Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-11-28

Treasury and the Comptroller of the
Currency, and letter of the Direc-
tor of the Mint to myself, Of date
November 10, lS77, giving the amount
of coin and bullion in the country at
the two dates, exports and imports
for certain periods, and the products
of the mines. This letter. state
ment from the Comptroller of the
Currency, and one from the Secreta-
ry Of the Treasury, shall take the
liberty, with the permission Of the
House, to attach to my remarks. /
CONSIDER the sources of information
the most reliable of any of which the
nature of the inquiry admits. The
facts given will also serve to illus
trate the correctness of the rule that
where the poorer currency goes out
| the better comes in to take its place.
We had January IA, 1875, as fol-
lows.
United States Notes (grcsnbacks) .sSss, 600 ,0Ol
| EracttCnal Currency. 20 ,Sso ,5gs
INatiOnAA-eAnk Notes.. -! sol ~
Coin and builion................. Hl ,Ve,oV
Total, if we include coin and bullion,
land this will explain hereafter).. 92i .O4s
We have to-day, or had Nov. /, 1877,
a. near as we can estimate it:
United States Notes 1854 .490, St
fractional Currency. - ............ u, 35z,9,.
Coin and bullion lOctoiNr j. aao.s5l .s5
or $29,317 ,178 more than January IA
1876. Take the bullion from each &C.
count, which would be Sc, 100000 from
the first and 1885,, 567 from the last
and it will still leave q difference OIL
$23, 1851. Deduct again, for tht
possible underestimate of the amounts
used in the arts and manufactures
the further sum of $l3.OO0O00-
though 100000 annually has al
ready been deducted in the foregoing
straightforward the accounts will
stand:
January u. 1875, paper and coin SOL. 552 on
Making IN increase Of. 1O,434 81
The decrease in paper has been
F$9O, 633, AL the increase in coin, SlOl,'
O68, l42.
Here we have, on the most reliable
and best possible statistics we can
procure, q demonstration that we
nave more money in the country, and
better mof6Sp sa 1S money currenc,
is better by Z or s per cent, and fol
that which has disappeared there has
come in its stead gold and silver coin,
three-fourths of it gold.
1t may be said, admit this and the
proposition that there is less money
in circulation is true, for the metals
have collected in the money centres,
are boarded away and not in use.--
Tho stock of gold has been Increased
because it has been locked up in the
Treasury where it could not get away
and it is boarded in banks. But the
fact is So per cent. of the whole
amount Of coin and bullion in the
country December 81, 1874, was in the
Treasury, and now only 50 per cent.
so the increase has been greater out.
side than in. And if we take the ma
tional banks as fair index of what
there is in all banks, we find the
amount less there. Amount of specie
in national banks, December 81, 1874.
$22, 100000; amount June %, 1877,
the latest date / was able to obtain
from the Comptroller of the currency,
$2l, 335, 900. II may be thought that
legal tenders are boarded by the
banks and are therefore taken out OF
circulation. Legal tenders in nation.
al banks December 81, 1874, So, 6O4,
600; June %, 1877. 81, OO4, 600
My firm conviction, therefore, is
that, as yet ct least, the resumption
act has not been the cause of our hard
times the causes lie away back and
i Aon~n. Io~wvr %ka AhSp 80 an,
enormous indebtedness = national
State, municipal, corporate, and indi
vidual = speculation, and extrava.
gance, and misdirection OF the ener.
gies of our people, caused by the ne.
cessity of throwing into circulation
the enormous amount of credit cur.
rency during the war and the destruc
Ition and waste of that dark period
Consequently, the war is the first
Igrand moving cause of it all; and
when you have fixed the responsible
ity of this you have fixed the respon
Isibility for all our financial disturb
Iances and distress. And our only
remedy is rigid public and privat,
ECONOMY, Tightening the burdens o.
taxation as much as possible, encour
agement and protection to all nsefu
and legitimate employment of boil
labor and capital, very gradual ant
steady reduction of our Indebtedness
the privilege Of using all the money
we morally and constitutionally mal
for that purpose, and our abandon
ment of the theory that we can Great,
wealth by an attempt to make abso
lutte money out of paper that will
wipe away our national indebted
ness.
Il What are our constitutional obliga
, tons in regard to legal-tender notes
both in relation to those out and thu
right to add to the present volume
The three hundred and fifty-foul
millions now outstanding are q par
of the public debt, created under law
authorizing loans, and section A, arti
Gle IA, Of the Constitution, which say
, "the validity of the public debt of tn,
] United States, authorized by law,
ri shall not be questioned" tina
, is, its business, sonndness, lega
) strength, legal force, shall not b.
treated as doubtful, applies as well t.
, these notes as to any bond held il
iWall street or in London, and the,
must be as conscientiously provided
, for, and any legislation which point
to purpose Of abandoning the ide,
) of their ultimate redemption is uncon
t stitutional.
u 1t may be asked, Why make nois,
I about this constitutional obligation
Who wants them redeemed? No
: the people. Well, let us honestly of
fer to pay them. Then if no ont
wants pay, we have done our duty
But il gentlemen are SO we'll satisfied
: lno one wants pay, why so afraid Il
make the offer? Ay, there is the rub
we do not make the offer for fear i
will be accepted.
Can we add to their present vol
ume? Bills Of credit issued by tin
United States to be circulated as mon
ey, payable only ct tho pleasure Of thu
Government, made legal tender II
payment Of debts public and private
constitute q forced loan from the PEG
, pie to the Government to the aggre
gate amount of the whole ISSUE
When the citizen can get nothing else
from his Government or his neighbol
in payment of debt he must take this
When the dealer can get nothing else
for his goods he must take this or GO
out of business. Thus such currency
{ forces it's way. This is all right
where there Is Q necessity for it, and
III will be the last one to complain that
lrreenbacks were issued. They came
to us in the field during the war as
welcome messengers. But this pow