The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-05-11
THE WANT OF SMALL CHANGE.
Continued Complaints from all Parts O
the Country.

the Country.
Washington Cor. New York Tribune.l
The scarcity of small change for bust
ness purposes has become SO great that.
flood of complaints is constantly pour
ing in on the United States Treasurer
and Senators and members. At the
Treasury Department more than one
hundred letters have been received from
various parts of the country, and the
Department is also beset by members of
Congress who seek to serve their constit-
uents with small change as well as gar
den seeds and public documents. The
silver substitution thus far has proved a.
failure-at least the Treasury officials
seem to be of this opinion. Trouble.
seems to arise from what is sometimes
called panicky" feeling among the.
people. They XII ow that fractional cur
rency is to be swept away, and they
know, as a consequence, that it must
soon be scarce. In this belief they are
boarding it. Even business men are
laying aside each day, as they are able
to spare it from their business, an
amount of small currency, in the belief
that they will some day require it for the
necessities of business.
The silver that has already been put
out is also being boarded. The novelty
of it, and the common idea Gan errone-
Gus one) that it is better and more valu-
able than the fractional currency and
small legal-t tender notes, induce people
to lay aside little of it. The silver is
also SO uncommon at interior points that
it is matter of vanity to carry few dol
lars In the pocket, to most of those who
can afford it. A moments reflection
will show how much is boarded in this
way. "A conversation with Treasurer
| New to-day on the subject does not give
ground to hope for immediate relief.
He says he can only obey the law, which
is not his. He is required to pay out
silver, under certain restrictions, and he
has no discretion. He says he is over
run with letters, but can give no aid.
Representative Frost, of Massachusetts,
called on him this morning, and told
him that he had large number of letters
from Massachusetts, making the usual
complaint. Mr.. New could give him no
satisfaction, but told him the remedy
was in the hands of Congress. He then
gave his views to Mr.. Frost, who subse-
! quently impaired them to the Banking
and Currency Committee. Mr.. New
drew a joint resolution, authorizing the
Secretary of the Treasury to issue the
silver now in the Treasury to redeem an
equal amount of legal-tender notes,
which shall be reissued upon the retire
ment of g like amount of fractional cur
rency to be destroyed as soon as re-
! deemed.
The Treasurer says this bill, if passed,
will have the effect of getting the silver
out without increasing the volume of
the currency, and that it viii increase
the small change which is needed
and decrease the legal tenders. It seems
that only million and half of silver
is now in circulation, only that amount
having been paid out under the Substi-
tuition act. DIR. Linderman, the Di-
rector of the Mint, says that there need
be no apprehension SO far as silver is
concerned. There can be no scarcity of
that. He has already about fourteen
millions of silver coins on hand, and he
can coin at the rate of million and
half or two millions month from this
time on without neglecting the gold
coinage.