The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-02-08
Making Money Abundant.

Making Money Abundant
Mr.. ". P. GROOM, Of New York, seems
to have become convert to one Of General
BrTLER'sfnancial notions. He offered Last
week in the Chamber of Commerce OF that
city resolution requesting Congress to CO.
operate with the Secretary of the Treasury
in enforcing the lcgal-tender and national
bank acts both in spirit and letter, and also
to cooperate with him in pcrfecting plan
whereby nc opportunity shall be offered to
the holders of legal-tender notes to fund
them lat their op.ion) in sums of 600
and its multiple into bonds bearing inte-
rest at the rate Of 3 65-l0o per cent. per
annum, said bonds (including intercst) to
be made payable On demand in said legal
tender notes.
The reader will recognize in this notable
scheme features similar to those of the one
proposed in the last Congress by General
BUTLER. GREELEY declares that it is de
serving of careful consideration" and tina,
ne trusts it will receive it. He evidently
thinks that there is something in it." II
would seem that Mr.. GROOM and Mr.. GREE
LEY do not wish to issue greenbacks to m
amount greater than that now in circula'
ton, whilst General BUTLER's plan is t.
issue an unlimited amount of them,
or, rather, limited only by the amount
of the public debt. The scheme is
intended for the benefit Of men who often
have use for all their funds, but who also
often have funds lying in bank and pro-
ducing no interest. Such men would pur-
chase these bonds and hold them until they
needed their money, when they would forth
with demand greenbacks for them, thus
securing the double advantage of drawing
interest upon their money and also OF
having their money as absolutely at COM
mand as if it we're on deposit in bank.
The Government would derive no ad-
vantage from this scheme that we can con-
ceive of, though Mr.. GREELEY thinks it
would tend to make greenbacks as good as
gold. We are inclined to think that no one
would derive much benefit from it. The
amount of greenbacks in circulation is so
small that there is not much room for
contraction of it. None but very wealthy
men would ever have on hand n sufficient
amount of money, idle ut the time but to
be paid out at an early day, to justify them
in engaging in speculations of the kind con-
templated by Mr.. GROOM.
But General Buffers plan would aid the
Government in funding the public debt at n
very low rate of interest, and would save
to the Government large amount OF inte-
rest otherwise. He would issue one-thou-
sand-dolar bonds bearing interest at the
rate of ten cents per day whilst out Of the
Treasury, but which may be returned to the
Treasury at any time and redeemed in
areenbacks. The greenbacks would carry
10 interest whilst out of, and the bonds
would carry no interest whilst in, the Trea-
curry. But the holder of the green
backs would have the right to demand
bonds for them at any time; and,
on the other hand, the holder Of
the bonds would have the right to de-
mand greenbacks for them at any tine.
As tho interest would be ten cents per day
upon each bond for a thousand dollars,
thsro would be no difficulty in calculating
the interest to be deducted for the period
which should clapse whilst these bonds
were in the Treasury. So many days, so
many tcn-cent pieces. This is, in SUBJ
stance, General BUTLER's scheme for estab-
fishing what he calls an "elastic curren-
cy"--one which would expand in amount
rs the business Of the country might
iucrease, and contract as business might di
miuish-one which would allow New ! ork to
use her hundreds of millions of capital
during the busy season, and yet to draw in
tercst upon it during the dull season-ono
which would inevitably keep down the rate
of interest upon money throughout the
country, since any man who could raise
money enough to buy q one-thousand-dollar
bond could obtain O thousand dollars in
grecnbacks for that bond, and thus have
no interest to pay out, but would fail to re-
ceivc interest upon the bond as long as he
ehould keep the greenbacks.
This scheme would soon white down the
public debt to q manageable affair; but
whether it would not damage the country
otherwise is another question. Certainly
the contractionists must look with horror
upon such scheme. Just now, it seem
to lis to be dangerous one. Perhaps w
may look upon it with more favor when w
shall come to understand its operation bet
ter.