Knoxville Whig and chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1875-1882, 1875-08-25


ciate them, by creating distrust as to
the ability of the Government to re-
deem them. In 1867, he started out
on a wild speculative reputation
scheme, which caused him to be
styled "Young Greenbaclts." Now
this man demands moro greenbacks.
Having denied the 'rrn' thu Gov
eminent . issue then IS AL, he now
wants more. Are we wong in charg-
ing him with insincerity, and with
the Interior object Of reputation ?
We have such good Democratic au-
thority as the New York World to
sustain us in this charge.
But the Press and Hcrdld says:
''But the Chronicle says that under the
act of the last session there has been no
contraction. We have no means ut hand
of determining how this is
Well, we are more cautious than
our contemporary. We do not rush
into the battle unprepared. The fig
ures, as reported by the Comptroller,
which we have before us, show that
since the Goth of June, 1874, addi-
tional circulation to the amount of
$11, sol, 1872 has been issued, while
$9,627,066 Of notes have been re-
tired, making an actual increase,
since that time, Of Sl,97S,826.
The Press aid Herald again says !:
"But that contraction is the avowed
policy of the Administration is too well
known to admit of argument. If it be not
the policy to contract, why not resume
specie payments at once, without waiting
till January l, 1879? The contraction
since 1865 has been enormous. Then the
paper issues Of the Government, of the cir
culating class, amounted to about S2l ,OOO,-
OOO."
We suppose the editor meant to
say that in 1865 the paper issues"
amounted to 81, lOO,O0O,OOO instead of
$21, 100000 as the compositor has it.
If so he is in one sense correct. But
he might as we'll have added all the
bonds issued and made it q few hun
dred million more. The facts are not
that way. There has been no con-
traction Of the currency under Repub-
lican administration. There is as
much currency now as there was then.
But there was q contraction of $44,.
100000 under the act of Congress OF
April 18th, 1866, which authorized the
Secretary of the Treasury to retire and
cancel United States notes, mot more
than $1O,OOO,OOO, within six months
of the passage of the act, and there.
after not more than 100000 in any
month.
Under this act Andrew Johnson
Democratic Secretary of the Treasury
did retire S44,OOO,OOO, when he was
prevented from farther contraction by
the act Of February 4th, 1868, passed
by a Republican Congress. The pol
icy of the Republican party has been
to give us a safe currency and as far
as possible regulate its volume by the
wants of the business of the country
By 1879 it is believed that without
any material contraction our business
will have grown up to our present cur
rency, which is about $4,000, 1000
and the reserve of gold and silver be
then sufficient to redeem the green
backs in coin. We can not "resumC
specie payments at once" as the Pres
and Herald asks, without q great con
traction, which the Republican Con
gress and President did not want.
The Press and Herald quotes from
our letter of last winter favoring
substitution Of greenbacks for thu
National Bank currency, and say
that tits precisely what the Ohio Dem
ocrats want. But in that letter w
did not demand that this substitution
should be prompt" and at the ex
pense Of the business of the country
The Ohio Democrats want to wind n
our National banks as they woul,
close up a thousand cigar stand:
They propose to call in the vast loans
} force them to sell their bonds, and di,
: arrange the whole business of III
country.
In reply to our assertion that Nj
tional banks are now no longer a mC
: nopoly, and that our people can get a
f the money they want at Washingto
I.,1c;+svcr