Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-07-31
New YORK Times
The Refunding Operations.

I me war and the issue of enormous Quanii-
! t!rs Of irredecmabe paper. Enterprises
| u every Kind were being pressed with the
Z lsvCIish enrrgy OF speculation, money
/ commanded high rates OF Interest, our cur-
reGcy was disordercl, snl the disorder
was taken advantage ot by all the brood o {
eager aud voniarsome operators to whom
| frequent and violent flGciuation. afford a
Held for thu prosecution OF their bold
schr mes The traditions OF ordinary bu,..
ness. which cnjoin prudence. foresight aud
patience. were los, sight Of, aud the .p.r.l
ui gambling. from one end OF the land to
the Other, had taken possession 1t the
m.Cds II great portion Of the people.
Every where great risks were being btindiy
aui gAyly as.umcd in the confident hup., Of
great gains, ana with little thought. 81 The
terrible consequences which mus. foilOS
is.l5rr. AZ such time, the project OF re-
funding could hardly be expected To- r.
COVE favorable Or cycf, seriou. attention a.
Domr. HE uew bonds appealed only gn
conservative minds. They Offered secure
iENr- .mcnt !pT 4 long period in return Tor
a considerable reduction ot the iutcrc.t
then rclus received tor bonds ~ rquaI -
curity. but OF uncertain term The aver
age o,ElEru pf the United States that Pc
rIuI "a, more bent on high returns for n,.
Vy>tmru:. H. gave himself tt'c c5ncrru
A To what lac could DO With hi. fund. when
they should be- rctururd to him. AMI the
uarr ~ Ten. fifteen or thiry years. before
tac usw bJai- should be paid Na- do,
;r.nqlia. to him
Accordingly the rrlund.ng bonds met
aIth small favor Ia thi. country f3r ~ry-
rrii years. Mr Boutwell, sUccerdrl ID
placing some S3ln ,OpU.u'0 OF thv per
cent? v"iotc he went ogt Of office \. the
cui uf Precedent Grants fret term and
secretary Richardson, who succeeded him
raised .h.s amount 70 something over sJl5.
uo, ,pe1. aluu, ouc-f'th uAly oi the total
Amouut provided for by the refIndiay lass
within four years after is passage Of
t-- s4m almost the whole wAs taArn
abroad. whc.e the consideration, which
made the new bonds desirable were much
more powerful than with the people Of the
Iuit.I states. Daring The next three
YEAR, within which o-currci The panic the
bur-iiUg Of The bubble which had 50 la
cjna,ed ard Infatuated the public mind,
only SOME $3.50 OOu 90 more of the refund
ins bonds Ncrc disposed o. siili largely to
foreign markets, and mostly five per cent.
boul-
When Mr. Sherman assumed office, the
conditions had materially changed Illh
if,i plAc", he found himself clothed Nith
The authority 10 sell, at his discretion,
bonds of the descriptions provided FOR ID
the act Of $50. 10 prepare for resumption.
the period Fixed for which was les than
two years distant. ia the next place. the
tremendous change Involved IN the crisis
of lS53-thr tinsl and complete dissipation
" the speculative spirit, and the revival
~ the traditions which had been rrcoE-
uiE-d 10 sOuUdcr umrs-had mcasITIbiy
taken place. Not only This, but there had
even been reaction which bad rendered
capital, tor the time being, undu!y tlmid,
and which made absolute security AMI lon.
duration of iuyestmeut. more important
ihan they had ever before beSn IN the
mind. Of American capitalists. Nor was
this stake Ol affairs confined 70 our own
country. There had taken place through
out the financial world a remarkable Sc
Tles 81 dehnquencies 10 respect OF .ecur-
ties. aud particularly OF public securities
state loans which had been thrown upon
the markets OF England and the Continent
al rates ruinous.y low for the borrowers
and extrayagantly profitable for the lend
ers. had. In an alarming number OF cases,
collapsed, and the eager investors were
being compelled TO face the simple problem
ln arithmetic whether a very high rate OF
interest on bond bought far below par
was profitable when, after a iew years, in
teIes. vas stopped aud the prospect OF the
payment OF the principal. vanished hope
iessiy. IN ILdtliou to this was the widely
extended failure OF industrial and CONNER.
cial enterprises. the promoters OF which
had advanced extravagantly the price of
IoauaDle funds.
Mr. sherman was shrewd enough to see
that the time was propitious 10 complete
the work OF reiunding, aud he entered upon
i wiki an energy. an independence Of
Judgment and OF action, a frmness and pa
tiencc Of purpose. which cannot iall TO be
rememberd 10 his honor. Whatever NAV
have been his errors in other and even in
more important departments OF financial
policy-aDd we have never concesled our
opinion that these have been exceedingly
graye-ne is entitled TO the credit OF hay-
ing carried the task of refundiug to a sue
/ cesstui conclusion with great skill judg-
inent and fidelity. Within two years and
| quarter he has placed 10 the markets of
| the world. and To a considerable extent 10
| our own. some $3.50 ,Oo0. 900 OF the bond,
provided for by the act OF July IA, 1870.
| OF this amount, sl04 ,000, coo in round num-
/ bers has been for redemption purposes.
The remainder represents bonds bearing a
| higher rate OF interest called in and paid
| or the $3.50, 900 600 about 500, 900 900 are
4 l-2 per cents, and $3.50. .O0O, 900 are 4 per
cents, the latter being the cheapest loan
ever issued by the United States.
! By the terms Of the law, all the bonds
| were to be disposed of at not less than par
| in coin, and the bonds redeemed were to
| be paid at not more than par. These con-
| ditions have been, IL is needless to say,
strictly observed. and the fact must be
kept in mind In order TO appreciate the de-
! gree TO which the credit OF the United
/ States has been maintained and advanced.
IL Is not an exaggeratlon TO say that 1t now
stands as his b as that of any nation In the
world.
A prominent business man SAID to the
| reporter, Things are decidedly brisk
around towu just now; there isn't an idle
laboring man TO be found abont the place y
Then the reporter walked down the street.
and encountering young man inquired,
| ..nnn't inh