The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-06-29
PARTIAL REPUTATION

CeCTetuTy ICCuiOcil, III iiS siAtu iettci
10 the 7',i6 me, in illustrating the reasons
for the decline of our credit in Europe, af-
Ter referring to Virginia partial repudi-
alton, says that our credit has been more
deeply wounded by TIE fact that ''all of
- the indebted states, which have paid at
all, have a,ailed tn mselves of the legal
tender act, and with the exception of
" Massachusetts, and California have, since
" the passage of that act, paid in depre-
" cia,ed currency the debts which, in COM
mon honesty, should only have been
paid In coin OF it; equivalent" There is
much of truth and justice in these stric-
lures, but although Vermont is somewhat
liable to the same sen, ure, we can obtain
such consolation as may be found in the
fact that, never having been in the Eu-
Topean markets as borrower, we have IN
no wise contributed to the loss of American
credit there Our creditors, as a whole,
have nothing to complain of-the payments
by the state and the receipts of the credi-
tors both on account of principal and inter-
est will, as Lincoln would say, average
well. At the passage Of the legal tender
act, the funded debt of the state was small,
and although part of it was paid in de-
preciatcd currency, we borrowed much
larger sum, receiving therefor currency
worth fifty cents or less on the dollar and
have repaid the same in currency very
nearly at par.
Treasury notes became legal tenders, and
supplanted specie as money in general bust
ness, February 25, 1862, and after that date
Vermont borrowed and paid in paper money
at its face value. We then had funded
debt of little over a million of dollars, all
of which, however, with the exception of
three hundred thousand dollars, was Gre
ated to meet the exigencies of the war.
The debt contracted since that date has
been much larger in Vermont, and there
was no obligation either in law or morals
10 pay it in any other than the kind of cur
rency which it brought into the treasury
namely, deprecated paper money. A sud-
den spasm of forced virtue attacked the
legislature of Vermont in 1870, when, in
consequence of decision of the supreme
court of the United States, it authorized
the treasurer to pay the principal and in
terest of such bonds as should become due
in 1871 in coin. Under this direction, the
treasurer actually paid in coin ninety-seven
thousand dollars of principal and ten thou
sand six hundred and sixty dollars of inter-
est at an extra cost to the state of some
nine thousand dollars premium on the coin.
This spasm of virtue was short lived,
and the treasurer ceased payments in coin
May /, 1871, because it was rumored that
the decision of the United States supreme
court would be reconsidered, and, as he
says, in anticipation of a reversal thereof
The anticipation was realized, the decision
WAS reversed and the treasurer did moi
/" feel at liberty to purchase coin under thu
authority granted, deeming that author
'i ty discretionary and not mandatory,
and paper again took the place OF gold
That the virtue was forced not natural wa.
shown by the legislature voting the treas
urer "a good fellow" for his "discretion,
and never again attempting to pay in thu
same kind of money that they had Dor
rowed. But after all, Vermont has no
much to be ashamed of. She was well VI
TO the average political and financial NOR
atty of the day and did all that was asked
or expected of her. Indeed, she was lit
tie in advance of her sister states, and, will
the exception of Massachus etts, none O
them can show fairer or cleaner record
we omit California because it never had
or pretended to have, any other currenc,
than specie or enc founded upon speci
basis IT we had paid our ante-war deb
10 specie. we doubt whether we shout,
have enhanced our credit or stood any bet
ter as a borrower, although we might hav
the better complied with the strict code o
an ideal financial morality. As it 10, on
credit is unequaled. our funded debt i
nearly wiped out, and our financial reputa
lion without stain-unless it may be
fancied one.