Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1878-08-29

ba.ka which were authorized to Issue their bills ~
money. At tho close Of August 1855, the national
debt reached ito highest stated amount and 1t that
time the volume of greenbsck treasury notes issued
Was 1892. 757 eO4 and tho volume of national bank
addison 90 ss srs
500. 344.74 of postal fractional currency, and
$4O2. 965 of demand notes; making grand total OF
paper currency of $685.. 719. 366. Now, how much
has this currency been Contracted The last annual
report OF the comptroller of the currency gives this
statement for Decsniber !, 1877: Greenoacks 1891
$40, ZSS; demand notes. $50, 702; National bank,
notes. 1920 631.7 19; fractional currency, $751;
DAB O2O; total 5000 O7S, 729. Instead of coutrac-
ton therefore, there has been An increase since the
close of the war of $54 $50 1863. For the accuracy
of these figures pledge you my word and have hero
the official reports from which they taken.
But it is alleged that these items 90 not embrace
all the currency and that there has been a contrac
ton OF vast amount some times alleged to be over
thousand million dollars. MI. Samuel Cary states
it thus:
allow, my friends, what has been The contraction
of the circulating medidmi In 1865 there were
ffty-seven dollars of circulating medium for every
man. woman and child in the United States. That
embraces greenbac1s, graybackS. oDeyear notes.
two-year notes the compound interest notes. the
certificates Of Indebtedness, aud the seven,
Nominally we have about fourteen doliars really.
Only about twelve dollars per head Why do 1 say
reslyl Because there is u hundred millions all the
time in the treasury of the United States. Banks
are required to keep fifteen per cent o. their circnla
ton III their vaults.
the currency at the close OF the war Mr. Cary in
cludes the hundreds Of millions of dollars of Confed-
crate scrip, This paper before the rebellion was
ended, had deprecated until onedollar greenback
worth five hundred dollars of graybacks, and
when the war had closed busbel basketful was
not worth nickel There has been contraction of
this Confederate money, not dollar has been paid,
but its entire volume would not
buy you breakfast. And yet
what they teach, end put them into control OF the
government Do it, and they will follow the exam
Pile Of the conederscy, and issue paper until it will
become just as worthless. It you want graybacks
instead Of greenbacks vote against the Republican
ticket.
But Mr.. Cary also government bonds to
give semblance OF truth 10 mis- statement Of the
volume of currency. But bonds not to
be counted, because there three points
Ct distinction between bills of credit which
renCy and bills OF credit which Sre not First cur
rency is impersonal that ia is rot payable to any
particular person. as are bills OF exchange but 10
any Gus in whose hands they may be. Second, they
indet@rninate in their running; that is. al
ways dine and presenta5le. and not pay able at flu
ture fixed time, as are bonds and notes Of hand.
Third. they are rnchauging in tho amount demand
ed and not like interest bearing paper calling for
different amount every day. 1t is true that bonds,
bills Of exchange, tine notes, checks. ORDERS bills of
lading warehouse receipts, and all other forms of
credit paper. may be valuable currency paper,
or even more so. You may buy With them. pass
them into other hands. use them to measure values
currency. for the reasons / have named. Aud it
will readily occur to you, that If the bonds
CT snS !" Iss, are called iss
bonds be called currency in 1878. This sort ofcount
will add 81 800 600 QUO TO the usual statement of
our present money volume. But stiIl it is alleged
because they were made legal tender for the pay
meut OF debts; and all legal tender must be added to
the volume. Well what amount will this add Ia the
totali At the time mentioned, August 81, 1865.
tho legal-tender bonds follows Five per
cent notes. $33. 954, $50; and two years COM
pound interest notes, S217, 024 160 To give the
largest statement we win add the State bank paper
then in existence, about $65. 600, 600, and
the gold and silver $S5O00.O00 ] have here
tender bonds, greeubacks, fractional currency Ma
tional and State bank notes and specie on the first
day az. Of Jsy 90 Of each of the years 1868 1873
For 1858 Isi s 1873 ssss
1IOO79; for 1873, 1910, 1873, 500, and
for 1877, $500, 1893 Counting
the bonds, and the total contraction from 1865 TO
1877 has been S61. $50 422 Leaving out the bonds.
and there has been All eIpsnsion of $3.50 992 673.
count to the amount Of $3.50 ooo But there is
no reason for this whatever. They were coupon
bonds ana You had as wen count the Ave-twepties
to give q color of right assert that they were
legal tender. but this is not true; I have
here letter from Hon. j. s. Long
dressed to him, which is dated Washington, July
Is. 1878. in which ne ssys 'In answer to your
have to say that thirty notes were not
legal tender for debts but issued in such form
that they could circulate money. the notes being
about the size of ordinary United States notes. with
five coupons attached ut one end As q matter Of
fact however notes did not circulate
to any great extent As money. because as they
bore interest and we're fundabe into vetwenty bonds
they were beld by banks insurance companies and
in fact nearly every into whose hands they
Furthermore these seventbrty notes were payable in
currency. and were due in three years; aud they
were exchangeable for six cent gold bonds they
were all returned and exchanged possible
One more fact and dismiss them. About $50 000-
| 600 Of them ffty-dOllar bonds. were for
less sums than this while tho great bulk from
$1,000 80 600 bonds; not very convenient sze for
money. The attempt TO count this as currency,
therefore is simply deception. The real contrac-
lion has been IN government service, expenditure
and debt; contraction imperatiyey required, UNI
less We were bent Oh bankruptcy and ruin. If the
| people had done the thing, had contracted
their expenditures and debts in like manner, there
would bsve been no panic aud no hard times.
Now take tho entire volume of every thing that
can be called money by any stretch of the word.
specie, bank bills government notes. and all legal
tender bonds, aud the volume of money per capita is
about bxif what Mr. Cary states it in 1865 and fifty
per cent. more than he states it The true fig
| ares a. shown by this table are In 1865, $25. 63;
in 1873. $21 10; in 1877, $22 40 So reckless and
unreliable are the figures Of our opposers-
TABLE OF VOLUME OF ALL KINDS OF MONEY, IN
GLIDING ALL LEGAL-TENDER BONDS FOR THE
| YEARS NAMED: