICK than 1t was 10 cure them" you
OF course understood that ms remarks applied to
the time required ana not - tho ultimate result
our financial ailment j freely concede to YOU but
dissent from your opinion that "paper money was
the curative" AZ best It was but palliative ana
counter Irritant, tie effects OF whtcl like other
Incidents OF the war, must now DO cared for and
cured.
You say the government would always be az
liberty TO regulate the relative yaluo OF gold ana
paper Now, this IS Just what onr government has
attempted to DO. But tile laws OF trade ana corn
merce control. In spite OF acts OF Congress. NO
statutory law can repeal natural law. Water
cannot De made to run up bii By ACT OF Congress.
United states hardly belongs TO the United States IA
such any more 80 than 1t does to other nations The
producers OF the gold. private individuals. sell 1t
when 1t brings the highest prices Your government
cannot enforce ITS SAFE to Itself nor IL prohibit
/ do not exactly see how It initiates against the
argument | made In my last letter to you. In
this, unlike most other countries the people the
government, and, through their representatives
they have resolved not only 70 pay the national debt
and the interest thereon, bn, to pay honestly in
gold. The demand carry tnis purpose into effect
our own bondholders whatever amount OF
gold may be required for the purpose
VIII go to Europe, Principally IN Germany
to pay the true men IN your countly, who had the
honesty to stand up Tor the right ana me sagacy
ciseiy where we have the advantage " non-gotd-
producing nations, and this Is all intended 10 urge
IN uy last letter. We need sell nothing to other ma
tons, VITO might be disposed 10 take advantage OF
our necessities, TO obtain all the gold needed
more labor into our mines to pro1uce the amount
required, and ir viii surely be forthcoming. You
must certainly admit THAI the gold produced IN the
United States ty our own people belongs to them
until they choose to part with II Tor something to
them more desirable. am sure there IL nothing
they desire more than the honest payment Of Their
Since last wrote you we In this country have
made rapid ana great strides in the march OF human
progress. Our transcontfnental railroad that points
to Asia, and that connects us with your East by way
OF the West has been completed and Is now in sue
four mouths the national debt has been re-
duced by $sos,s42 26ls, being over eleven per cent
on s with nos an s rs now gong
seven months from June to December, both inclu.
sive the reduction has been $66665, $50, oeIng at
rate Of very nearly $iooooo,ooo per annum. Our
legal tender paper money Is feeling the effects OF
this In my last letter stated tnat THIS Kind Of me-
on the dollar 1t mad risen IN value up to that time
IN 1868 TO be worth seventy-two cents and it had,
T. 1,,hsr tne close Of the year lSes w,hon any
eighty-threc cents on the dollar In coin.
Many OF our aoest fnanciers believe that
u
short time, come up TO the par or god. Unless the
volume OF our paper money Is in some way consid-
erably Increased ths result will soon be reached.
The number Of our people is more than doubled In
every thirty yeas IL increases at uniform rate OF
more than thirty-hve per cent in each decade.
When It ~ considered, in this connection
That our legal tender paper money mas Deel
reduced SINCE the close OF the rebellion, and
since the commencegaent OF the reduction OF the
public deDt from 800 000 900 to 1855 0cO OCO that
the people Of the eleven states late N insurection
numbered at the commencement or tho rebellion
over nine millions, who did not then, but are now
obliged 10 use this Kind Of money, and
that tue whole population has IN addition,
since that time, been increased by at least
i've and half millions more people; yon
VIII see one OF the causes for thls appreciation
and why 1t VIII continue, unless interiered with
until the TWO Kinds OF our money, paper and gold
VIII become dollar for dollar each the equal OF the
other. AT the close OF the war the loyal people who
used the lega tender notes numbered about twenty
SIX mlllions the Inhabitants OF the insurrectohary
states about ten and naf millions; the Increase
oil the whole nation since that time mas proba-
bly, been 1--WE and haif millions, making
grand total OF the people OF the United States at the
W 'Cpl 20 nlp