The Portland daily press., 1879-03-21

1888 3lS, ,6S5
1t no longer claims to quote from the
United States Treasurer's report OF 1865, but
tacisly acknowledges that the quotation can
not be found in that report. How does it
attempt to disguise the forgery? 1t invents
report by "John Sherman, Treasurer"
that never had an existence except in its
own Imagination. We challenge it to pro-
duce that report.
1t is possible that the Neao Era intends to
quote from report of the Secretary of the
Treasury. 1t may have the benefit of that
doubt. Its explicit statement that it quotes
the very words of the title of the report
prepared at the Treasury department, July
IS, 1878, John Sherman, Treasurer may
be merely an instance of its habitual inaccu-
racy in quotation. Let us for the occasion
accept its figures. What do they show?
They show the circulation outstanding June
80. 1866, to be 1888 31S, ,6S5. The other fig
uTes which swell the amount to $1,920, ,467,-
59S it now admits are not given as circulat-
ing currency in the report from which it pre-
tends to quote, though in its issue OF March
13 1t included nearly 81 900, 900 900 OF inter-
est bearing securities in the amount OF cur
rency there was in circulation in 1865 saying
''The figures below have been taken from the
Treasurer's report June 80, and August Is,
1865. for the purpose of giving the readers OF
the Neao Era the truth as stated by the
proper authorities at the time" 1t now says
it took these figures from report made last
year, report, we repeat, that never had an
existence.
How does the Ne,o Era get these figures
amounting to almost $2,0OO,OO0,O 900? 1t
does not find them in any report of United
States Treasurer. 1t gets them partly by
adding to the amount of currency $3.50, 000,-
600 of 7-30 bonds, which were not currency
and were not legal-tender. The balance is
mace up by including the temporary loan
certificates of 1862. The way it goes to work
to reckon $1,000, 100000 currency is to add
the aggregate of the paper money in circula-
ton in 1866, the amount of the temporary
loan certificates, the five per cent. legal
| tenders or one and two year notes of 1868,
and the compound interest notes. Now as
| to these varied forms Of Indebtedness, the
temporary certificates were not legal tender,
| the five per cent. were legal tender to a GER
| tain amount; the compound interest notes
| were legal tender for their face value,
excluding interest; and the 7.3O notes
were not legal tender, and the lowest
denomination was fifty dollars. All
| thoeo diffaront ohlioat;ope ,uaro ;,to,oo4
bearing, and that fact alone was sufficient tc
keep them out of circulation alongside of non
interest bearing, irredeemable paper money
notes. Some of them, no doubt, did perform
some of the functions of currency, just as 4
a or per cent. bonds to-day.
Not one Greenbacker in thousand eyeJ
saw in circulation one of the different form.
of government obligations referred to, ant
which are included in greenback estimates o
the paper circulation in "war times
If the 1905 we're currency why were nc
the interest-bearing obligations for whicl
they were exchanged? One kind of securit,
was as much legal lender as the other, IF w
reckon The Understanding securities in 1856
as currency we may as we'll reckon the inter
est bearing securities of 1879 in the sam
category and claim that the currency ha
been inflated of late by four and five pc
cent. bonds. Furthermore we have direc
official testimony on these points. Presiden
johnson in his annual message, December
1866, said:
Five years ago 1861, the bank note cir
culation of the country amounted to no
much more than two hundred million dol
lars; now the circulation, bank and nation
exceeds seven hundred millions.
Secretary McCulloch said, in his report
December. 1865, "Without including sever
and three-tenths notes, many of the smal
denominations of which were in circulation
as money, and all of which tend in som
measure to swell the initiation, the pape
currency of the country amounted Oct. 31st
1866. to the sum of 1874 218, ,03S."
Comptroller Clark said:
Not more than FIVE per cent. OF the legal
tender interest-bearing notes first issue 0
7-3VsI are in circulation as currency.
Treasurer Spinner sad in report of tn
amount Of uncancelled currency, June 80
1866: