Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-06-18

2. | would Ike to see a provision that at
fixed dav, say July |, 1876, the currency issued
BY The United States should he redeemed ia
coin on presentation To any ant-treasurer.
aud that all currency so redeemed should be
Cancelled aud never reissued. To effect this il
would be necessary 10 authorize the issue of
bonds payable in gold, bearing such interest
as would command par III gold, 10 be put out
by the Treasury only in such sums as should
from time 10 time be needed for the purpose
Of redemption
such legislation would insure a return TO
sound financial principles in two years, and
would, in my Judgment WORK less hardship TO
the debtor interest than is likely 10 come from
putting off the day Of final reckoning 1t
must be borne in mind, too, that the creditor
Interest had its day of disadvantage also when
our present financial system vas brought in
by the supreme needs OF the nation at the
time.
would further provide that, from and after
the date fixed for redemption, no bills,
whether of national banks or of the United
States, returned to the Treasury TO be ex-
changed for new bills, should be replaced by
bills of less denomination than ten dollars,
and that in one year after resumption all bills
of less than five dollars should be Withdrawn
from circulation and IN two years all bills of
less than ten dollars should be withdrawn.
The advantage OF this would be the strength
given to the country against a time of depres-
sion resulting from var, failure OF the crops,
or any other cause, by keeping always in The
| hands of the people a large supply OF precious
metals With all the smaller transac-
tons conducted in coin, many mill
ions of it would be kept in con-
slant use, and, of course, prevented from
leaving the country. Undoubtedly poorer
currency will always drive the better out of
circulation With paper legal tender and at
discount, gold and silver become articles of
merchandise as much as wheat or cotton.
| The surplus will find the best market it can.
| With small bills in circulation there is no use
| for coin except to keep it in the vaults of
| banks to redeem circulation. During periods
| of great speculation and apparent prosperity
! there is little demand for coin, and then it
| will flow ont to market where 1t
| can be made to earn something, which it
! cannot do while lying idle Gold, like any
/ thing else, when not needed becomes sur
| plus, and like every other surplus it seeks
4 market where it can find one. By giving it
! active employment, however, It's presence can,
! it seems to me, be secured, and panlcs and de-
! pressions which have occurred periodically in
! fines of nomisa specie payments II they
| cannot be wholly prevented, can at least be
! greatly mitigated. Indeed, question whether
it would have been found necessary to depart
! from the standard of specie in the trying days
which gave birth to the first Legal-1ender act
| had the country taken the ground of no small
! bills early as 1880.
| Again, | would provide an excess Of reve-
| nue. over current expenditures. would do
this by rigid economy and by taxation where
taxation can best be borne. Increased reve-
! nue. would work a constant reduction of the
/ debt and interest and would provide coin to
meet the demands on the Treasury for re-
| demption of its notes, thereby diminishing the
| amount Of bonds needed for that purpose.
! All taxes after redemption begins should be
paid in coin or United States notes. This
would force redemption on the national banks.
With measures like these, or measures
which would work out such results, | see no
| danger in authorizing free banking without
limit.