The New York herald., 1874-08-31

compes the people OF the United States to treat
the greenoack dollar as II 1t were dollar In fact.
but except In payment OF debts, 1t Is not one. 1t
has not the purchasing power ofone. Its value
mas been forty-nve cents; 1t Is now ninety; wear
hence It may be ninety five, or what 1t may be nc
man can tell 1t Is the paper dollar, not the gold
uoar, .nat nuctuates anu Is, therefore, an uncer, m
doubted that 1t Is the duty oil Congress so to egis-
late as 10 make, as soon as practicable the paper
dollar OF which 1t authorizes the Issue equal 10 the
gold oneS
The question then arises what legislation is
required to effect this most desirable result our
new secretary Is gentleman OF ability ana ne oe-
| longs to State In which good financial SEED was
| sown at an early day, as mas been proven W ner
high financial credit aud the s0undness OF her
| banking institutions. know not wnat MS views
stock II he were unsound upon the financial ques-
! tion. 1f the management OF our nnances were , ln
ais hands for one should oe wlng 70 ,na
right course TO relieve the country from tne pur-
den-for so II is-of an irredeemaDle cur currency. @
gress is to determine what shall be our financial
policy. and this determination may depend on
THE RESULT THE APPROACHING ELECTIONS.
As parties now stand the financial question can
not be made strictly party question, nor VIII 1t
be-as In the better part OF the late session 1t was
feared might be the case-a sectional one. 1t Is q
question upon which there will De differences OF
opinion among men Of the same party and the
Legislation and definite policy established
ey wao aSo aesrss 9t Sons bu, IN
imitation can be worse than uncertainty upon
matter so important to the weilbeng OF the
that now feel at liberty to give my opinion upon
the financial legislation that Is required. state
my views frankly not as presenting the only way,
but as that which seems to me the most certain
and direct path for reaching specie payments. II
myself
Frst-Congress should fix a period. say the Ist
OF December, ls76-the time is not material IL it he
not remote-aiter which United States notes
should cease to be legal tender.
SecOad-rne secretary OF the Treasury should be
authorized TO retire (by the use OF the surplus
revenue and ii this should be insufficient, Dy the
sale OF oonds) at least $50 of United States
notes per annum, until all have been retired, and
lie shall be prohibited from relssuing the notes
thus retired under any pretexr or circumstances
Third-In lieu OF the United States notes retired
an equal amount OF bank notes, II they should be
required, should DE issued to national banks.
FOurtl-Wh hen the specie standard has been re-
established by the repeal OF the Legal Tender acts,
cease TO interfere with the currency except so ar
as may be necessary to prevent illegal issues and
TO provlue that every dollar in circulation by au-
thorlty OF law snall be secured beyond contin-
gency, as Is now the case, by deposit OF United
1t is obvious that as long as United States notes
are legal tender the specie standard VIII not be
because until the volume IS reduced they Will not
permanently improve In value, and because, until
the banks perceive that the reduction is actually
themselves with coin Tor the protection OF their
own circulation. 1t Will be safe to provide for an
States notes as they may be retired, because the
bank notes will not be appled tor If the business Of
The country does not require them, and because
they ought to be furnished II it does 1t Is not
likely tnat an issue oil bank notes, corresponding
to the amount Of United States notes WITHDRAWN,
will be required, as the value OF bOtn kinds OF
paper money Will be steadily increasing. and specie
VIII be taxing the place OF paper as reserve OF
the BANKS and. ultimately, as circulation among
the people. THIS Will be self-regulating matter.
AS the United States notes are retired the banks
time OF coin redemption comes round they VIII De
prepared to meet the calls which may be made
preparation Tor TINS state OF Things will have
brought the business OF the country into healthy
condition and there Will be little demand for coin
for exploration.
Nor VIII this
WITHDRAWAL OF UNITED STATES NOTES
preparatory to return TO specie payments nor
the return Itself, affect the value OF property or
disturb business. some intelligent men, who are
anxious to stand again upon solld ground are apt
to speak OF the ''snrInkage' which must occur be-
fore this can De brought about, not rejecting that
the real value OF property is not affected Oy the
standard by which it Is estimated Property ls
not dependent for It's value upon fiction. We
SPEAK OF the price OF gold, OF its rise and IaI and
some OF US seem TO think that We are richer as 1t
rises and poorer as 1t iails, while It's real
mines. i'' In spite Of f'' the Legal Tender DEF
real measuring standard OF properly There is 10
foundation therefore, for the apprehension O a
shrinkage IN the value OF property as conse-
quence of q return to specie payments nor Is
there any more foundation TOR the apprehension
tnat such change IN our financial policy will
already said, money, whether 1t be gold or paper,
goes where IL Is wanted.
Ihe advocates IN Congress OF imitation, or an in
crease OF the currency, were chiefly from the
Western States How truly they rejected the SEN
sure that t what what Is needed in the West Is not SO SO
much more money as better money, and greater
and cheaper means Tor the transportaon - Of It's
VINO are SO much injured by irredeemable paper
money as the agrculturists 1t is
THE FARMER ESPECIALLY WHO IS CHEATED
by fictitious money. IL Is said, l know, that he
pays his taxes with it and ior what he needs to
purchase but IS 1t not true also that 1t increases
his taxes and adds largely to the cost OF what he
buys The cotton sugar and rice OF the South
needed at nome and by foreign nations. and these
necessarles will always command money. The
what KIND OF money 1t shall be-money In the iorm
OF broken promises or goid and silver and conver-
tlble bank notes.
have been for long time absent from the coun-
try, but am greatly deceived II the demand OF the
West Tor more currency does not come chiefly from
those who have little or nothing to sell. and VINO
would be consequently injured by compliance
with their demands. There may be at present de-
preston IN the price OIL agricultural products, but
TINS IS not owing. 10 scarcity OF money, but to a
falling of III the demand. Consumption at home
Is less and the foreign demand Is smaller than 1t
has been. Many OF our manufactures are idle,
and European markets are disturbed by our hnan.
clal troubles. 1t Is these causes-tbat are only
tenporary-and not scarce money which occasions
the depression that at present exists. There has
never been time when the products OF the West
Il can speak advisedly OF this secton) have failed
TO bring what they were really worth, according
to prices at the home and foreign markets, Tor
want OF money to pay Tor them, ana there never
VIII be- know tnat these products have COM
manded at various times extremely low prices,
but this was owing to the lack or means Of trans
portation or OF supply superior TO the demand.
The act that pine out OF ten ofthose mo nave been
engaged IN buying and shipping the products OF
the Vest to the seaboard, where prices are usually
regulated by the European markets, have failed in
business, is an evidence that those products have
not been sacrificed or sold at home Tor less than
their value by reason OF scarcity OF money. There
need. then be no apprehension on the part
OF the farmers OF the West that they VIII te In
jured, or tnat there would be scarcity OF money,
by reason OF the withdrawal OF the United states
notes or a reduction OF paper circulation. For
every dollar OF deprecated currency Withdrawn
they would have dollar, in value at least, OF con-
vertbe paper or OF specie. WHAT Is true In regard
TO farmers Is equally true in regard to
MANUFACTURERS, MERCHANTS AND LABORERS
My own deliberate opinion Is that we shall never
nave really cheap money, as we can never have
reliable money. until the United States notes are