Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-12-06

is essential to enable this department to meet
emergencies. By its exercise it is anticipated that
the treasury at any time readily obtain coin to
reinforce the reserve already accumulated. United
States notes must. however, be the chief means un
der existing law with which the department must
restore coin and bullion when withdrawn i'll
process of redemption. The notes. when redeemed.
must necessarily accumulate In the treasury until
their superior use aud convenience for circulation
enables the department to exchange them ut par for
coin or bullion.
The act of May 81 1878 already referred to, pro
v;des that when United States notes are redeemed
or received in the treasury under any law, from
any source whatever, and shall belong TO the
United States, they shall not be retired Cancelled
or destroyed, but shall be ressued and paid ont
again and kept i'll circulation.
The power to reissue United States notes
conferred by section !, SO Revised Statutes, and
was not limited by the Resumption act. As this.
however, was questioned, Congress wisely removed
the doubt.
Notes redeemed like other notes received into.
the treasury. Payments of them can be made only
in consequence of appropriations made by law, or
for the purpose Of bullion for the refunding of
the public debt.
The current receipts from sufficient to-
meet the current expenditures well the
ing interest on the public debt. Authority is
ferred by the Refunding act to redeem per cent
bonds as they become redeemable by the proceeds
of the sale of bonds bearing lower rate Of inter.
est, TIE United States notes redeemed under tte-
Resumption act are, therefore, the principal
provided tor the purchase of bullion coin with
which to maintain resumption. but should only BE-
paid out when they can be used to replace equal
amount of coin withdrawn from the resumption
fund. They may 1t IL true. be used for current
purposes like other money, but when used their
place is filled by money received from taxes or
other sources of revenue.
In daily business. no distinction need re made
between moneys from whatever source received,
but they may properly be applied to any of the
purposes authorized by law. No doubt coin labil
tiles, such rs interest or principal of the public
debt. will be ordinarily paid and willingly received
in United States notes. but, when demanded such
payments will he made in coin and United States
notes and coin will be used in the purchase OF bul
lion. This method has already been adopted in
Colorado ard North Carolina, and arrangement
being perfected to purchase bullion in this way
in all the mining regions of the United States.
BY the act approved June 3, 1878. the Secretary OF
the Treasury is authorized TO constitute any super
intendent of Il mint or assayer of any assay Office
an Assistant Treasurer Of the United States to re
ceive gold coin bullion on deposit. By the
Legislative Appropriation bill, approved July -
1873 the Secretary of the Treasury authorized to
issue coin certificates in payment to depositors Of
bullion at the several minis and assay offices of the
United States. These provisions. intended to secure
to the producers of bullion more speedy payment.
will necessarily bring into the minis and treasury
the great body of the precious metals mined in tho
United States and will tend greatly TO the easy and
steady supply of bullion for coinage United States
notes. when at par with coin. will be readily
ceived for bullion instead OF coin certificates, and
with great advantage and convenience to the pro-
ducerS.
Deposits of coin in the treasury will no doubt.
commune 10 DS maze dIteF Tile ISL Oh JANUARY, ~
heretofore. Both gold and silver coin, from It's
weight and bulk. will naturally seek such safe
deposit, while notes redeemable in coin from their
superior convenience, will be circulated instead
After resumption, the distinction between cola and
United States notes should be, far prac
ticable. abandoned in the current affairs ut the
Government; and, therefore, no coin certificates
should be issued except where expressly required
by the provisions of law, as in the case
of silver certificates. The gold certificates
hitherto issued by virtue of the discretion con
the LIST Of January next. The necessity for them
during suspension OF specie payments is obvious
but longer exists when by law every United
States note is in effect coin certificate. The only
purpose that could be subserved by their issue here
after would be TO enable persons to convert tlcis
notes into coin certificates, and thus contract the
currency and hoard gold i'll the vaults of the treas
ury without the inconvenience or risk OF its Gus
tody. For convenience United States notes OF the
same denomination as the Larger coin certificates
will BE- issued.
of the public debt are payable in con and por-
ton of the duties was specifically pledged as a
special fund for the payment of the interest. thus
making one provision dependent upon the her
As we cannot, with due regard TO the public h. nor
repeal the obligation to pay coin. we ought not TO
impair repeal the means provided to procure
coin. When. happily, our notes are equal to coin
they will be accepted coin, both by the public
creditor and by the Government; but this accept
should lie left to the option OF the respective
parties and the legal right on both sides to demand
coin should be preserved inviolatc.
The Secretary is of the opinion that a change OF
the law is not necessary to authorize this depart
ment to receive United States notes for customs
duties on and after the LIST day of January, 1919,
while they are redeemable and are redeemed on de
mand In coin. After resumption it would seem a
useless Inconvenience 10 require payment of such
duties in coin rather than in United States
notes. The Resumption act, by clear implication,
so far mOdifles previous laws as to permit pay
ments in United States notes as well as in coin.
The provision for coin payment made in the
DIST fyyur vhayf ha nnfQ mi
the public necessities required assured revenue
in coin 10 support the public credit. This alone
justified the refusal by the Government to take
its own notes for the taxes levied by II. ii
has now definitely assumed to pay these notes in
coin and this necessarily implies the receipt of
these notes coin. To refuse them is only to in
wife their presentation for coin. Any other con
struction would require the notes to be presented
to the Assistant Treasurer in New York for coin.
and if used in the purchase of bonds to be returned
to the same officer, or if used for the payment OF
customs duties. to be carried to the Collector OF
Customs, who must daily deposit in the treasury
all money received by him. 1t is not to be assumed
that the law requires this indirect and inconvenien'
process after the notes are rodeeinaoe III com on
demand of the holder. They are then ut parity
with coin, and both should be received indscrm-
inately.
the port of New York. they should be received tos
the same purpose in ali other ports OF the United
States, or unconstitutional preference would be
given to that port other ports. If this priv
lege is denied to the citizens of other ports they
could make such use OF these notes only by trans
porting them to New York and transporting the
coin to their homes for pawn INT; and all this. nor
not only without benefit to rhc Government but
with loss in returning the coin again to New York,
where it is required for redemption purposes.
The provision in the law for redemption in Ne"
York was believed to be practical redemption in all
parts of the United States. Actual redemption was
confined to q single place from the necessity OF
m aintanng only one coin reserve and where the
coin could be easily accumulated and kept.
With this view of the Resumption act, the Secre-
tary will feel il to be his duty unless Congress
otherwise provides to direct that after the LIST day
of January next and while United States notes arr
redeemed at the treasury they be received the same
as coin by the officers of this department In all
payments in all parts of the United States.
II any further provision Of law is deemed neces
sary by Congress to authorize the receipt of United
States notes for customs dues for bonds the
Secretary respectfully submits that this authority
should continue only while the notes are redeemed
in COIN However desirable continuous resumption
NAV be- and however confident we may feel in its
maintenance. yet the experience of many nations
has proven that it may be impossible in periods OF
great emergency. In such events the public faith
demands that the customs duties shall be collected
in coin and paid to the public creditors. and this
pledge should never be violated or our ability to
perform 1t endangered.
The tendency of late among commercial nations is.
to the adoption of single standard OF gold and the
issue Of silver for fractional coin. We may. by
ignoring this tendency, give temporarily increased
value to the stores OF silver held in Germany and
France until our market absorbs them. but by
adopting silver standard as nearly equal to gold
as practicable we make market for our large pro
duction of silver, and furnish full, honest dollar
that will be boarded, transported, or circulated
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