The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-11-07
acknowledgement
watering OF the Currency.

r.. watering OF the Currency
80, MI III. \. :. Financial Chronicle
tF'Sn . ,"r which we shall regret TO set
a LuS bss been telegraphed 70 the As
coIa, ,oI pfes, 10 the effect thata part Q
, % u millions Of greenback currency
he - lawn rom circulation and cancelled
VIZ. IMsCullOch, has been reiSsued. Thu
y vi tbaL this newissue was made II
soy .o,lon with the purchase Of 0 million!
c 9955oU5. on the 9TH instant; that the Cab
o. vV TSs divided as to the legality anC
lae. .Sicncy Of the measure; that Mr.
sSin,TSii IL particular, opposed 1t; bu
B, y, .Ss increase was decided on as ar
VA .assi, an, necessity. Itwas also .conten-
"a Nj The issue would not DO Illegal
S Ss i eTpresly authorized by act Of Con.
How much Of this report Of whal
w plsce ct Washington Is anthem
~ y. " csnnot say. But to the last point
W y. ",.kseTceptlon. We cannot find In the
vs. nv authority whatever for the issue
NJ %;Iil6ns, ora millions, or any other
%.msuSt d new greenbaclIS. In the alb
NO. w. ii sny such positive authority. we
Ss adhere 10 the opinion expressed q
Ia',tnieht ago In the Chronicle, that no
.HthsPisy 6 vested by law In any execu-
~ oIlcer 10 increase the greenback is
Nv w" undef any emergency whatever. u
,Ssrs ia any such authority, the public
' IN mo proof Of Il produced. The Imam
Nj polIcy Of our Government for the past
n N seven years has been founded on the
Nh assumption that no such authority
,riSled anywhere but In Congress, and
tben only as Q war.power. In view Of
Ssrtsln deciSions Of the Supreme Court,
~. srsn these powers Of Congress have been
.%ailed by some persons Of eminence.
Thst spy such authority Is now vested In
Me Treasury has never, we believe been
,sriously commended since the close Of the
Ew, when all such war.powers were be-
i,yed 10 to have lapsed and become ex-
Thjs being so, the power now claimed
AR the Treasury having so long been in
,beyanco as to be considered dead, the
barlel oil proof rests on those who wonld
revive them. Let us sec what they have
l0uy. Their arguments are two: First
tbey SOY there are "A millions Of green.
SsckS with the 1856 millions now outstand.
ng make up the 400 millions OF greeback
currency authorized by the law Of June
30 1854. Consequently so long as this
.ppointed maximum of 400 millions snot
reached, the Secretary Of the Treasury
nav issue the whole or any part Of the
,fdcit,which is now A millions. w
Butthe argument, II it proves anything
Droyes too much. This act Of June, 1864
With a view to certain exlgencies connec.
,sl with that critical period Of the civil
var, authorized 450 millions Of green
hacks, so that II the law has survived and
d still in force, the power to expand and
water the currency which it Conlers, ex-
tends to the formidable aggregate Of o.
millions instead Of "A millions. The law
reads as follows: "Nor shall the total
amount Of United States notes, issued or
10 be Issued, ever exceed 400 millions OF
dollars, and such additional sum, not
exceeding 80 millions oil dollars as may be
temporarily required Tor the redemption
d temporary loans" This act, like all
our green5ack laws, was desperate and
dangerous expedient OF war finance, and
only Of temporary duration, to meet the
difficulties Of the struggle for national
unity. IfaDy part Of It's greenback pow
en i still capable Of resuscitation, they
c.n only be revived by means of the
temporary loan" clause, TO which we do
not now specially refer. The main pow
eB uuder this statue were understood to
becOHaned simply,with view TO the war
and to the financial expedients which the
war seemed TO rendered needful.
To set all doubt at rest, however, Con-
gress in the law Of March, 1866, before
The war was over, cancelled these cur
reuCy powers Of the Secretary, put stop
to aIlIurther issues Of paper money, and
enacted that nothing in that act should
be construed as authorizing the issue Of
legal tender notes in any form. From
tae moment Of that important statute,
which set bounds to any possible intla-
ton Of our paper money, not q dollar Of
new greenbaCks has been legally issued
We believe, except In exchange for mutt
lated notes, for which substitution special
authority was given, as We showed a
fortnight ago. No power to issue new
g'eenbaCks so as TO increase the oustand-
Ing issues has ever been claimed or con-
coded under any subsequent legislation.
On the contrary, Immediately after the
close Of The war, agitation began for a
l1rther guarantee against initiation. The
demand for contraction Of the currency
became so general that Congress on the
Eth o. April, 1866, passed o law for ire.
IIFng Treasury notes." Under this law
powers were cOntlded 10 the Secretary oil
tas Treasury 10 "retire and cancer green.
backs, withthe proviso that mot more than
&n millions Of dollars may be retirbd and
cancelled within six months from the pas
"ge Of the act, and thereafter not more
lhAn four millions Of dollars In any one
month" By these laws, all the powers
o. The Secretary Of the Treasury over
The currency were taken away, except
The single power Of contraction" accord
lagto prescribed limit. The power tC
!Sue new greenbacks, II he had conceived
himself to be still In possession OF it was
wholly revoked by the provision just cited
iton the act Of 1855. To make all per
eciIy clear, however, this statute wal
Specially referred to, and the law Of 1885,
positively declares that this revoking acl
o. 1865 "shall continue in full force in oil
IL Provisions"
It. Notwithstanding all these clear and
SanGakaple provisions Of the law, the
AEed right to issue new grecnbaCks Is
si!! claimed 10 DO alive, then the public
WI wish to be informed not only on what
IegaI basis the power rests, but also in
whose hands 1t is reposed by statute. We
i've shown that Congress has taken Il
ron The Secretary. In whose hand.
SOs i now rcsti when was 1t placed
aee'and on what conditions?