Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-08-01


made upon it. This coin could only be OBJ
tanned by surplus revenue, or by the sale of
United States bonds, full authority for which
was given by the resumption act. In April,
1877, II was announced by the administration
that from the LIST of May the treasury depart
ment would accumulate coin at the rate Of
50, 900, 600 month, and accordingly that sum
was set aside from the sale of a per cent
bonds, up to the LIST of July. The very an |
nouncement of the purpose to resume, with a |
definite plan of resumption, at once had
reviving effect upon the public credit, increas-
ing the sale of A. per cent. bonds. This in
duced the treasury department. on the 23d Of |
May, 1877, to withdraw the 4 per cent. bonds,
and on the 9TH of June, 1877, to place the |
per cents upon the market, TO be sold at par
in coin both for refunding and resumption |
purposes. This was critical experiment, the
expediency of which was gravely doubted by
many friends of resumption but ii proved a
perfect success. This course was pursued
until November the price of coin constantly
declining and confidence steadily improving,
when Congress met and n bill speedily passed
the House of Representatives to repeal the
resumption act. This and other proposed
measures affected seriously the public credit,
and stopped the sale of bonds as with O clamp.
An examination of financial problems by the
committees of both houses, and the debates
pass the bill for the repeal of the resumption
act and finally prevented the passage of any
bill that would cripple that act, and left the
executive authority to pursue its duty as pre-
scrbed therein. On April IL, 1873, the de-
partment was again able to resume its policy
of purchasing coin by the sale of a per cent.
bonds, and shortly afterward to commence
the sale of per cents for refunding purposes,
and this policy was steadily pursued to the
md no ,pt,, 10
clined and the sale of 1 per cent bonds
steadily increased In 1873 we sold $50, 600,
600 - per cent. bonds at premium of u
per cent, and SIPS, GS5, 45O per cent bonds
at par Ninety million dollars of the proceeds
of bonds sold in 1877 and 1873 were held in
coin as n part of the resumption fund, and the
balance was applied to the payment Of the
per cent. go bonds At the end Of the year
1878, and before Congress bad convened, we
had thus accumulated, including surplus rev
enue, coin reserve Of Sl3S, coo, 600 Re
sumption had practically come one month be-
fore the day fixed 10y law, as quietly and tran
gully rs a vessel would float from the river
into the ocean. SO complete was the success
of resumption that all the notes presented for
redemption since the LIST Of january, and pri-
or to the list of July, amount TO S7,97G.G9S,
while gold coin has been freely deposited in
the treasury in exchange for United States
bullion in the treasury on the I'd day of Jan
uary, 1879, was Sl3j, 3s2, G39. -. On the LIST
day Of this month the amount of such coin
and bullion was Sl3j, 1876 474.G2 and the
amount of silver dollars has increased from
SIG, G97, 33S in January to S2S, 14T, 35l July l.
| No assistance whatever was extended by Con-
| gress i'll aid of resumption. On the contrary,
| 1t increased the minimum of the United States
notes upon which resumption was to be main
| al 10 Il
recently required the redemption of fractional
coin as well as United States notes BY pend
| ing measures of the most dangerous chRrac-
| ter, and by continual agitation, it greatly dis
| turbed the public credit, and made the task
| of the department much more difficult and
its means much less. 1t reduced the revenue
from taxes on tobacco TO the extent of S.
| coo, 900 or $4,000, 600 annually. II largely
increased the aggregate of appropriations.
While Congress reduced the revenue and in
creased the appropriations, it neither levied
new taxes nor gave authority to borrow money
to meet these extraordinary demands, but
used the sinking fund which was specifically
set aside by law for the reduction Of the pub
lie debt thus arresting the established policy
of the Republican party of yearly reducing
| the debt.
THE SAVING EXPECTED BY RESUMPTION.
Let us now see what have been the legiti-
mate results of resumption. Since the LIST of
January and prior to the LIST of July, 1879,
we have paid about 81 200, 900 coin certf-
Gates with United States notes, and have paid
$119 sol 100 93 United States bonds with
| United States notes. OF the enormous sum
of called bonds paid by the Treasury, so far
as is known, not dollar has been demanded
in coin, and thus by resumption we have
paid, and are paying daily, the fve-twenty
and ten-forty bonds in currency. Prior to
definite preparations for resumption, it was
impossible TO sell per cent. bonds Of the
United States at par in coin. After such
preparations We were able TO sell in 1877,
S75, 600, 900 per cents, and in 1878 SIPS,
$50, $50; but the moment resumption was
complete the sale of bonds increased with un-
expected rapidity. We sold in the month Of
January, 1879 Sl5S, 9O4, 100, and in the
month of February, 500, 10l, $50. In the
month of March the sales fell to $50, Sj2, 100,
chiefly by reason of fear that the enormous
payments required under the Refunding act
during the months of April and May would
create disturbance in the money market,
but this fear having been dissipated by the
LIST of April the sales were rapidly resumed,
and in four days they amounted to S73, 20,
1900, enough to cover and pay of all the out
standing $50 bonds of the United States.
Thus, as the first fruit of resumption, within
100 days after its coming, we sold S3i3, no.
$50 per cent. bonds, securing saving OF
50, SG2, 20j Il year. Nor is this all. There
were outstanding at that time Sl94, 5GG, BOG
! per cent. 1910 bonds, redeemable at the
pleasure of the United States. To pay of
these bonds the Treasury Department offered
$50, 900, 600 per cent. bonds at a premium
of one-half of one per cent, the residue to bt
paid from the proceeds of ten-dollar refund
ing certificates or the direct exchange OF
= bonds. Pending the preparation of this offer,
it was greatly doubted whether the depart
ment was justified in demanding premium
but as these were the last bonds that could bt
t offered within two years. l then thought {
| premium could be secured and would have
demanded higher rate but that the law requir
3 ed the refuuding certificates TO be exchanged
at par for lawful money. Within two day.
. the whole $50, 900, 600 bonds were sold up
t on the terms stated and offers were made fo
T. the whole of the refunding certificates, which
Q offers were declined, and the certificates wer'
e sold by postal money-order offices through
e out the United States, and were eagerly takel
n in sums of 800. This closed all the refund
= ing operations authorized by law, for Their
; are no other bonds that can now be redeem
e ed except by purchase in the open market a
! their market value. The annual saving il
n the interest-charge effected by these refund
& ing operations since the LIST of January last i
> $3.50, 4GS, and since the LIST OF March, 1877
= to the present time, $l4, 297, III. Some
y times complaint has been made that, durinI
: this process of refunding, the amount of in
y terest- bearing debt was temporarily increased
e and that interest was paid on two sets o
i bonds at the same time. This from the na
) ture of things was unavoidable under the pro
y visions of the refunding act Of 1870. Tn
d debt statement of July LIST shows as part O
10 the public debt the whole of the 1910 bonds
It and also the whole of the bonds issued 70
2 their payment, but also shows the money i
6 the Treasury to pay them. In the next deh
/ statement the lO-40s will disappear sue
= as are unpaid will appear in the debt bearin
o no interest. The cash in the Treasury wi
e also decrease accordingly. thought the nc
l. tice required by the law was entirely to
If long, and in my annual report to Congress
It Democratic in both branches earnestly urge
~ | n shnrteninn of the nerinh 10 30 DAVIS or leg