New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-02-06
RE.NI.NPTION.

RESUMPTION.
President Grant opens the last mcnth Of his
official career with a message which brings
forclbly to mind the first act signed by INN,
and his most important achievement as Prcsi-
| dent. His veto and defeat of the Imitation
! bill will reflect more credit upon him than any
! other act of his civil career. 1t was defeat
! of those who sought to rcpudlate the solemn
| pledge given by the nation in the first act he
| had signed. Before the close of his service,
| he is enabled to point Congress TO the ready
sale of A., per cent bonds, at prices which
indicate that per cents can he placed at par,
! tO a favOring balance of trade amounting to
| S113, 900, 600 during the six months ending
| Dec. 81. to the accumulation Of about
| $50, 000,0 900 in specie during the same time,
| and to other facts showing that specie re-
sumption can soon he reached, if Congress
has but the wisdom to act upon his recon-
m"ndltiOn.
UnhappiIy, Congress has not the wisdom.
1t embraces too many regulators and toe
many men who have committed themselves to
| false theories, and are more concerned for
their consistency than for public honor or
prosperity. Men who denounced contraction,
were shams and clamored for more money,
cannot now take wise step without confess
ing that they were wrong. The President
shows himself larger man than any Of
these. His messages show that in times past
his head also has been full of financial alb
surdties, but, being convinced, he is not too
small man to own lis errors.
Even this latest message is not quite free
from financial crulities. 1t is q grotesque no.
ton that "a healthy imitation of a sound cur
"rcncy may he caused by adding the coin of
| 1.-THE country to its circulating medium" 1t
is true that for six months prices have been so
low that, instead of gold, we have sent abroad
commodities exceeding in valne all imports of
merchandise by $i13,737,0l0, but the PreSi-
| dent fails To see that 4" Il healthy imitation
would put up prices, make gold relatively the
cheaper for export, and not only send abroad
! the store of specie, but destroy the
favorable balance upon which his hopes
are built BIT errors of reasoning can he par
doned, so excellent are the recommendations
of the message. IL deserves the attention
which it will not receive. Reaching at last the
| heart Of the currency question: the President
ucrccivcS that withdrawal of the surplus legal
| tenders by funding j. IN essential step. lie
| therefore asks power TO exchange per cent
bonds for legal tcndcrs-the same measure,
| except with notifications To meet changed en-
cumstanccs, which cX-Secrctary McCullOch long
ago recommended in his letters to THE TRIB-
| UNE. Had it then been adopted, we should
ere this have reached specie payments, solid
| foundation, ard a genuine revival OF business.
Last week gold touched l047s-a price lower
than it has reached since June II, 1862, when
| McClclans disasters pushed it upward. The
debt statement of Feb. shows that the de-
crease of debt, less cash in the Treasury, was
larger in January, 1877, than in January of
any year preceding since 1872. 1t shows,
moreover, that during last month $1,070,273
in legal tenders were retired, and 1923, $50 81
! in fractional currency, so that substantially the
entire reduction Of debt was III those two forms
of currency. Yet the banks were free to eX
pand circulation, and, on the contrary, con-
tracted it from %319, 1881 to $31S, sS0,31S,
besides n reduction in gold notes from
! So, 099, 100 to 81 ,42S, $40 Ii is this healthy
contraction, which we owe Immediately 10 laws
Of trade rather than laws of Congress, upon which
| apparently, we must for the present rely. The
merit of the Resumption act was that it gave
the laws of trade some chance to effect the
needed currency retirement. Since it passed
$21 100000 of fractional currency have been
put out of the way, $l7,015,1 8S of legal ten
dcrs have been retired, and the bank circula-
non has decreased S32, 9Sl 900. Yet there is
no strinGcncy in the money market; the banks
complain only that they have many millions OF
legal tenders which they do not need, and the
store, in other cities as well as here is steadily
advancing. Loans increase slightly, but they
are already as large as should De expected, in
view of the fact that the decline of prices en-
ablcS the same business TO he transacted with
less money. The contraction has not been yiO-
lent enough to do harm. the only trouble being
that il has been 50 gradual and moderate that
much loss and many failures have been caused
by mere uncertainty and delay. II the Presi
dents recommendations were followed, il is
probable that millions OF legal tenders which
now lie idle would be funded quickly, and with
out a shock to business that prices, already
at or below the specie basis in many respects
would rather adjust themselves than sink, and
that the genuine revival Of business, for which all
pray, would speedily appear. The best of TIE
situation is that there is already some inn
proyemcnt. The cearin6s last week were
| $45s, 2S2, 56s, against $445.259.7Ol during