Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1876-03-11
ASormEa REsUMprIeN PLAN.

AUOTME1 RESUMPTION PLAN.
The bill Of Mr.. C~hittenden, of New
York, for getting rid Of the greenbacks,
proposes that the Secretary Of the
Treasury shall sell $i,o0O,O 900 of gold
bonds per month, for greenbacks, for
eight months Of the year, beginning
with February and ending with Sep
tembcr, the grsenbacks 10 be cancelled
- fast as they are bought, and thus re
tired from circulation. The bonds are
to bear 4 i.2 per cont. interest and to be
available ~ security for circulation of
the national banks.
The trouble with almost every
scheme for resumption IN that 1t Is an
attempt to eject that object by . spe-
cies Of financial iegerdemain, that sim
ply proposes to change tho form of
government Indebtedness without en-
pl0ying q single honest dollar in dis.
charge Of its. honest debts. The fore
going plan IL not exempt from this OBJ
lection.
Now, suppose 1t were possible to
take up the outstanding greenbasks in
exchange for 4l-2 per sent. bonds
(Which 1t 10 not, while the greenbacks
. be loaned as at present Of ample
security, from 6 10 10 per cent? what
will have been accomplished ? You
have Withdrawn from circulation $40
millions of legal tenders, paying no
interest, and substituted that amount
Of bonds bearing 41-2 per cent. inter-
est, thus increasing the Indebtedness
OF the country to the tune Of moro
than sixteen and q half millions anuu-
ally. You have reduced tho paper
circulation from 700 millions to some
$50 millions, which must in turn
be enlarged by IN increase of
bank totes to somewhere pretty
near the original amount; and
those ~ per cent. bonds are to be-
come the basis OF the expansion of the
National Bank currency. And, what
have you gainedf You have not added
. dollar Of gold to the common stock
In the country in aid of assumptions;
nor have you in any way facilitated
shat work. You have simply substi.
tuted All inferior paper currency for the
legal tenders absorbed, at an annual
expense to the Government of nearly
1900. 900, without lessening the gov
eminent indebtednesx; without bene-
fitting the public one farthing; without
helping on the work of resumption one
particle, and without improving the
character Of the currency Of the coun-
try In the slightest degrees.
1t is senseless and worse than sense.
less to redeem the Government legal
tenders, unless in aid of the purpose OF
general resumption Of specie pay
ments. They are now in general cir
-culation rs an essential portion OF the
paper currency of the country. No
body asks for, or would be benefited
by, their withdrawal, only to have the
vacuum supplied by banks notes, un
less, we repeat, the thing is to be done
In aid Of resumption-followed by an
auxiliary measure, compelling the
banking institutions tn place them
selves in . condition to resume on their
part also. The obligation of the Gov
ernment Il not limited to the legal ten.
dsra. II il ~ much bound to make q
one dollar note OF q national bank
equal to = gold dollar ~ it il to make a
dollar greenback equivalent to q gold
dollar.
Tho banks are the creation of Gov.
eminent. They are founded on the
Government indebtedness, and do bus.
iness ON the government credit. They
derive all their valuable attributes,
uniformity In the value Of their
bills throughout the country, and
security against loss by their
ultimate redemption, from the
Government. So intimate is the re-
lation between the banks and the Gov
ernmeut they are to all intents and
purposes one, 90 far rs the currency
the banks furnish is concerned The
Gowssumant not cut itself loose
from &he banks, without changing
their character. and impairing their
pasety. - that In any movement TO-
wards assumption the Government
and bank currency must b treated -
> unit; and tho Government itselt
must take tho lead, having assumed
cHutrol Of the capital Of thess institu-
tions, and taken upon itself the task Of
administering upon theIr affairs In the
event Of their demise.
The great obstacle which every plan
FOR resumption must encounter Is to be
found in our heavy national indebted
and consequent large annual de-
mand for gold to meet interest thereon,
md IA furnish the necessary gold sub
for u paper currency at the
ssme time, which should be equal to