Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-12-11

Military establishment ........ -. 29,3I9,79i IS
Naval establishment. ................ 1869 I47 SIS
!ndlan analrs ........-.-..-......... 4,99lSi5 So
Pensions. S2,4c4 o0J 20
PublIc works, treasury department. 3,1a1,150 co
Var department. 7,557, ,6254 A.
Navy department. 375,0y0 %
Interior department t....,,. 50S635 50
Department of agriculture 6,65G co
rOslai service ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. T,11l,Soj %
Miscellaneous. ..........:..... 17,s0l5ao 75
Permanent annual appropriations
interest on the public debt...... SS,s77, 410 90
SINKING fund, 39,sas, ,2a5 ~
lands, etc ........... 577s,6o0 90
Collecting revenue from customs. 5,5oO,Ooo 90
Miscellaneous. Observation-Disclosures. 1,766,o00 90
Total estimate expenditures, in
Guiding sinking fund. .......... S27S O97, ,S64 SO
or estimate surplus of So, ,9o2 6S5.6l. Exclud-
ing the sinking fund, the estimated expenditures
will be S23 ,26y 1856, showing surplus of S49,
| 7Sn SCI. .33.
The estimates for the revenue for the next fiscal
| year are based upon the assumption that the in
| creased receiprs during the past few months are
| abnormal and mainly due to the filling up OF
wants created by recent depression rather than by
| the actual increase of trade. These wants being
supplied, the revenue for next year probab bly, will
| not be increased beyond the amount estimated.
| The estimated expenditures for the same period
| are based upon the requirements OF existing law
! and the necessary appropriations forpublic works
| in course of construction The estimated surplus
Of $3.50 ,635 I'll will probably be exhausted by ad-
| dltonal appropriations. Should congress in
crease the appropriations beyond this limit, re-
peal or reduce existing taxes, other sources oil rev.
enue must be provided. Should this source be de-
| termined upon-which, however, the secretary
| does not Iccommend,-he would suggest, as a
| means of meeting the deficiency, the restoration
oJ moderate duty on tea and coffee and the levy
ing OF an internal tax on manufacturers Of opium,
| as hereinafter more fully stated.
COINS AND COINAGE.
| The operations of the mint and ASSAY Offices
during the year, and their condition at the present
| the director a
| the mint. The report also contains recommends
| tions for j. creasing the effectiveness of that
| branch of the service, and furnishes information
relative to the amount Of specie in the country,
| and the production of the mints of the United
States, and statistics brought up to recent dates
of the currency of the principal countries of the
world Of the rates of production of the precious
metals, and of their consuption in coinage and in
| the arts aud manufactures.
| The value OF the gold coinage during the year
was $40,9S6,912; of standard silver dollars, ST.
227 ,500 of subsidiary silver coin, S3S25 of minor
coin, Sy7, ,796; total s6S,3i2 $3.50
Gold and silver were separated in the Teffneries
of sthe mints and the assay office at New York in
the amount of $50 759, 549.g7 in gold, and S1C6
526G7 in silver, total of S31 447 1854, fine and
| imported bars were made III the amount of Sl2,-
S76 S12. .6S of gold, and s9,045 S02. of silver. The
mints and assay offices generally are i'll excellent
condition. and their capacity Is sufficient TO meet
the demand for coinage and bars. The gold coin
| age since 1852, about which time it disappeared
from circulation, has been principally i'll double
eagles but during the last year over per cent OF
the gold coins struck were in pieces of smaller
denomination The coinage of eagles and half
eagles will be continued until the demand for
small gold coin is suppliee. The coinage of stand
ard silver dollars has been kept fully up to the
quirement of law, Notwithstanding the difficulty
experienced i'll procuring silver bullion for the
mlnts at Sau Francisco and Carson at market
rates.
The amount of silver coin of less than dollar
provided for by law having been executed, the
coinage of this money has been suspended. The
demand for minor coins particularly for the one
cent pieces-has been pressing. The bullion pro
tod S+atn
the last year is estimated by the director 10 be
n%"rl5 $50, 100000, tho production of gold anC
production is 4"'''' less ih' ihan that that
of the proceeding year, caused by diminutior
IN the yield OF the mines OF Nevada, which was
not compensated by increased production il
other places
The director estimates the coin in the country
on Oct 81 1S79 at $3O5, ,4g7 OF gold and s121,
| 456, $50 of silver. The bullion i'll the mints anC
| New York assay office at that date awaiting coin
age amounted TO S40,931 OBS Of gold and 81, 533, 8
of silver, making the total amount of coin an(
bullion S491 ,691 u69. The estimating of the specie
in the country at any given time, is always diff
cult; but this estimate appears 10 have been care
fully prepared from coinage reports and statistic,
| OF recOlnage, export and import.
The amount of gold and silver annually used il
the arts and manufactures forms no incOnsider
able factor in estimating the production Of the
mines, the specie available for circulation, anC
| an attempt has been made to arrive at thu
amounts so used from records of the New York
assay Office, which furnishes the principal part o
of the metals consumed for these purposes, an(
from the report of the manufacturers The gen
eral results while incomplete in details, indicate
that the total consumption Tor purposes othel
than coinage is i'll excess of estimates heretofore
made. In the last annual report the secretary
stated:
1t would seem to be the bast policy for tn,
present to limit the aggregate issue of our silve
dollars, based on the ratio of sixteen to one, t
such sums as can clearly be maintained at Pal
with gold until the price of silver in the marke
shall assume a definite ratio to gold, when thai
ratio should be adopted and our coins made tC
conform to 1t; and the secretary respectfully rec
ommends that he be authorized to discontinue the
coinage of the silver dollaswhen the amount out
standing shall exceed s50y0O0,000
He respectfully calls the attention of congress-
to the Importance of further limiting the coinage
of the silver dollar The market value of the
| bullion in this coin has been, during the pas
year 10 to 16 per cent less that the market value
| of the bullion in the gold dollar.
The total amount of silver dollars coined to Nov
J. 1S79 nnder the act of Feb. 2S 1S1S was S45 206,
200, of which S13,002662 was in circulation aDt
time. No effort has been spared to put this cofr
in circulation Owing 10 its limited coinage il
has been kept at par but its free coinage wopl[ @
| and thus establish single silver standard The
| inevitable res ult would be TO exclude gCld coil
from circulation. 1t is impossible to ascertain
! what amount of silver coin, based upon the ratio
| of sixteen Of silver to ono of gold, can be main
tined at par with gold but it Is manifest that this
| can only be done by the governmant helding in Its
vaults the great body OF the silver coin. 1t would
| seem that nothing would be gained by an unlin
tied coinage unless it is desirable to measure al
| values by the silver standard. The secretary can
not too strongly urge the importance OF ad usting
| the coinage rates Of the two metals by treaties
with commercial nations sno dntl this can be
done of limiting the coinage of the silver dollar:
| to such sum: for, in the opinion of congress
this would enable the department to readily main
tain the standard dollars of gold and silver at pal
| with each other.
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
The report Of the comptroller of the corrency
gives complete statistics relative TO the operations
of the national banking system, from its 6rganiZa
| ton uutil the present time; the number of banks
in operation Oct. of the present year, the date
of their last reports 2,04s, md the aggregate
capital S454 067 $780, surplus S16I 29 52S individu
al deposits, S719, 1885, specie Including United
States coin and certificates, s42 173;73125, legal
tender notes, including United States certificates
597, 446; loans, sob, 107 The total eireula
ton outstanding on Nov. was S317, ,18l, ,4lo
Among the subjects discussed in the report are the
relations which have existed between the national
banks and the government in the resumption oi
specie payments and in the funding of the public
debt. In both of these important financial opera
tiOns the cooperation of the national banks has
been of essential SERVICE TO the government The
| banks, in the aggregate, have constantly kept on
| hand as reserves nearly One-thrd of the entire
| amount of legal-tender notes outstanding, which
together with the coin, is much in excess of the
amount of the reserves required By law. They
have constantly held security for their circulat
| ing notes and for government deposits and other
purposes more than one-ffth of tie interest-bear
| ing debt OF the Unitad States. They have main
tanned their legal reserves in the treasury for the
redemption of their circulating notes, and such
redemption has been made, without failure or de-
lay, at their expense. In Ihis mode exchanges
have been made between all parts of the country
| at the lowest possible rates The effect of the
business depression prevalent from 1873 until the
resumption of specie payments upon the national
banks is shown in the losses which they have
sustained and the dividends which many have
been compelled to pass; also by the noticeable
capital and deposits of banks other than national
is also given, and such otner Information in ref