New-York tribune., 1874-06-23


creditors during the war; which we have seen
deprecated sixty per cent below par, ana
which are still at discount of more than ten
per cent. Since the restriction OF 1913
there have been paid off s375,OOo,OOo OF
interest bearing indebtedness,-we suppose, III
pursuance of the principle enumerated I'D 1913
at Chicago, that "thc national honor requires
"the payment of the public Indebtedness III
" the uttermost good faith to all creditors.
Again, this Government in accordance WIFI
the financial policy forced upon the Treas
ury by Congress, whenever 1t mas nau
surplus of coin, or real money, mas
not used that money to pay Its greehDachs
according to promise, but has held an auction
and bought back its |. O. Us. from those VINO
were willing to sell at the greatest discount
which |. o. Us. being legal tender 1t has again
Maid ont to its creditors for full valse.
When Gen. Grant. five years and four
months ago. became President, the legal-ten-
der circulation was S3J6,OOO,OO0; the semi
lepal-tender, or bank circulation, was $685.
100000, and the tag-rag and bootall, or frac-
tional currency, was S37,000,000 making a
total of $6S6,0O0,OOO. Now, over thirteen
wears since greenbacks were first made
use of, the legaltender circulation is
1882 100000, the sem-legal- l-tendcr circula-
tion 1850 100000, and the fractional currency
s47. 900, being in all $719OOO,OOO. The in
crease in five years is $93,0OO,0O0, or fourteen
per cent. Meanwhile we have had decision
from the Supreme Court that anything Is
money which the Government is pleased to
call money, and that contract to pay dollars
(dollar in former times meant specific
quantity Of coined gold or silver OF GER
tain fneness) is satisfied by paying what
ever substance the Government may choose
to issue and force into use as legal tender.
What more could Louis XIV, or the Sultan
of Turkey, have asked7 Degradation of Con-
cress: degradation of the Supreme Court;
degradation of the Executive; degradation OF
political and private morals; degradation oil
State, municipal private and corporate credit;
this is the harvest we reap. Those VINO
shamelessly demand that money be made OF
less worth, in order that they may escape the
obligations of their contracts, are now in the
ascendant in Congress, in the courts and IN
the White House.
And yet-inestimable boon!-the volume OF
the paper circulation i, once more .tfed
What inf1ationist does not chuckle at the
sound of thisf What man who can appre-
ciate TIE perils Of his country, and feel the
nations dishonor, is insensible to the sting
of the sarcasml Yesterday, at about the
hour chosen by the President for lower
ing his flag and turning his face
homcward life entered into the body
of 3.65 Kelley, and, with something of his old
assurance, he requested that the Sth of De-
cember be fixed for the consideration of his
plan for providing everybody with plenty OF
money. The paper circulation fixedf Yes,
truly. Immovablc as the winds and waves,
the clouds and the Lightning.
we are not blind to the fact that this bill
may incidentally do a little good. 1t at least
gives the assurance that the Treasury Depart
ment can no longer mako and unmake for
tunes in Wal-st. by issuing or retiring
a pretended reserve. 1t meets the Western COM
plaint that the East has more than its far pro-
portion of circulation. 1t gives an immediate
stimulus to some kinds of business But it is
n practical abandonment of the fight for steps
towards specie payments Austria has been
cursed with paper money for hundred years
because her rulers had not the nerve and the
sagacty to embrace the favorable Oppor-
tunities for returning to specie payments.
This bill is an Austrian performance.