, 1870-05-09
MONDAY. MAY ., 1870.
TEE COMPLETE LETTER-WRITER,

AUNDA4s MAJ AStV-
TEE COMPLETE LETTER-WRITER.
General Spinner, the Treasurer Of the
United States, has, in hisindividual capacity,
as a financial theorist and onomist, writ
ten letter in reply TO National banker to
prosc that the government haa the right to |
coerce the banks into exchanging their pres
eat boads, worth 81, for others, worth GG OF
VI cents per dollar. His Letter is 50 SELF
conrlaeent and, withal, e~inces such a
harry faculty Of failing to see the fa11acy Of
the argument it processes to make, that we
cannot refrain from quoting his language in
full:
''rou say for your bank that 'shc Acknowledges
that tae Euycrn1uen1 has The power to compel her
Sond for taesc mc.a,ns IL bond. ., lss ssat Sat
Ehe is unable yet 70 discover how It be done Ia
sonr staasoin to see ass e.ess ieusce 0 =
asUut 10 be dune yopr bank. The people Will
however. te apt TO take your own statement Of
sAy to yeu this their vew Of the case1s tnat your
hsnk bought theae bonds at Ill In cur
EsasS .. ~, tine &C shsa .1sa, god sso,a !! aSl
Kuld that fou have since then received back
again On thr nominal amount, for interest, 80
Win Jour own clrruiai.og noiss, On which yon
hare rot paid one cent OF interest, end that yuu
can now sell these bonds above pr IN gold, and
tcat should you SO EEL them, you viii receive and
have received on tic x 600 Of United States stock
% purchased. held and sold By Jon, 800 tn gold:
5s5 pcs esto9 9'e snF ssh + p 9sa fea I
duties anu taxes on this single Little Investment, of
to have Tie Soves1Een. :honoE' them Win lust
such Justice and good faith The wonder ID that
aar one should Be disposed to nod fault with sucn
tteAssoent-
Now let rs do little "ciphering" in re-
turn, General Spinner first charges the
banks with the aggregate interest they have
received On their loan to the government for
five yeas, being 80 per cent This hnau-
cial feat is not original with Mr.. Spinner.
It datea from Andrew Johnsou's requdis-
zion message to Congress, in which he con-
tended that when the government had paid
Interest for sixteen and two-thirds years at
Gper cent (being 100 FER cent?, it had dis
charged the principal. No such bosh us
this is even tolerable among business men,
still less in the responsible officers Of the
government The per cent per annum
which the government pays for the use Of
the money confers no favor GU the lender
more than on the borrower. ihe govern
nent has never borrowed q dollar, except
ns the lowest rates OF interest It couli pos
Silly get the money for, under the policies,
often expensive and ll-iudged, which it
pursued Any attempt, therefore, to charge
the government creditor of to-day with the
5ccumulating interest of ell the years
during which the government has subsisted
on, and existed by, the use OF his money is
piece oi financial shyster1ng unworthy OF an
officer in the government The mortgagor
who should attempt to offset against the
principal Of his mortgage the interest which
be had paid for ten years at 10 per cent,
end 60 declare the mortgage paid in full,
when, instead, it Was due in full, would have
all the strength there is in General Spin
per's attempt to Offset the interest hereto-
fore paid the banks On their loan.
Mr.. Spinner next SAYS that the banks
Hbought the bonds with their own circula-
ting notes, On which they have not paid
one cent Of interest" The first statement
is necessarily false, because the circulating
notes were not issued to the banks unit
they had first bought the bonds and de-
posted them. The second statement. ths.
The banks have paid no interest On thei,
own circulating notes. is not cn,und ot
charge against the banks, for no bank, any.
where, or at any time, ever paid interest q,
the notes it loaned Who should it pay in
te1est to: Not to the government, for the
government has loaned it nothing. The
%,o+.e n+o Ain ,,r,y,ices of tha beuE