The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1874-06-18

National Finances-VieWs Of the
President.


WASHINGTON, June 5-At the request {
Senator John p. Jones, of Nevada, to whom
in company with others. the President recentl
read memorandum of his views OH the sui
iect of desirable legislation on finance, tn
memorandum then read has been made public
The President, in his letter to Senator Jones
3acceding to.the request, says: lit Is prope
that should state that those views were re
duced to writing because / had been constllte
ON this question, not only by some members Q
the conference committee, but by many othe
members of Congress. 70 avoid any and al
possibility of misunderstanding I deemed thi
course both iustifable and proper" The Pres
ident's memorandum is as follows:
81 believe it high and plain duty to return
to specie basis at the earliest practicable day
not only in compliance with legislative ant
party pledges, but as a step indispensable t.
lasting national prosperity. believe. further
that the time has come when this can be done
or at least begun with less embarrassment tt
every branch of industry than at any future
time, after resort has been had to unstable ant
temporary expelicnts to stimulate unrealipros
perity and speculation on basis other than coin
the recognized medium of exchange through
out the commercial world. The particular
mode selected to bring about restoration Of
the specie standard is not OF so much conse-
quence as that some adequate plan be devised.
=
able for coin at par, aud the plan adopted rig
idly adhered to. 1t is not probable Il at any
legislation suggested by me would prove accep-
| table to both branches of Congress, and, i'll
deed, full discussion might shake my own faith
with details of any plan 1 might propose.
will, however, venture to state the general fea-
! lures of the action which seems to me advsa-
| Bile, the financial platform on which / would
| sand, and departure from which would be in a
| shirt of conference and harmony i'm Difference
to conflicting opinions.
''First I wonld like to see the legal tender
| clause, so-called, repealed, the repeal to take
effect at a future time, say July l. 1879. This
would cause all contracts made after that date
for wages, sales, &C., to be estimated in coin $;
! it would correct our note and coin value; the
specie dollar would be the only dollar known
as the measure of equivalents. When debts
afterwards contracted were paid in currency,
.stead of calling the paper dollar dollar, and
quoting gold at so much premium, we should
think and speak of paper as at so much discount.
This alone would aid greatly in bringing the
two currencies nearer together at par.
Second. / would like to see provision
that at fixed day, say July l, 1876, the cur
r,ncy issued by the United States should be re-
deemed in coin on presentation to any assistant
treasurer. and that all currency SO redeemed
should be cancelled and never re-isued. 10 eff
feet this it would be necessary to authorize the
issue OF bonds payable i'll gold, bearing such in
terest as would command par in gold, % be put
out by the treasury, only in such sums as should
from time to 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 to
come from putting off the day OF final reckon
ing. II
ssIt must be borne in mind too that the cred
itor interest had its day of disadvantage also
when our present financial system was 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 exchang-
ed for new bills should be replaced by bills of
less denomination than ten dollars, and that
one year after resumption all bills OF less than
five dollars should be withdrawn from circnl;a-
ton, and in two years all bills OF less than ten
dollars should be withdrawn.
s'The advantage of this would be the strength
given to this country against a time Of depres-
sion resulting from war. failure OF crops, or
any other cause, by keeping always in the hands
of the people large supply OF the precious
metals. With all smaller transaction oonduc-
ted in coin many millions Of it would be keDt
in constant Use and OF course prevented from
leaving the country.
sUndoubtedly a poorer currency will al
ways drive the better out of existence. With
paper IL 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 clrcu-
ation there is no use for cOi:f except to keep it
in the vaults of the banks to redeem circulation.
During periods of great speculation and appa-
rent prosperity there is little demand for coin,
and then it will flow out to market where it
can be made to earn something. which it can
not do while lying idle. Gold, like anything
else, when not needed becomes a surplus, and
like every other surplus it seeks market
where it can find one. BY giving active en-
ployment to coin, however. IFS presence can, it
seems to me, be secured, and the panics and
depressions which have occurred in times OF
nominal specie payments. if they cannot be
wholly prevented. can at least be greatly miti-
gated Indeed question whether il would
have been found necessary to depart from the
standard of specie in the trying day which
gave birth to the first,legal tender act, had the
country taken the ground Of no small bills as
early as 1850.
again would provide an excess OF revc-
nue. over current expenditures. [ would do
this by rigid economy aud by taxation where
taxation can best be borne. Increased revenue
would work constant reduction of the debt
interest, and would provide coin to meet de-
mands OH the treasury for the redemption of
its notes, thereby diminishing the amount of
bonds needed for that purpose. All taxes after
redemption begins, should be paid in cain OF
United States notes. This would force re-
demption on the national banks. With meas
ures like these, or measures which would work
out such results, see no danger in authorizing
free banking without limit
It was hardly necessary for the Erening Er-
press to deny that Judge Hughes was contib-
uting to the editorial columns of that paper
The evident improperly of such service, should
be transparent to the most superficial consider
alton. Judge Hughes esteems too highly the
dignity and Importance OF the Judiciary to
compromise it with partizan association. We
might look III vain for statement duplicating
him in such indscretion to use mild term.
everywhere else except in the Conservative
press of Virginia, There is nothing they will
not resort to to ttetrNet from the character and
standing of Federal officials, however, improba-
BILE it may be, and however faithful and impair
tial the representatives OF the government may
be. 1t is enough to know that thoy hold a Feds
eral commission, and that being the fact the
''dogs of war; are let loose upon them, regard
less Of all the proprieties Of elevated journal
ism.
The House Committee on Elections have v. Z
i l.. ri