Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-02-04
THE NEW FINANCE BILL.
A Defense Of its Provisions by
-1 Senator Sherman.

The Financier publishes the follow
ing lettor from Senator Sherman on
the new Currency bill: M. -
"As / am subscriber to the Finan-
cier, you will probably allow me to ex-
press my surprise at the course you
have pursued in regard to the. Finance
bill recently passed by Congress.
Claiming as you do to be a monetary
and business journal, it might be ex-
pected that you would treat fairly a
measure affecting SO greatly the inter-
est you represent. In this case you
have not done it,. You treated it as
political trick-an evasiOn-a disgrace
to Congress. You complained that it
was passed without debate, and that
its inception and passage was shameful.
But, as you say in your last number,
"that it is we'll to examine it hopefully
to find what good may have been done,
if any, although from bad mOtive,"
| take the liberty to correct errors even
in your hopeful view of the law, SO
that you may be more hopeful still.
You assume that the Secretary of the
Treasury is not authorized to issue five
per cent. gold bonds to prepare for and
to maintain resumption, because the
Vi uN0 pcI SCuL dutllOLJLCu Ill
the act of 1870 is nearly exhausted.
This is one error. The Secretary can
issue either four and one-half, or five
per cent. gold bonds to an amount suf-
ticient to execute the law. The act OF
1870 is only referred to for the descrip-
ton of the bonds to be issued, and the
only limit to the amount is the sum
necessary, and the only limit TO their
sale is that they must not be sold at
less than par il coin. .4I i
You say that one trick of the bill is
that there is no provision for carrying
ON the withdrawal of legal tenders
after their maximum reaches $500, ,OOO,-
600. Now, this trick was advocated
by you one year ago, it was voted for
by every ie-paying member of
Congress last session., and nearly every
writer on the subject has contended
that if the legal tenders were reduced
to 5000, 600, 900, and the Treasury sup
ported by a reasonable reserve, specie
payments could be resumed and MAIN
tanned. Besides, no one believes that
100000, 900 of bank notes will be issued
under this act, and this provision only
relieves some people from an idle fear
of an improbable event. You must have
noticed that when banks retire their
notes as they have done and will do
rapidly, this is reduction of the cur
rency, while every issue to new or old
banks, involves a retirement of rata
bic amount of United States notes.
What you say about playing with
movable reserve is equally wrong.
Neither the fractional currency nor the
'eighty-two millions redeemed can be
reissned, and l stated so when the bill
was pending under debate, and no law
yer could put a different construction
upon the bill. AS to any United States
notes, a part of the three hundred mil
lions redeemed after resumption Of
specie payments, we did refuse 10 pro-
vide whether they could be reissued or
not, and we acted wisely. When this
question is hereafter determined by
Congress the controversy will be
whether the notes when reisSued shall
have the legal tender quality, or be
simply Treasury notes, receivable for
public dues. /
Last session the public press scolded
at our long and fruitless debate on IL |
nances, and l agreed with the press.
This session the same Senators, enlight- |
ened by the long debate and needing
the call of the press, gave to the subject
the most careful and deliberate consid- |
Grafton. and agreed upon this bill
without much debate, and yet the
press is not happy. The act does not
go so far as 1 wished, but everything |
in it is right in itself and is in the right
direction. Its chief merit is that it
establishes public policy which no
political party or faction will be strong
enough to overthrow, and which, if IL
had not been adopted now, the Demo- !
cratic party in the next Congress would
have defeated. The pretense that the
Democratic party as being represented
in the next House would have favored
any bill for specie payments is utterly
false. Therefore the measure grants to
the Secretary of the Treasury powers
enough to execute it, but if we can Sc
cure the aid of a Democratic House we
can make it more effective. -,r.,r
Very truly yours, JOHN SHERMAN.