The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-01-23

1
| Mr.. Dawes, the Chairman of the Committee
of Ways and Means, reported bill yesterday
| to Tx the amount of legal tender notes at four
hundred Millions This bill, it is said was
prepared by Mr.. Beck, of Kentucky. It de-
clares that the provisions of the law existing
prior to the act of April IL, 1866, are in force
so as to authorize the amount of four hundred
millions of legal tender notes to be kept in
circulation, and that the total amount issued
| or to be issued shall never exceed that amount
| The bill coming from the Committee OF Ways
and Means indicates that the object OF sane
tioning the whole of the legal tender reserve,
forty-four millions, is more to relieve the
necessities of the Treasury than to favor ex-
pansion for the sake of increasing the currency.
1t is known that the Secretary Of the Treasury
has drawn already the largest portion of
the reserve The bill, no doubt, is to legal
ize that act beyond all question of legality
hereafter and to afford additional means to
the Treasury to the extent of the balance.
| Those who favor expansion will, of course,
support the measure from another motive, for
they maintain that we have not enough cur
rency Judging from present appearances,
the bill will be passed. This movement is
undoubtedly retrograde one, and will tend
in measure to postpone specie payments.
The remark of Mr. Cox, that it is ga relapse
into barbarism," is perhaps too strong, for,
although it is imitation, and to be regretted,
the amount of legal tenders remaining to be
put iii circulation is small and j S not likely to
have much or any perceptible effect upon the
price Of gold. Indeed, the almost foregone
conclusion that there will be imitation to the
extent proposed has had no influence up to
this time on the gold market Senator Bout
well takes the proper ground that there should
be neither expansion nor contraction.
To use well worn but an appropriate
simile, Congress is all at sea, without rudder
or compass, with regard to the finances and
currency Of the Republic. The ablest men Of
both houses, irrespective of party affiliations,
entertain views directly opposed, and scarcely
five members can be found of the same
opinion Almost every one has theory of
his own. Yet it is the subject that occupies
the most attention and provokes the widest
| discussion. Indeed, it is upon that more than
upon any other that the material interests and
prosperity of the country depend. In former
times the influence of the federal government
did not bear so directly upon the business and
material welfare Of the people Before the
war the revenue was small. taxes were few,
comparatively, there was no national currency,
and the several States and State institutions
operated more upon the individual citizen and
his interests. The creation of an enormous
national debt, the issuing of government
paper money as q legal tender, the organiza-
ton Of national banking system with a
national currency, together with the necessary
imposition Of heavy taxes, have placed in
great measure the wealth, industry and bust
ness of the country at the mercy Of federal
power Hence it is that all eyes are turned
to Congress and the administration for the
means of extricating the Republic from its
abnormal financial condition and to place its
affairs and the currency on substantial basis.
The debate in the Senate, which began last
! Tuesday and continued during the week, and
which is now postponed, is upon the resolu-
ton reported by the Finance Committee early
in the session, declaring sit to be the duty of
Congress to adopt definite measures to redeem
the pledge made in the act of March 10, 1869,
and directing the Committee on Finance to
report to the Senate at as early day as prac-
ticable such measures will redeem this
pledge, but will also furnish currency of a
uniform value, always redeemable in gold or
its equivalent, and so adjusted as to meet the
changing wants of trade and commerce" The
resolution, though not showing definitely the
object proposed and not giving any idea of
what legislative measures should be adopted
being, in fact, merely neat piece of general
izaton-we may form some opinion of its
scope and meaning from the speech of Mr..
Sherman in the Senate last Friday.
The gist of the whole argument he made
was in the one expression that Congress is
bound, both by public faith and good policy,
to bring our currency to specie standard
The Senator proceeds upon the presumption
that the non-interest bearing legal tenders are
not only debt but debt DUE and that the
nation is dishonored by not paying this debt
The act of Congress authorizing the issue of
these notes did not fix any time for their re-
demption, nor do these notes bear on their face
anything about their redemption or the time
in which they would be redeemed. Govern
ment has given them the character of money,
| as it had right to do. They do not constitute
debt DUE Mr.. Sherman assumes that nothing
can be money but metals having the govern
ment stamp on them, and that the stamp of
the government on paper does not make
money, though all the business Of the country
for years has been based upon the legal
| tenders.
The expediency or policy of redeeming
these notes is another question. If the
finances of the government would be i'm