The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-03-11
Gold IOl.

IN. GOLD premium isll on Saturday TO
~. r,a, on he dollar, which is The lowest
81, ,ise. the frat months Of the war. A
o,.5oll.r nots is thus worth this morn
m, ineIacl figures, O9OO90Ol. For all
D,,t,ir.l purposes a greenback has the
,,ae purchasing power as gold. ThIa
,,oit, ua tir.I and immediate result, we
o.e to the passage OF the Silver bill, al
though gold Wa, down at one time, pre-
,iou. 10 Tie p..sase Of the bill, to lOlt.
hi, pa,urul that for the time being the
,Jd premium should sink. Gold ia now,
Ia f, certain extent, demonetized. Silver
b,io, the cheaper coin, and being receiv.
,bls for custou., will, as soon as enough
e,o he coined, take the place ol gold Tor
ca.ou. Merchants will use silver as
lopsui. /, the smallest fraction cheaper
b,u gold. About twelve millions Of coin
NJ, month are needed for customs, and ii
rilliuse about four months to give the
iaportlut cities this supply OF the new
,lr,f dollars. Meanwhile, the probabil.
y that the premium on gold will grad
ally disappear. That il, provided our
boui. do no; come back for sale, and
provided further, our exports hold the
same encouraging ratio as Of late to our
Imports.
Ato the future Of the gold premium,
thai /, a different proposition. We have
nosin The U. s. treasury, according TO the
lpt statement, about enough gold for one
y,ar coin payments by the Government.
A,,hlt gold ia psid out, it will probably
disappear. Shrexd fnsRciers know that
the Government can not coin half enough
silver in year 10 meet its coin obliga :
tons. How ia the deficiency TO be sup
Piled at the end Of the fnt l2 month";
Must the Government not purchase
s,a ia the market to meet liz We see
10 other way to meet the deficiency, and
to ths end it must accumulate currency.
The accumulation OF currency means
@ntraclion. Last year the gold receipts
from customs were 1870 millions, and the
expenditures for interest on the public
lsbt 81 millions. Insrmuch az this in
gst on the debt must be paid in coin,
and Odina,much as the necessary silver car
soI be accumulated to pay it, it follows
tAG enough currency to buy the gold
NEEDED mu.! be accumulated.
Those who read the speeches in Con-
gre, on the silver bill will probably
remember the remarks Of Mr.. Hewitt OF
lAh very point. We quote them as fol-
Lo~:
"Asthe current receipts and expendi'
lures Of the government are necessarily
lbOuItqnAl in amount, the fund Of SS7 I,
1850 20 now in the Treasury, mainly
ia gold, which will have been paid out ia
interest, will twelve months hence neces-
Hrily consist OF legal tender and liver
lender notes. How much will there be
10 silver and how much in legal tender
notes' Obviously there cannot be more
silver than can be coined in one year
Vhich will not exceed S36,OO0,000. Ol
this 'um al least $l2,0OO,O0O will be in
The hands Of the public as Il working fund
lo' the payment OF duties. This will
l'Ire s9iOO0OOO TO be accumulated in
The Treasury, and the accumulation oil
silver Caunot possibly exceed that sum,
lae h'IHDCe Of the fund, amounting 10
&3lsG7O 60, must necessarily be in
l.sll tender notes. The amount now
here il slightly in excess OF $4,000, 900
oihat at least S60,OO0,O00 OF legal ten
'"'SH llHNt nc lAken lEOtu tue SOlh'
@anIty and locked up in the Treasury
saflHg the coming twelve months. This
q con'facIion at the rate Of S6.O00,0O0
Ptr MONTH"
ltMr. Hewitt is correct in the above
statement, it il hot unlikely that a seri'
''' contraction Of the currency will oc
cur during the coming year, induced by
ID. Oece''i'ies II rbe Treasury to provide
CON- While therefore the premium or
s'd falling just now, as it has fallen
'tloe, it may rise, amid the necesSitiel
Nd unCerIninties Of the future, to a high
"aSnr. The financial situation Is in q
ala'l'ion state. We are passing into The
''as'aIIic period, wherein gold, silver
Nd paper money, are to play a part MOI
''' plainly di,ces.ible.
WstllnIiOnu "a. Wo.. A.. s1.a WNIn