National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-15
THE CURRENCY BILLS IN THE
HOUSE

The House made finish yesterday of the
bills for free banking and for limiting the
issues of national bank and legal-tender
notes. 1t will be seen that the House bill
authorizing free banking passed substan-
tally as it stood in the House on Friday
last by vote of ZIG to 1873, and the Senate
bill by the still more decisive majority of
thirty eight.
The latter will now go to the President
for his signature, Sc that it may be consid-
erred probable that it is fixed fact-a law
of the land. On the whole perhaps it is the
best measure possible to have been passed
by Congress in its present composition,
mood and surroundings. Although it is
not what many would have wished, it will
undoubtedly be found upon trial to be fair
mean result between extreme opinions. It
can neither be considereda victory for the ex-
pansionists nor contractionists. While some
will contend thatthe legal-tender clause will,
upon the whole, prove to be practical de-
crease in the volume of circulation, fair
compensation for this reduction will be
found IN the increased issues of national
bank notes authorized in the national bank
ing clause. Again, the friends of resump-
ton of specie payments will find few
grains of satisfaction in the provision for
the accumulation Of one fourth of the coin
interest upon their bonds in the vaults of
the national banks. This accumulation of
coin will gradually prepare those banks for
the day Of resumption.
In letter to General Garfield upon the
probable effect of the clause requiring the
country banks to keep three-fourths of their
legal-tendcr reserves at home. Comptroller
Knox says: II enclose herewith state
'ments showing the amount of legal-tender
reserves held by national banks on Feb
"ruary %, April 25, June Is, September
IL. and December &C. 1873. Also, the
amounts to be held under the Senate bill,
NOW pending in the House, providing for
Increasing the national bank circulation
"to 800, 00), 900, from which it will be
''scen that under the pending bill, if it had
''beCn in force at those dates, an additional
amount Of legal-tender reserve would
"havG been required to be held by the
"bankS, as follows: February %, 1873,
"$4S, $50, 993; April %, S42. 81, 9OS; June
"13, 1906, 515; September IL, S44, 754,
"7O6; December %, S4O,961, 1857. The
amount of legal-tender reserve actually |
"held at national banks at each of these |
dates was in excess of the amount now |
" required by law. The amount required |
" to be held, under the pending bill, in ex-
"cess of the amount actually held at those |
dates would have been as follows Feb
" ruary %, $2j, 015, $50 April 25, 500, 1885,
"433; June 10, S2S, 237, $50; September
"12, SS8, 935, 4O3. The amount of legal |
"tender reserve held by national banks, De-
"cember 90, 1873 was $45, 179, 1877, in excess
"of the amount required by the existing
claw, and 81, 21S, 400 in excess of the
amount which would have been required |
"by the pending bill had it been then in
force. This large increase in the cash |
means Of the banks may be easily ex-
"plained by comparing the statements at
that date with the statements on Septem-
"ber IL previous, showing q reduction in
az the loans of banks of S91, 500, 454"
From this it appears that no imitation
need be unprecedented to result from the re-
issue of the 81, 900, 900 reserve. The last
bank statements previous to the panic, bear
ing date September IL, 1873 made the fol-
lowing exhibit of the reserve