, 1875-09-03


urged l,y inviting bids for several grnlcs of
thickness, and tins give alt tho quarry
owners chance to submit proposals.
.... -@:.-@
WHY LEdALTENDERs ARE DEPRECATED.
The experience Of tho civilized uations Of
tho world has bccn tint no Government coil
font An irredee1nablo paper currency ut pnr.
It may therefore bo ncceptcd as M cstab-
lishcd truth TINT such n itnnncial 1neas,re ia
impossible. i currency redccmnblo on de-
! mand, whether issued by Government, or
by individuals, or corporations, may bo lsopt
at par, hut illa ID duo to tho fact Of its being
| retlnc,nnblo On demand. but tho ynluo of au
irredecmablo Governmental currency fluctu-
| ates it il not tho same in all countries, nor
! is it tho sat1so Mt nil times. It is subject to
countless variations, according to tho circnnl-
| stances of tho any. For considerable time
| past the greenbacks ltnyo Ind MI nverage
valno of s., to u cents OIL the dollar, but con-
stant1y huctunting between theao figures.
4 question which naturally suggests itself is,
How Is it that tho Government can float its
paper currency ut So cents Oh the dollar, and
be nnablo to do 80 at par?
When a greenback can purchase tho snmo
value Of merchandise TINT coin Of like de-
nomination can purchase, then it is eguivn-
lent to coin. Tho value, commercially, of
currency rests in ita oxchangeobili,y, which
is another nano for purchasing power. COM
mcrco is tile exchnngo of equivalent vnlucs;
md tho ya1uo Of currency is precisely wbat
is given rs MI equivalent therefor Eighty
Il. .fsto -. ,tztJ =.
for some time, its average purchasing ynlnc.
Tho reason why 1t is worth 88 cents instead
Of 80 or 100 cents can best bo reached by
considering why it has aay value. Intrinsic
ally, it has no value. Divcstod Of Tho proba-
bilisy Of redemption, it is not 1egal.tondor
in payment of dehts, In tho absence Of tho
| legat-teniler character Of tho currency, al
debts would DO payable in coin. Lcgal-tell-
der notes, therefore, hnvo d special value, In
TINT they pny debts whcrc, in thor absence,
coin would DO necessary. Being in demand
for this purpose, this valuo is governed by
| tho amount Of thcso notca outstanding, auil
the corresponding facility with which they
can DO obtained. They aro legal-tenders in
pnynaent Of all debts, public and private, e1-
! ccpt for custom duties and interest On tho
public debt.
| Tho Gational Bank notoa aro redecmnblo in
| these legal-teudera. These banks arc subject
| at my tin.o to tho demand for redemption of
their notes, Tho minority OF tho banks-in
fact, MI wcll-arranged banks--keep largo
| reseryo i'll 1egal-tenllor notes to meet my
emergency. Intending tho s'o5,00o,0 600 or
| $50, ,ou0, 900 On deposit ut Washington to ro-
I deem abandoned circulation, and tho per
| cent lcgally-rcquired reserve, and the amount
| in their own vaults, there aro sSO,000,0N to
| 500, 600 held directly md indirectly by
tho National Banks, As much moro may bo
said to bo in tho hands Of the peoplo-pocket
| ,nonoy-held for current expenses. This
le,lyeS, outside OF tho amount In tho Treas
,ry, about s1G0. 0oO, 900 in the market, dis
placing for tho paymont Of all debts, public
anl private. m amount OF gold equivalent for
tho like purpose.
Tho greonback Inns purchasing power BE-
Cause it is o lcgal-tendcr--
/. III payment Of alt private dobts.
9. III payment of all taxes.
| 8. In redemption OF bank.noteu.
4. In payment Of clccks against deposits.
They a..swer the purpose of coin for these
purposes, Gud lsayo therefore n marketable
yaluo. Every debtor avaiIa himself o< tho
opportunity Of saving the 10, -, Or 20 cents;
he therefore buys grsenbacks and pays tho
sebt Tho demand for grccnbachs for this
EurpoEo, involving nearly all The credit trans.
ect!onH OF tho country, regulates tho prico Of
thp currency,
: They layo two other clements Of yaluo !:
| ThcIr convenience fur handling and traus-
portatiou, aud tho underlying expectation
that their promise al redemption In coin will
DO redeemed. The laxt is tho most impor.
tant Of all.
1t tho volume Of ts1cenbacl;a on tho market
wero 1nucl Increased, tho supply would be 10
much grsatar than tho tomanl for nay;op
dobts, and tho facility for obtaining them 10
increased, that they would command eroatly
reduced price. II their voiumo was reduced,
and tho difficulty of getting thuln. Increased
because Of their scarcity, ther their prIco as
equivalents Of gold to pay debts woull be
proportionately increased. It is therefore te
10 assumed that tho amount ot greenhackl
cum bo reduced to that poiut where tho DE-
,nand for them Us lcgal.teuder to ray deb!
would carry their vaiue almost up to tho yalu
Of the bank notes OF specio-psylng banks
As their use must always BE- confined to do
naeytio commerce, they must necessarily b
always OF less valus than the coin, which ca,
bo exported when needed. Hero, how
: ever, Is the difficulty, which can onl,
be overcome by practical experience. Ih
locking up OF fifty or eighty millions Of cur
] zsuoY hax ths instant eTset Of increasing Ii