The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-09
-" |~'s'~0s'N~S>'S~N
uncle Sans Sah-Treasury in the
City Of London.
JUDGE RICHARDSON'S RETURN HOME.
Stventy-five Million Dollars Worth Of Bonds
Ready for Transportation to Washington.
THE ALABAMA CLAIMS AGITATION
LONDON, Feb. "a, 1872.

|
operations with the how famous Syndicate have
been completed and is sending home Plethora
boxes stuffed with s75 OO0 600 worth OF dead bonds
| that have been bought up and cancelled In virtue
OF the issue OF like sum of the new loan at lower
interest," He is also sending home his thirty five
| clerks and his great ledgers and the ONCE ma
chinery that forwarded all the way from Wash
ingtOn for his use. and In a few days he will be
going nome himself; and the United states Treas
ury Department in London is thus winding up the
moment Is not lnOppOrtune for chrOnicling
A FEW POINTS IT'S HISTORY.
| This was indeed branch OF the Treasury located
| for the time in London-an extension OF Uncle
| SANS money managing apparatus to the financial
capital OF Europe, with STAFF OF forty trained clerks
| chosen from the department at Washington; the
whole office conducted on exactly the same princi.
| pies ana with the same routine and detail with
| which similar duties are performed at home. IL
| was in simple fact, section OF the department
moved little. TO be handy to Lombard street.
| THE SYNDICATE AND ITS BUSINESS OPERATIONS.
| The rooms OF this Treasury bureau were In the
upper part OF the building Al Lombard street. un-
der the same roof with Jay Cooke & Mccullough.
and around the corner from all the money In
Europe From these rooms Judge Richardson de-
livered the new bonds, literally. as they were paid
for. No bonds went out OF his hands for which he
did not ut the same time receive the money.
BY the mass CT the people such an. opera
ton as this with the Syndicate Is apt
10 be regarded single operation finished with q
stroke Of the pen and the terms in which we COM
monty speak OF such sale however large the
amount we may name, favor this err0r-fOr error
| II generally Island certainly was IN the present
CASE Since the Syndicate apparently never mad
SIS, O0O 900 IN hand at time 60 pay and
ceve the gross equivalent In bonds ready counted,
and SINCE 1t handled its money In install.
ments very much smaller m amount
both In this as in the other part
CT the operation here, the Treasury agent might
almost be described a retail dealer government
PAPER. Indeed, in 80 far as we touch the mechani-
cal necessity for handling the bonds 80 as to guard
against error, TINS designation would be more
strictly descriptive than any other.
THE BONDS TO BE RETIRED
As the money was received from time to time
in exchange for the bonds delivered this money
again Immediately expended. subject. only
the purchase Of bonds to be retired.
and OF course upon every BOND thus bought ior
bond came into the hands OF the Treasury agents.
Doubtless 1t VIII be iOund upon calculation that the
interest mus saved on the old bonds, counting from
the time each was bought down to the conclusion
Of the whole TRANSACTION, Is equal to the amount or
interest at the lower rate upon the whole sum Of
seventy.hve millions from the time the money first
began 10 come In IRON the new bonds down to the
the case it viii furnish the answer 10 the charge
brought against the department. OF practically CIV
on seventy-nve millions.
NEW BONDS AND OLD.
In this adjustment some such allowance as the
difference In the Two rates OF interest must be made
account or the large sums OF money that at
different times and for various periods necessarily
Necessarily idle IS the correct term since the money
received from new bonds came III faster than 1t was
possible always 70 buy Old bonds. Bonds above par
could not be hOugnt, and the bonds generally
were held that way, more particularly with such
q buyer in the market. For this reason Judge
Richardson devoted MS attention strictly to the call
bonds, winch from the way they are owned are
dnicult 10 get at ana the process consequently
mulated in large amounts AT one period there
was $4,000, 900 in hand.
EFFECT OF THE ALABAMA AGITATION.
1t might almost be SAID that at one moment the
credit OF the government stood In the way Of the
successful conclusion OF this operation The hign
price oil our bonds mad brought the Treasury
agents to standstill with their hands
Kept waiting thus indefinitely, but that most un-
promising adventure came to their assistance. TINS
the startling fare-up over the Alabama treaty.
AS that agitation went on the bonds went down,
down, down; and Judge Richardson with his mil
and thus great evil and most lamentabie misun..
derstanding had at least one good result, John
Bull wrou.E in our favor out Of his very spleen
and Jury
THE sEvENrY-FIvE MILLION DOLLARS
worth or bonds thus bought are, as SAID above, now
packed up ready for transportation to Washing
ton. They are ali recorded, according to
their numbers %n IN ledgers prepared for the
care, to provlde against error. Inc numbers were
first entered by the conJornt operation Of three
clerks-one calling one writing aud one overlook.
lng-and these numbers are again zone over bv
three different clerks 10 another room. In order to
guard against subsequent use OF the bonds case
OF loss or theft eacn one is passed through a
cancelllng machine, which neatly and cieanly
punches about o hundred small holes IN the
paper.
OUR SECURITIES IN THE ENGLISH MARKET
Judge Richardson Is OF opinion that the larger
part ol these seventy-fve millions Is held IN Eng.
land. No large part OF our former loans was held
mere, for even John Bulls keenness for good bar.
gam and nigh interest could not control or overcome
his Thought that We should fail ana become bank
rupt-a thought that may or may not nave mad a
wish to the same effect for Its father But we sue
ceeded; we are now retiring early loans
and we are still Offering and paying ON our new
bonds high interest; and the hard facts AND the
temptation together are too much for John at last
80 he comes out moderately. Although PROBABLY
held here TO great extent, these bonds are not in
the hands OF the really great capitalists. Capital
In large masses as held In England seems To seek
investment on the fixed principle that low interest
means good security, and our government Will likely
reach these masses when 1t offers three per cent.