Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-10-16

more than three years to rum so they all
matured and were paid or funded before the
end of 1868. The panic did not come till near
the end of 1878, or five years after the con-
traction was completed. Now, if this was the
contraction and it caused a shrinkage of values
and the shrlnkage caused the panic, why didn't
the values shrink and the )anic come at the
time of the contracG ion On the contrary, we
are told that these very years, '66, '67 and '6S,
were among the most prosperous years we ever
had. According to their own arguments during
the very three years that two thirds of the
currency was stolen from the people, the people
had great prosperity.
THE PAPER CURRENCY FROM 1868 TO 1873
was as follows:
1865. S720, Alp SOP
lo09 693, 946 O56
1871. 700,375 S99
IS1 I''.'......'.... 1I7,87575l
1872 1873 $40 903
1oI5-. 70O, 062 800
twill be seen that it declined between '6S
and SO little over &c millions and that from $50
till '73 there was a steady increase in the
amount in all to over S56,OO0O0O. If we use the
gold value of the currency which represents IFS
actual business or pure hasing power the con-
trast is still more remarkable. The gold value
OF currency at the end of the fiscal year, June 80,
1868, was $500, 1924 at the end of the fiscal
year, June 80 1878, it was $64S, 054, 1885, showing
an increase of real business power of $143 05 652.
Still, we are told contraction caused the panic.
BURNING GREENBACKs.
1t has been SAID, that Secretary Boutwell,. in
his report Of 1872 said over 500 000 900 of green
backs, fractional currency and National Bank
notes were burned in that year, and this, he
says, was of itself enough to cause the panic
A little attention to the law will explain that.
The law of February A, 1868, ordered the Secre-
tary to stop the retiring or canceling of green.
backs as follows:
AN ACT TO SUSPEND THE FURTHER REDUC-
TON OF THE CURRENCY.
"SeCtion l. That from and after the passage
of this act the authority of the Secretary of the
Treasury to make any reduction of the cur
canoeing
notes, shall be, and is hereby, suspended; but
nothing herein contained shall pTecent the caCeELG
notes and the replacing Of the evith notes of the
same character and amount"
This law was in full force in 1872, so that the
destruction referred to by Sec. Boutwell, is ex-
planned, and it did not effect any contraction.
The above tables show that the amount of cur
rency was greater IN II than in III and larger
and superficial and false statements as these
that have muddled and bedeviled peoples
minds, till many of them think they would be
justified in instruction.
FACTS ABOUT GREENBACKs
The greenbacks were issued under the three
acts of February %, and july II, 1862 and of
March g. 1868. Each act authorized $50 OOO OOO
But the first act provided that So Co., 600 of that
amount should be used to take up ''demand
notes." so that at no time the amount of both
outstanding should exceed $780, 600 00O The &C.
of July II, 1862, provided that $4,000 600 of it's
amount should be used only as reserve to
redeem temporary loan certificates; the act of
March 3, 1868, authorized $3.50, DOC, 900, so that
$450,00O,000 was the total amount authorized,
$50,O00,000 of which were to be issued for
SPECIFIC temporary purpose alone, and when
used for that purpose to be retired again as
quickly as possible and in harmony with all this
the law of June 80, 1864, was passed by the I'M
animous vote of both houses of Congress; s'for
shall the total amount of United States notes
issued or to be issued ever exceed $40, 600 600,
and such additional amount not to exceed S5n,-
O00,000 as may be temporarily required for the
redemption of temporary loans.'
The act of April II, S66, authorized the Secre-
tary, "at his discretion" to dispose of any bonds
authorized by act of March 3, 1865, (being 1905
5-20'S of 1865, and the bonds known as conSoIs of
1866, 1867, and 1869 for lawful money of the
United States and for Treasury notes, whether
bearing interest or not. The law, however,
said: Nothing herein contained shall be con-
strued to authorize any increase of the public
debt" and further: 'tPrOUided That of United
States notes not more than S10,000,000 may lie
retired and cancelled within six months from
the passage of this act, and thereafter not more
than 81 000,0 600 in any one month";
Under this act $44 100000 of the ,S400, 600 900
were retired up to February 4, 1868, when the
further reduction of the currency" But this
S44,000,000 was not burned or destroyed for
$26, 0O0, 600 of 1T was issued at the time of the
panic of 1873, and the whole amount was found
to be on hand in the Treasury, the Secretary
and the President holding it to be cash in the
Treasury. Congress afterward set the question
proper construction of the law. So no green
backs seem to have been burned to make room
for an increase of the interest bearing debt.
THE RESUMPTION ACT.
The resumption act provided that when 800
of new National Bank notes were issued. $50 of
greenbacks should be retired. But this did not
effect contraction, for rs per cent. more bank cur
rency was issued than greenbacks retired. The
object was to reduce greenbacks to $500 600 OOO
to enable the government to maintain resump-
ton. But when the greenbacks had been re-
duced to S346, Ole, further reduction was sus
pended, and that is the amount now outstand-
ing. Irepeat that not one dollar of the green
backs authorized for currency purposes was
ever funded into interest bearing bonds and de-
stroyed.
BONDED DEBT IN 1868 AND 1873
1t is attempted to make out that the bonded
debt has been increased because it is quoted at
only little over 81, l00, 900 then, and at over
81, 100000 now. 1t is correct according to the
technical use of the legal term bonded But if
it is meant to say that the interest bearing debt
has been increased it is not correct There was
at that time large mass of floating debt, bear
ing high rate of interest that had not been
funded and so does not appear in the table of
bonds or bonded debt. The facts are the total
interest bearing debt was on August 81 1865
s. 3S1 $50 294.96. 1t is now S1.79L 643 7OO-a re-
ductOn of $685., 1856 594 90, instead of an increase
The highest annual interest charge was $780,
97T,69LS7. For next year the interest will be
SS3, 50-or S67 2O3 9l9 81 less than in 1865
As to the point that it is harder to paw one dol
lar than three then. The Governments
credit never was so good as now, nor its finan-
cial condition so easy. There never was time