New-York tribune., 1875-10-09
TILE LETTER.

THE LETTER.
I To DISPENSE WITH CaECKs AND NOTES A RETURN
TO ADMINISTRATIONS AND DEPRECIATION
OF PAPER MONEY ALWAYS HAND IN HAND
WHAT orIIER EVILS INITIATION BRINGS IN It's
TRAIN.
Sr. LOUIS Oct. s.-The following is the reply of
the Hon. Carl SchlIrz TO the letter OF Wendell Phil
lips;
sr. LOUIS Oct. s.
To he Tditor Of tae CiHcuRdG C0DmerciaL
DE,RsIE: Last night returned from ohio, and found
your dispach nmating desire that should promptly
reply TO the letter Of sr. Wendell Phillips, published IN
The N.c IoyI: HerGh OF Oct g. have just read that
letter. aud consider it scarcely necessary that should
answer it. sti il you desire it, Will devote few
hours to the task Mr. Phillips is known elegant
writer; but the of his letter is Gppantly often
svc. small and supcrcous in personal attack, That
should have been inclined to consider it hoax had
not found il in fair collection Of those crndes and
startling misapprchcnsons Of principles and facts dis
ncushnS all Mr. Philiips's productions on The subject
OF finance will take up seriatm thc four points Of my
speech which Nh. Phillips attempts to dsroye
MR. PIIrLIIrSs FILsT ,BSURDIY.
FIRST quote the following passage from Gov Aliens
speech At Marietta:
These men Caeanns his opponents, go about and cry
God we could ild some of it, lLugh:er They say it
is in the banks. Is II might iusi well. for the pr
Pacific ocean for if is not in circulation i is no more
money than many coT1ls9lhs would nc. 10 DE money
Il must circulate medium for carrying on the e1
changes Of the country.
Then proceeded by quoting the fact that an over
whelmuc majority OF the business Transactions of the
country effected by the trpnscr OF bank accounts
through checks notes. and bills Of exchange" that in fact
circulation q" money takes place mostly through tie
banks to show the brilliant nOusense of Gov. Aliens
statements. Mr. Philips tells us that he and Gov Allen
were aware of those fac. II they were, could they
still he guilty Of so glarng a,sirity as that money IN
bank might just wen for the purposes of money and
currency he ut the bottom Of the Pacific Occanf Al
though have never been admirer of Mr. PhilIp-s
financial theories vet always considered him far Ices
foolish than Gov. Allen. II he insists ON stepping down
TO Goy Alien, level, hc il 80.
Bni here is something si more curious. Nj Phillips
SAYS the very that large proportion OF the bust
ness tronsactio Of the country effected by means of
CHEEKS notes and bills through the banks IL the corner
stone of their gravcst charges against present system
of finance. He that checks, notes and bS or
exchange performing the functions OF currency
the banks able ai will to initiate and contract the 'Af
.ency and he ana his friends nean to break this als
tocracy of money manufacture" by Introducing their
system Of grccnlacks and ncOnycrtbc bonds, Which, he
says will leave this power OF imitation aud contraction in
the hands Of the whole OF business men, There is
So iaousrous an accumulation of absfItiiies in this
propo.on that | scarcely know where to bcgiu and
where to end in dlssceiing them
cnEcAs AND NoLE, INDISPENSABLE.
Who il II that draws checks. and makes notes and bills
of eSciangcl Who creates that Kind Of currency which
consists Of checks notes. and bills and who causes that
contraction and imitation OF which Mr. Phillips speaks
II not done 10y the banks but it is done by that
whole mass Of tie business 70 whom Mr., Phillips
speaks Of giving that power, II they now were de-
priycd of it, II the business men did not do II under
our present system. il would not he done a all H MI
Phillips does know this, the smallest clerk in dry
goods shop can give him some useful information the
in, f.vha he OiN IIs
| 10 understand that he aud his party want TO
abolish this syscmi Docs he really mean anything
Ken he SAYS We 10 have more gTecnbacks and
less checks 2" he utterly -noEnt as not To know
that the check the note and the bill of exchange IA they
pass through the banks, constitute the very agency
Which, by almost infinitely increasing the efficiency OF
the glernbacks any other SOFT Ct currency, enables
that currency to satisfy the requirements Of business,
and that without this agency the immense number and
variety Of business Transaction. could moi DE carried
on at all iu the year 1873, according TO Clearing house
records chccas bills Of exchange, and notes passed 10
the amount of S}3, 100000 in N"w-iork alone IN
making purchases ana payments; and Mr. Plllips wants
to put he place Of that modiun of exchange, ciecng
such gigantic TRANSACTIONS his stem of grecnbacks
asL nterconroyeitibc boDds.' wipe out these faci-
ties which the genius Of modern civilization has dcycl
opci, and reGucc the immc1surahc compass ana tine
endless variety business transactions 10 the actual
hand ng over from hand to hand Of erccnbacks. NJ.
hut Il return TO the clumsy methods 81 barbarismi
Or doe. he want 10 facilitate those business transac-
tons with his system OF inerconyeltble bonds II
so how As I understand the systcm-thc peculiar
claims ~ Ch mean to discuss at length at anOther
tme-hc iutercouver,ibe bonds In be given by the
Government to those who deposit currency i'll the Treas
ury and are be exchanged for currency again at the
optou of the holder Now is the Government to dla-
count notes and sell bills of exchange, and accommodate
pr, ate business with time oans Is that possblei Mr.
Phillips affects 10 look down upon me with some condo
scension as only native OF Germany. lie was born in
this country, and lives in Of the first commercial
cities of the Union. But has he the faines conception
of what /, going on in the busy life around him II lie
has lie would himself enjoy hearty angh At the idea OF
suppantng system OF checks bills, notes, aud mod
ern sank faciiiies with his system Of "greenbaeks and
in,crconyertibe bonds" He would understand thas
sucn a substitution even If We multiplied our green
backs ever much, would produce 50 serious contrac
on a. bring the business of the cOuntr, to an almost
absolute sandsti The conception IL utterly childish
that We wonder how it could have g'own In the brain "a
man of only average good sens" H. his nineteenth cen
turs. - much for the first point
WHAT SENDS PAPER MoSEY DowN.
sccond Mr.. Phillips nnpnsns my statement or rather
the dsctrnc OF every respectable economist the world
over that the expansion Of rre,leenrbe paper eur
rrncy will result in its depreciation he says: suppose
We double the real currency (meanng grc-hbacksl will
that OF itself necessarily increase prizes and especially
the price OF gold :" aud b.u he psocec's 10 quote sr
Carey To show that during the war the premium
on gold went up down, irrespective Of the
quantity OF the paper currency i:c During the waF Of
It ds Nj Phillips secm' to isnorc the first prin-
cpes governing The value Of an ire rreemabe paper cur
reucy con sstlng ~ Gsvcrnm>nt promises 10 pay That
vala viii be affected b. two things the credit OF the
Government Issuing it, and the relation tie volume Of
the currency the requirements ~ the business Of
the country What il 1t the credit % tho Government de