The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1876-12-21

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tion i must be Conceded In the outset that the sill
yer dollar was unit Of value, having the quality
OF legal tender for all sums and in all cases. and
that the terms of the United States obligations do
1853, in which Is the pledge Of payment In coin,
does not, IN terms, discriminate against silver.
These provisions are broad enough, in terms, to
pels an inquiry into the history production ISSUE
and subsequent treatment of these obligations and
the relative condition Of gold and silver coin as
tation o. me meaning Of the language payment
Not long after the close of the civil war, which
the kind OF money in which these securities were
payable, and which led to the passage of the act
Of 1872 entitled An act to strengthen the public
credit; and 1t was intended to dispel all hesita-
ton or doubt az to the purpose of the Government
upon the question, and by which the faith of the
United States was pledged to the payment in coin
erwise provided for. This Legislative action was
In harmony with that of the executive admins
What, then, was intended, and understood to be
intended by this pledge Of the Government Was
that the public securities were to be paid In gold
coin, or in silver or might be in either!
with the question at that time that the popular
Impression not to say general conviction, was
the hs1g for in Til
had uniformly been paid il god, thai the castenss
ed na been n st to and that
had, as money Of payment, theretofore gone into
general disuse, especially in all large transac.
tons cont ana could scarcely considered
for its object to provide fof pay nsent Of sums e
ample as the interest on the public debt, at that
This view of the subject receives no incon-
Congress in isSs Sy wsish the ender qas Z.
ity OF the silver coin was limited to IS. By force
Of the laws of trada To ipda ,danf IF
Congress, the legal,tender silver dollar had actu
ally disappeared from circulation as money and,
mot, as matter Of fact, exist for commercial pur-
The object and intent Of the act Of lS7s was con.
Of country it hed Pr Se .ni
world practically, and to declare the gold dollar in
law to be what it was in fact the representative of
the money unit Gold had for many years been
treated az the principal money Of coin payments
IN legislation and in the transactions Of the Treas
ulg Department
to receive deposits Of gold coin and bullion, and
to issue certificates therefor redeemable in gold
coin, thus indicating that its obligations called for
ion. it will be seen, is in consonance with the
fact that our foreign exchanges for many years
have been made upon the gold basis, and thus it
been Of late years, for the consideration stated,
that the money of coin payments was gold, and
an obligation to pay in coin required payment in
koAN WILL
As was contemplated by Congress in the polio:
declared in 1869, the public securities then de
pressed Immediately arose to par in gold, anC
have since maintained an enviable position in the
money centers Of the world The hve-twenty si1
per cent bonds then selling at eighty eight cents
on the dollar soon arose to par in gold CON- and
have since borne the average Hemium Of Ave
time the borrowing power of the Government is
something less than four and one-half per cent.
Its fonr and half per cent bonds, on short
AfvNa f1xy tolyn Of In M
. premium in this country and in Europe. II no
disturbing element enters into our monetary sys-
TEN, affecting the present policy OF the aioyern-
BILE. at no remote period. to fund the National
debt into four per cent bond having from thirty
to fifty years to run. and this at annual saving
which, if invested in a sinking fund at four per
cent annually, would pay off the present National
funded debt in fraction over thirty years.
cy SO benehcent in results and advantageous to
the future should receive no detrmcnt from con-
flcting interests, policies or theories. Whatever
cnrities in Cheaper money it viii remain true that
is lawful to pay them in gold coin, that the belief
that they were to be paid has practical value in
s s Of the asS
thereon.
1t is respectfully submitted that the coin pay.
ment 10 which the faitho 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
prejudicial to the public credit.
ISSUE OF SILVER COIN.
Immediately upon the passage of the act of April
II. 1876. the Department. through its several indie
pendent Treasury offices. began to issue, in re-
the subsidiary silver which had been coined under
the authority of the Resumption act of Jan. IA,
1875. To further relieve 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 in payment of currency obligations Of
Under the authority for the Issue Of silver coin
granted bv the act of July u. 1876, the depart
ment, in addition to redeeming fractional cur
also issued silver con in exchange for lcgalten
notes as rapidly as the coinage at the minis would
From the date first mentioned, to and including
Oct. g. 1876, there has been issued Of silver cOin
as above stated. $22,L967 RIG, Of which amount
there has been issued for fsctional currency re-
The demand for silver coin for circulation,
though growing less urgent, still continues fully
equal to the capacity, Of the minis to supply it.
Until this demand shall have ceased. the coinage
will be continued rapidly practicable, to the
limit authorized by law.
Owing to the exhaustion of the appropriation
for transportation of United States notes and Sc.
curities, the express charges on legal-tender and
fractional notes, sent to This Department for re-
paid by the Government since the LIST Of March
last In consequence. the redemption OF such
notes has greatly decreased, and the paper cus.
for circulation. An appropriation sufficient to
meet the payment Of such express charges ia ear
nestly recommended ii
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
up to Oct. Of the present yea. $50 banks in al
ton at that date. The returns Of these banks show
surplus Of siss III IS; circulation Outstanding,
loans, sas7, 54sss; specie (including coin certi.
cates). $21 1850, 49,; legatender notes inclnding
United States certificates of deposit) $113 40
redemption fund with the United States Treasurer,
916.748.695. I'D
coM1ERoB AND NAv1aAT1oN
There is little change in the proportion of the
foreig1 carrying trade transacted in foreign yes;
exports during fSs last fiscal year having been
carried in foreign vessels, as against eeventy-our
per cent for the fiscal year 1874. -
The Register Of the Treasury reports the total
TONNAGE of vessels of the United States to be
4s79 4ss tons, decrease of 574 "a tons from that
Of the fiscal year ended June 30, 1875. This do.
crease is principally caused by the dropping of
canal-boat tonnage exempt under the act of Con-
gross uppKVycu AVA 10, 1913.
The actual decrease is believed to be about $780,
611 tons, this amount being the excess of the
losses over the gains during the last fiscal year. but
this decrease is reduced to SD 274 tons by correc
lions of the balances outstanding. a0..l e.
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.
The coin value Of the exports and imports of the
United States for the last fiscal year, as appears
from official returns made to and compiled by tho
Bureau of Statistics, as follows:
Exports of domestic merchandise. .$525 532 247
Exports Of foreign merchandise. 14sO.,424
Total. ..................... ......: $40 1874 ST.
Imports of goods. 400, Al 100
Excess Of exports over imports -. $79.643 4s1
For the fiscal year 1873 there was an excess Of
imports over exports amounting 10 So, rs
Showing a difference of $99, 200.
Exports Of specie and bullion. ..... SIS sos 800
Imports of specie and bullion. ....... Is, 936 6sl
Excess of exports over imports :. s. n, 569, 6N
Total excess Of exports Of merchandise
and the precious metals over Imports $40 213 102
HOME, FARM AND GARDEN.