New-York tribune., 1875-03-04
THE FINANCIAL RECORD or TIE XLIIId
CONGRESS-

The financial legislation of the Senate and
House of Representatives, whose life expires
to-day must be pronounced absolutely bad in
every respect. We do not say that it is the
very worst that it could have been, but simply
that it is bad. In most cases 1t would have
been far better to do nothing rather than what
has been done, and in other cases where ac-
ton was required it was delayed until too
late. In regard to the currency, we consider
that no legislative action whatever was re-
ouircd Fourteen months ago, contraction
at tho moderate rate, say, of t.Ircc or
fenr millions month, would have
been salutary measure, but as this
step was not demanded by public opinion
Congress can hardly be blamed for not taking
1t. The next best thing was to DO nothing.
Instead OF that, however, Mr.. Richardson was
allowed to initiate the currency; that imitation
was legalized, and law providing for addi-
tional imitation was passed which the Presi-
dent had the good sense to veto. Then an
other law was passed "scttiDg free the bank
reserves" and finally third law. pretending
| to restore the gold standard in 1876, permits
the issue of paper money in the form or bank
notes without any other limit than the five
and six per cent bonds of the United States
required to be left with the Treasurer as
security to the Government for guaranteeing
the final payment of bank noses with its own
greenbacks.
We have also received from this Congress q
clumsy piece of machinery erected in the
Treasury, and known as the Bank-note Re-
dempion Bureau, which off rs to give the
Governments promises to pay in exchange
for the promises of the banks indorsed by the
Government both being for all purposes Of
external and internal trade of precisely the
same value, the only difference between them
| being that the latter cannot be counted as
| legal tender in the statement of the assets of
a bank. The only useful purpose effected by
this expensive machine, which pays no divi-
dends and requires a cash capital of seventeen
million dollars to work it, would have been ac-
complished at one-tenth the expense by the
banks themselves without additional legisla-
tion Circumstances beyond the control of
| Congress, and not in the least cOmprehended
| by that body, have caused the operation Of the
| laws above mentioned to be quite different from
what was generally expected yet it is certain
that if they are suffered to remain on the
! statute book the difficulties of return to
| specie payments will sooner OF later be greatly
increased. Both Of the so-called Finance"
acts have q powerful tendency to promote the
growth OF tho evil known as erbdnkmg, from
which the country has suffered severely in
former times and is suffering now. BY over
banking we mean the lending of money by
banks on insufficient security or in furtherance
| of illegitimltc speculations ut the risk of los
ing their capital or getting it beyond their
| reach, and therefore OF being unable to repay
persons from whom they have received de-
posts. The present laws as to bank cilcula-
ton offer too much encouragement to the null
| tiplicatiOn of banks, and where the banks are
| too many for the business which is proper for
them they are irresstbly tempted to go into
! illegitimate business, which in too many cases
results in their destruction.
: The Salary Grab Congress must share with
its successor the responsibility of having in.
creased the public expenditures from thirty
to forty millions above what q tolerably re-
spectacle Congress and Executive would have
been contcnted with. In the year ended June
80. 1872, the cost of the Government was
$l53, ,2O1 1885, while for tho year ended June 80,
1874, it was $l7S6lS,085. being an increase OF
over twenty-five millions. For the current