The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-12-14


erwise provided FOR. This Legislative action was
In harmony with that of the executive admins
tration.
What, then, was intended. and understood to be
intended by this pledge of the Government? Was
1t that the public securities to be paid in gold
coiu. or in silver, or might be in eli herr
j. will not be questioned by any one conversant
with the question at that time that the popular
impression, not to say general conviction, was
that the pledge was for payment in gold This be-
lief may have obtained from the fact that the in
terest this class of obligations, payable in coin
had uniformly been paid in gold, thar the customs
receipts had been set apart to this end, and that
these were paid in gold, and that the silver dollar
had, as money OF payment, heretofore gone INTO
general disuse, especially in all large transac
tons, and could scarcely be considered
a contemplated IN any measure having
for its object to provide for payment of sums so
ample the interest on the public debt, at that
time amounting to the sum Of sl3i, 0O-Oo0.
This view of The subject receives no incon.
siderable support also. in the leg Station OF
Congress in 1875. by which the legaltender quail
i!y of the silver coin limited to IS. BY force
OF the laws OF trade, quite independent OF those OF
Congress, the legal -tender silver dollar had actu-
ally disappeared from circulation as money. and.
although not abolished by act of Congress, it did
not "a matter of fact, exist for commercial pur-
poses and did not enter into money payments.
The object and intent of the act of 1873 was CON
fcsscdly TO give to gold the precedence in the
statutes of the country il held in the commercial
world practically and to declare the gold dollar in
law TO be what it i'll fact, the representative OF
the money unit. Gold had for many years been
treated as the principal money OF coin payments
in legislation and in the transactions OF the Treas
ury Department.
By the act of 1863, the Treasury was authorized
10 receive deposits of gold coin and bullion, and
10 issue certificates therefor redceinablc in gold
coin TINS indicating that its obligations called Tor
payment in gold and not in silver This provls-
ion, it will be seen, is IN cunsonance with inc
fact that foreign exchanges for many years
have been made upon the gold basis, and thus it
is apparent that the general understanding has
been of late years, for the consideration stated,
fHsfF h.4r nf N4r ne
an obligation to pay in coin required payment IN
gold coin.
As was contemplated by Congress in the policy
declared in 1869. the public securities then de-
pressed Immediately arose to par in gold, and
have since maintained an enyiable position in the
money centers of the world. The iNe-twenty six
per cent. bonds, then SELF lg at lightweight cents
on the dollar, soon arose to par in gold coin, and
have since borne the a erage premium OF 1--WE
per cent. at home and abroad. At the present
time the borrowing power OF the Government Is
something less than four and one half per cent.
Its fonr and one half per cent. bonds, on short
time are readily taken at par in gold and sold at
premium in this country and in Europe. III no
disturbing element enters into monetary sys-
TEN, affecting the present policy of the Govern
ment. it is believed that il will be found practica.
bile. at no remote period. 10 fund the National
debt into four per cent. bond having from thirty
to fifty years to run. and this at an annual saving
IN the interest OF the public debt of so. SoOOO,
which. if ested in sinking fund at four per
cent annually would pay of the present National
funded debt in fra ton over thirt
1t il matter Of deep public concern that poll
cy benefcent in results and advantageous to
the future should receive no dctrimcnt from con
Gicting interests policies. or theories. Whatever
may be thought of the right to pay these public Sc
CurlticS in cheaper money, 1t VIII remain true that
IL is lawful to pay them in gold coin, that the belief
that they be paid has practical value in
thesrohabe reduction of the public debt equal TO
onG-Iuurth of the amount of the annual interest
thereon.
1t is respectfully submitted that the coin pay
ment 10 which the faith of the Nation was pledged
in 1869 was gold and not silver, and that any other
view of it, whatever technical construction the
language may be susceptible of, would be regarded
as of doubtful good faith, and its probable effect
preiudicia to the public credit
ISSUE OF SILVER COIN.
Immediately upon the passage of the act of April
r. 1876 the Department through its sew raj indie
pendent Treasury offices. began to Issue. in re-
demptiun Of the OUTSTANDING. fractional currency,
| the subsidiary silver which had been coined under
the authority of the Resumption act Of Jan. IA,
1879. To further recTc the pressing demand
throughout the country for money of small denom-
nations the silver coin in the Treasury previous
to the passage OF the act above mentioned. was
also issued i'll payment of currency oblig tons OF
the Cove nmc t.
Under the authority for the issue of silver coin
granted by the net of July -. $50. the depart
mcnt. in addition to rcleeming fractional cur
rcncr whenever presented for that purpose, has
also issued silver com, in exchange for legal tender
notes rapidly as the coinage at the minis would
permit.
From the date first mentioned, to and including
Oct 81, 1876 there has been issued Of silver coin
as above stated. S22C96.7 PIG, of which amount
there has been issued for fractional currency re-
deemed and destroyed. st!,913 259.i3.
The demand fof silver coin for circulation,
though growing less urgent still continues fully
equal TO the capacity of the mints to SUPPLY it..
Until this demand shall have ceased, the coinage
will be continued as rapidly as practicable, to the
limit authorized by law
CURRENCY REDEMPTION.
Owing to the exhaustion OF the appropriation
for transportation of United States notes and Sc
curiies, the express charges on legal-tcnder and
fractional notes sent to This Department for re-
demption and the returns therefor have not been
paid by the Government since the LIST of March
last In consequence. the redemption of such
notes has greatly decreased. and the paper
rencv of the Government is rapidly becoming unfit
for circulation. An appropriation sufficient to
meet the paymen Of such express charges is ear
nestly recommended.
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
The report of the Comptroller OF the Currency
contains full statistics of the reserves, taxation
dividends, earnings, and losses Of the National
Banks, together with summary of their resources
and liabilities for each year since the system went
into operation From this report it appsars that
up to Oct. of the present year 23l2 banks in all
had been organized, of which 0S1 were in opera
ton at that date The returns of these banks show
that they had an aggregate capital Of 99so2 23.;
S29l 544 o20; individual deposits, S63 ,3s52l0;
loans, S't27 54,9T9; specie (incudng coin certif-
eatesh Sd .35e i6;; legal-tender notes tinclmdimg
SIG, 1855.
COMMERCE. AND NAVIGATION.
There is little change in the proportion of the
foreign carrying trade transacted in foreign ve5-
sells about sesanty two PEI cant Of imports and
exports during the last fiscal year having been
carried in foreign vessels against seyenty-four
per cent for the preceding wear, and seventy
per cent for the fiscal year 1874.
The Register OF the Treasury reports the total
tonnage Of vessels of The United States to be
1870 45S tons de crease OF 574 274 tons from that
of the isca year ended June 30 1875. This de-
crease is principally caused BE- the droppi' OF
canal bOat ton age exempt under the act Of Con
grcss approved April Is. 1874
The actual decrease il believed to be about 5S3-
Gil tons, this amount being the excess of the
losses the gains during the last fiscal year but
this decrease is reduced to 1924 tons by correc-
lions OF the balances outstanding
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.
The coin value of the exports and imports of the
United States for the lat fiscal year, as appears
from official returns made TO and compiled by the
Bureau of Statistics. are 70 lows:
Exports of domestic merchandise. S525 5S2 24T
Exports OF fore IN merchandise ...... 14.S0!,42t
lOlal. ......-.............. 9U'Se9,hil
Imports of goods. Observation-Disclosures. 460, Al 100
Excess Of exports over imports 60. S79,6i3, 4Sl
For the fiscal year ISIS there was an excess of
imports over exports amounting to....S 1855, 725
Showing a difference of S99,20j.2Ji.
Exports of specie and bullion. ....... $50 3H5
Imports Of specie and bullion. 10 936. ISL
Excess Of exports over imports $ 4o,569,6s1