The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-11-28

Annual Report of the Comptroller Of I
Currency.

gives brief history or the growth OF the debt
of the United States, and the financial opera
tons Of the Government from the beginning Of
the war to the present time. The report says:
The total number Of national banks organ
lied from the establishment Of the national
banking system, Feb. *, 1863, to Nov. Of the
present year is g 3S. OF these, 307 have gone
into voluntary liquidation by the vote eff share
holders owning two-thirds of their respective
capitals, and eighty-cne have been placed in the
hands OF receivers for the purpose of closing
up their affairs, leaving 1850 in operation at
the date last named.
Since my last annual report thirty eight
banks have been organized, with an aggregate
authorized capital OF %. 595, 600, to which g.
39O, 40 in circulating notes have been issued.
Ihlrty-eight banks with an aggregate capital Of
", 45O 700 have voluntarily discontinued bust
ness within the said period, and eight banks
have failed, having total capital of s., 030 600
The insolvent banks included two, with capt.
tai OF s7UO,OOO, which failed after having gone
into voluntary liquidation"
The report is accompanied by tables exhibit
Ing the aggregate average capital and deposits
on May 81, 1879, OF all classes of banks other
than national, and the capital and deposits of
the national banks on June IA following The
aggregate capital of the various classes Of
State, savings and private banks, says the
Comptroller, has diminished from $7l9, 400
OOO in 1876 to $656, 800 900 in 1879, and the ag-
3OO, 700 In 1876 to 81, 1893 800 600 in 1873 re-
duclion OF $62 9OO, 0OO in capital and $751; 800
QUO In deposits during the last four years. The
national. banking capital has diminished S45,-
lOO,OOO but the deposits of the national bank
ers are almost precisely the same that they
were In 1876 Savings banks with capital show
a reduction of about 81, 100000 in capital and
the same amount in deposits The capital and
deposits of State banks and private bankers are
less by $l7 900 900 aud 5000, GOO, respective
ly. The greatest reduction, however, is in the
deposits OF savings banks without capital,
which have diminished S97, 800, 00O."
Upon the subject of the funding of the pub
lie debt the Comptroller says:
"The great war debt OF the United States was
contrac ed in less than four and half years.
In $3.50 the country was entirely out of debt,
and on Jan. 1,.lS6l, the whole debt of the
Union amounted to but sec, 2l3, 72l. During
the next ak months it increased at the rate of
about - Co., w month, being on the LIST day
OF July, 1861, $9O,5S 1913. During the next
year 1t increased at the rate of more than
s36, 100 per month, and at tie close of the
fiscal year ending July |, 1862, it had reached
1924, l76,4l2. At the end of the succeeding
year it was considerably more than twice that
amount, being, on July |, 1868, 81, 119, ~, 1885,
During the following year it increased nearly
s7OO, OOO,OOO reaching on July /, 1864, the sum
of l,Sl5, aS4, go During the next nine
months, TO the close Of the war, April |, 1865.
the debt increased at the rate of about g., OQO,-
coo day, or about $50, 0U0 a month, and
for the five months next thereafter, about So
900, OOO per day, or about So, 000,O00 month,
reaching its maximum on Aug. 81 1865, at
which date it amounted to 81 S45, 907, 626
AN aggregate of more than 81 ,276 OOO, 600 of
temporary obligations Of the Government, of
which $3.50, 0OO, co bore interest at 730 per
cent was funded within the three years which
followed the close of the war, and the skill and
good Judgment displayed in 80 doing can only
ha fully tod hv rb<,
with the difficulties aud delicate conditions un-
der which this great work was accomplished
The temporary loans, certificates of indebt.
edness, 7.30 notes, and all the other items of
the debt except the legal-tepder notes and
fractional currency, which have been largely
reduced, have been paid, have matured and
ceased to bear interest or have been funded
into 20 q per cents, of which more than one
thousand SIX hundred millions 81, 602, SIS, 35O)
were issued.
g The acts of July IA, 1870, and of Jan. 20,
1871, authorized the issue of bonds for the pur-
pose of refundpg the $40 6 per cents. The
former act authorized the issue of 81 800 OOO.-
600 OF bonds, $500 OO0, 90 of which were to be
; per cents, payable ten years after date, at the
pleasure OF the United States; $500, O00, 600 of
~ per cents, payable in fifteen years; and
Sl,0OO, 600 GOO payable in thirty years from the
date of their issue, and Barring interest at the
rate of per cent. per annum. The act provided
that these bonds should not be sold for less
than }heir par value in coin, and that the pro-
ceeds should be applied to the redemption of
the 5-2J bonds The latter act increased the
amount of the 5-per-cent bonds to $500, 000, 600,
aud provided that the whole amount Of bonds
issued should not exceed the amount originally
authorized; and the subsequent act of Jan. %,
1879 authorized the refunding or exchanging
of any other or 6-per-cent. bonds which were
redeemable at the pleasure OF the Govern
ment.
"The whole amount of the funded debt, OH
the 1st of July, 1871, was $l,9l5,342, 200, of
which 81, 437 091, 800 consisted of $40 bonds,
and $l94, SCI, 800 of 1910 bonds On the first
day of August, 1871, nearly $G6, coo, 000-S65,-
rs 5j0-of new 5-per- cent bonds had been
subscribed for, chiefly by the national banks.
During the same month an agreement was en-
tered into by the MISUNDERSTANDING Boutwells
report 1871, p. xvii--with Jay Cooke q Co.,
for the sale of the remainder of $500, 00U,U00 of
said bonds, and, in the month Of January, 1873,
similar arrangements were made for the sale of
a large additional amount. The remainder of
the $500 600, 000-S l7S, 54S, 3O0-was sold during
the next three years, the Secretary of the
Treasury stating, in his report OF Dec q, 1875,
that he had the pleasure OF announcing to
Congress that the fundingof $500, coo, coo 6-per-
cent bonds into those bearing 5-per-cent. in
terest has been accomplished Secretary
Bris owls report, 1873, p. XII"
Referring to the resumption operations of
the Treasury Department, the report says:
"The act of Jan. IA, 1870 required the Secre-
tary OF the Treasury to redeem in coin the
United States legal. tender notes then outstand-
ing, on their presentation for redemption at
the Office Of the Assistant Treasurer of the
United States in the city of New York, in sums
of not less than $50 on and after Jan. |, 1879
At the time OF the passage of this act the lead
ing Industries and general business of the coun-
try were very much depressed. The agricult-
ural classes were largely in debt, and the
failures of mercantile establishments and man.
ufacturing corporations i'm the three years pre-
vious represented more than s500,000,O0O
During the succeeding years an era of economy
supervened, agricultural products greatly in
creased, and the balance of trade was turned
largely in our favor, the excess of exports over
imports for the fiscal year 1876 being more
than SIS, 000,00 in 1877 more than s15l co.,
600, in 1878 exceeding 1851 0O0, 900, and for the
year ending Sept 30 last more than 1924, 000,-
600. For 1878 the excess was NOR, than three
times as great as that of 1876, and more than
two. thirds greater than that Of 1877.
"The Resumption act not only liked the day
of resumption, but authorized the Secretary, in
order to prepare and provide therefor, to use
any surplus revenues not otherwise appropri-
ated, and to issue, sell, and dispose of, at not
less than par in coin, any of the bonds of the
United States described in the act of July H.
1870 Under this act, the Secretary in 1877
,,, al ns,n A -.