Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-09-09
Cheap Money.

The people of the United States have to
pay very heavy for the privilege of cheau
money-cheap in the double sense of cost
ing little to make it and of being worth
less than true money when it is made.
One part of the expense, however, is very
seldom considered-namely, the loss by
destruction, a sum which properly be-
longs to the account of the cost. The loss
on coin by abrasion is a known and de
terminate quantity, and 1t is very small
indeed. 1t takes an average OF eighteen
years of ordinary use for an English SOW.
ereign to wear down TO the point where
the mint rejects it for light weight, and
even then it has lost but fractional per
centage of its value. When we boast of
the convenience and cheapness and ease OF
handling our fractional currency, let Us
remember that between coin and paper
there is a vast difference in this item of alb
solute loss. Ii man loses a coin some
body will probably find it. The loss OF
the rags we use for small change is more
likely to be beneficial only to the Govern
ment that is relieved of the duty of re.
deeming it.
The first issue of fractional currency
amounted to $50, 1915, 635. Of this sum,
on the 1st of August, after more than ten
years effort on the part Of Government to
call in and redeem this "monev," there
remained outstanding S4329, 265 This
has practically not been reduced in five
years, and it will never be reduced to
$4,000, 0O0-so that the people have abso-
lutely lost 20 per cent OF the value of this
entire issue. Of the second issue, at least
100000 will never be redeemed, being
10 per cent. of the whole. In all, some
Of L.
been issued by the Government-to say
nothing of the cords Of counterfeit g scripr
which the desire for cheap money has
evoked-and it is safe to say that at least
$1O,OO0,O00 or more than 3 per cent, has
been, up to this time, destroyed, worn out
or lrrerievably lost, This is heavy sum
for the people to pay in thirteen years for
abrasion" of small change only
The loss by destruction of legal tenders
has been far greater. The Government
has been drawing in all it could get hold
OF, OF the earlier issues, ever since 1869.
The first year $67, 900, 900 came in; S107,-
OO0, 900 in 1871; $5S, 100000 in 1872; $40
O0O, 900 in 1878; $25,000,0 900 in 1874. The
amount still outstanding at the close of
the fiscal year 1874, was over S5S, 0O0,
OOO. We cannot be greatly out of the way
in estimating that one third at least of this
amount will never be presented for re-
| demptlOn-in other words that on the is
sues OF Government money between 1862
and 1869 there has been an absolute loss
to the people of about $40, 100000, besides
the lncalculable relative loss by the depre-
citation OF paper money. And on subse-
! quent issues the loss will be great enough
to make the total on all Government paper
money up to the time of redemption, if we
should come to specie payments in 1879,
little if any short of $50,000,000. This is
one Of the penalties of cheap money
1t may be said of course, that any kind
OF paper currency is subjected to the same
dangerof destruction. The danger is SIM
liar, but by no means so great, under specie
| payments as under the incOnvertible Sys-
tenn. Bank bills payable in coin cannot
| be kept long in circulation. They are fre-
quently replaced with fresh notes. The
average " life" of note on Scotch bank
is about ten days, and although it may be
reissued it is never issued after it begins
to be defaced. At the present rate of re-
demptiOn of National Bank notes in this
country the whole issue would 90 through
the Treasury on an average once in about
seventy-five weeks, or year and half
1t is certain that redeemable bank notes
do not cause so great a loss as we suffer
with our greenbacks, National Bank notes
and fractional currency. To save the
large percentage on paper money worn
out and lost before it can be redeemed is,
therefore, a good and an easily understood
argument in favor of specie.-B0St01 i'd
TertGSer.