The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-12-04
Report or the Secretary OF the
Treasury.


Mr.. Sherman's report is the most credit
able in point Of ability of the documents
presented to Congress at the opening of the
regular session. It is clear, straightfor-
ward, business-like, as BELTS q financial
exposition, and its style does not ''wabble,"
as productions are apt to do when the
writer does not quite see his way or is not
master Of his subject. Mr.. Sherman is not
only sound in his views, but they lie in his
mind with such perfect distinctness that he
makes them as clear to the reader us they
ore to himself. -
The Secretary has no doubt Of his ability
to resume specie payments in 1879 under
existing legislation. His idea is that three
hundred millions Of legal tender notes may
be maintained in permanent circulation,
and that when the day fixed for resumption
arrives the government will be called on to
pay out only gold enough to reduce them to
that amount. But he would prefer to have
the greenbacks reduced to three hundred
millions in advance of the date and so be
spared the necessity of paying out any gold
at all except for the ordinary contingencies,
which will be Of constant occurrence after
resumption. Ii Congress should pass bill
authorizing the funding of the greenbacks
in excess Of three hundred millions in four
per cent bonds they would be at par before
January /, 1879, and there would then be no
motive to present them for redemption
except in small quantities to procure
80 l,,x:o.
for other incidental uses. He would
have in the Treasury permanent gold re-.
serve of hundred millions against the three
hundred millions of remaining greenbacks,
with authority to pay out the latter in the
disbursements of the government except
when the gold reserve was reduced below
the limit OF one hundred millions. With
this system once established the greenbacks
would perform function similar to that Of
Bank Of England notes. which are legal
tender everywhere except at the bank
itself
There is no need Of as many separate re-
serves Of gold as there are national banks.
In England there is but one gold reserve in
the whole kingdom, the country banks
which issue circulating notes being per-
mitted to redeem them in notes of the Bank
of England. Under this system there is
great economy in the use of gold. 1t is sell
dom needed in domestic transactions, and
the convertibility of Bank of England notes
makes them as useful as gold itself in
discharging every kind of domestic obi
r1,a 4 4
three hundred millions is rather too high q
maximum for the greenbacks, but under the
guidance of experience some maximum can
no doubt be established which would cause
them to perform as useful part in our cur
reHcy as Bank Of England notes do in
try is better than several thousand It
enables smaller amount Of coin to do
greater amount OF work, gives
everybody who wants gold an equal CON-
mand Of it, maintains equal steadiness in the
currency, and, in our case, it would save
the national banks from any perceptible
disturbance OF their business in the tran
sition to specie payments. II we follow the
example of England and maintain but one
specie reserve the government will be its
only safe custodian in the absence of a great
central national bank.
Secretary Sherman is very pronounced in
his views as to the folly and mischief of
making silver an unlimited legal tender.
II we can refund all our six per cent bonds
into four per cent bonds there will be o saw
inc of twenty-three million dollars n wear in
interest and it would be the widest insanity
to forfeit this great advantage for the paltry
gain that would attend the dishonest pay-
ment Of the public debt in silver.