The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-01-15
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

/ ALIkyxDxIXNA ~ NAAjkvJAVAo
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1.-THE President sen
to the Senate to-day the following messag
accompanying his approval Of the nev
Finance bill:
To the Senate Of the United States:
Senate bill 1914, "To Provide for the Re
sumption Of Specie Payments, is before me
and this day receives my SIGNATURE of ap
prevail. venture upon this unusual methot
of conveying the notice Of approval to tn
House in which the measure originated, be
cause of its great importance to the country
at large, and in order to suggest further legis
latlOn, which seems to me essential to make
the law Effective
1t is q subject of congratulation that 9
measure has become a law which fixes date
when specie resumption shall commence, and
implies an obligation on the part OF Congress
if in its power to give such legislation as may
prove necessary to redeem this promise. To
this end respectfully call your attention to
few suggestions:
l. The necessity for an increased revenue
to carry gut the obligation Of adding to the
sinking fund, annually, one per cent Of the
public debt, amounting now to about thirty
four million dollars per annun, and to carry
out the provisions of this measure to redeem
under certain contingencies eighty millions OF
the present legal tenders and without contin.
gency the fractional currency now in circula-
ton. How to increase the surplus revenue is
for Congress to devise; but, will venture to
suggest, that the duty on tea and coffee might
be restored, permanently enhancing the con.
sumers, and that the ten per cent horizontal
reduction of the tariff on articles specified in
the law of June 6, 1872, be repealed.
The supply of tea and coffee already on
hand in the United States would, in all prob
ability, be advanced in price by adopting this
measure !; but it is known that the adoption
of free entry to those articles of necessity did
profits OF the countries producing them or OF
the middlemen in those countries who have
the exclusive trade in them. 81
2. The first section of the bill now
under consideration provides that the frac-
tional currency shall be redeemed in silver
coin as rapidly as practicable.
There is no provision preventing the huctu-
alton in the value of the paper currency.
With gold at premium of anything over ten
per cent above the currency in use, it is pro-
badly almost certain that silver would be
bought up for expectation as fast as it was put
out, until change would become SO scarce as
to make the premium on gold Tor sufficiently
high to make it, no longer profitable to buy
AO4 CAPOAtS CACACUy CbUoAAS uAIOCU lOoS W
the community at large, and great embarrass-
ment to trade. u.ua
As the present law commands final resump-
ton ON the LIST day of January, 1879, and as
the gold receipts of the Treasury are larger
than the gold payments, and the currency re-
ceipts than the currency payments, thereby
making monthly sales of gold necessary to
meet current currency expenses. 1t occurs
to me that these difficulties might be reme-
died by authorizing the Secretary of the Trea-
sury to redeem legal tender notes, whenever
presented in sums not less than one hun
dred dollars and multples thereof, at
a premium for gold Of ten per cent,
less interest at the rate of two and one-half
per cent per annum, from the LIST day of Jan.
uary, 1875, to the date of putting the law in
operation, and diminishing this premium at
the same rate until final resumption, changing
the rate of premium demanded from time to
time. As the interest amounts to one-quar-
ter of one per cent l suggest this rate of in
terest because it would bring currency at par
with gold at the rate fixed by law for its final
I suggest ten per cent as the demand pre-
MUM at the beginning, because l believe
this rate would insure the retention of silver
IN the country for change. The provisions
IF the third section Of the act will prevent
combinations being made to exhaust the |
Treasury of coin. With such law it is pre- |
'umable that no gold would be called for not
required for legitimate business purposes
When large amounts of coin should be drawn |
rom the Treasury, corresponding amounts of
currency would be withdrawn from circula-
ion, thus leaving sufficient stringency in |
currency to stop the outward flow Of coin.
The advantages Of a currency Of fixed and |
Inown vslue, would also be reached, in my |
opinion, by the enactment Of such law,
business and industries would revive and the
beginning of prosperity on firm basis would
70 reached. Other means of increasing |
evenue than those suggested should probably
70 devised and also other legislation. In f.ct,
o carry out the first section of the act an
'ther mint becomes o necessity.
With the present facility for coinage, it
would take period probably beyond that
ixed by law for final specie resumption to
DIN the silver necessary to transact the bust
less of the country. There are now smelt-
ng furnaces TOR extracting the silver and
ain territories, in Chicago, St. Louis and
)maha, three in the former city; and as
much of the change required will be
'anted in the Mississippi Valley States,
nd as the metals to be coined come
rom the west of those States
nd as understand the charges for transpor-
atom of bullion from either of the cities
AIMED to the mint in Philadelphia or to New
ork city amount to 81 for each one thousand
ollars worth, with an equal expense tor
back, it would seem fair
rgument in favor of adopting one or more of
lose cities as the place or places for the es-
lblishment of new coming facilities.
I have ventured upon this subject with
reat difidence, because it is SO unusual to
pprove measure Gas most heartily do this,
rem if no further legislation is attainable at
lis time) and to announce the fact by mes
.ge, but do so because feel that it is a
loject of such vital importance to the whole .
,untry that it should receive the attention of !,
i'd be discussed by Congress, and the peo-
10 through the press, and in every way to
le end that the best and most satisfactory ,
purse may be reached of executing what
eem most beneficial Legislation on most ,
tai question to the interests and prosperity
the nation