Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-04-24
Tho $40 Refunding Certificates.

| his pohds are threatened with deprecia-
tion by heavy risein prices.
Z.
The $40 Refunding Certificates.
Il is a curious result of the great subscrip-
ton for four per cent. bonds that the secretary
ef the-sreasury and the banks are qaarreling 3
over the acceptance Of portion Of it, that
| the capitalists of the country complain of the
government that it will not permit them to
loan their money to it The disagreement is
upon the forty million subscription to the
popular certificates, the banks insisting upon
taking all of these that are placed upon the
market, and the secretary wishing to keep
them open for popular subscription. The
compromise finally reached permits popular
subscriptions for sixty days, and then gives
all of the forty millions that is left to the syn
dicate. 1t is a pity some means cannot be
devised for keeping open permanent popular
loan, to be taken by humble accrmuations of
savings in small amounts.-From the Pioneer
Press, April 20.
1t is a pity, indeed. Our readers
are doubtless familiar with the fact
that law was passed by the closing
session of the Forty.fth Congress au>
thorizing the issue Of certificates of de-
posit of the denomination of $40, in
aid Of the refunding Of the public debt,
the certificates to draw interest at the
rate Of four per cent per annum. It
was the intention of the law to give
persons of limited means an opportu>
nifty to invest their savings in this
manner. 1t was evident that as soon
as these certificates were taken, they
would be circulated as money in all
parts Of the country, and that the cir>
culatipg medium would thereby be
considerably Increased. IF there is
any one thing that bankers despise
above everything else, it is an increase
Of the circulating medium, not de-
pendent on their own will and control.
This, and also other considerations,
caused number of the leading bank
ing firms to determine to defeat the
whole spirit and intent Of the law, and
to get possession of all the ten dollar
certificates to be issued, and lock them
up in their vaults. Accordingly on
Thursday last New York and Boston
syndicate, consisting Of sixteen banks,
subscribed for the refundlng certif>
Gates to the amount Of $4,000, 900,
all that were to be issued. At the
same time the syndicate subscribed
for all the other four per cent bonds
now to be issued for refunding pur~
poses, amounting to s150,000,000, or
s190,0oo,000 including the subscrip-
tion for the SO refunding certificates,
which is the largest subscription ever
made to government loan at one time.
Secretary Sherman at first declined to
accept the bid for the certificates,
holding that these were intended for
popular subscriptions, and not for the
banks to be taken in a body. The
members Of the syndicate were dissat~
isfed with this, and said that word
should be sent to the secretary that
the bid meant $4,000, 600 or noth~
ing at all. OF course, the bankers vir.
tually gained their point, as they al
ways will while the treasury departs
ment is in the hands Of the Republi>
cans and at the expiration Of sky
days the popular subscriptions will
cease and the unsold certificates will
be turned over in body to the banks.
In the nature of the case the amount
that will be sold to persons Of small
means during these sixty days, will be
comparatively small; and the amount
that will be bought by bankers and
spectators will doubtless be large.
The certificates will be sold for sums
not t. exceed S100 at one time. We
believe that the act of Congress au>
thorizing the issue Of these certificates
is the only one Of much Importance
passed since the enactment Of the
homestead law that was really designed
to benefit the common people, but it is
found that the bankers have been
running and controlling the govern
ment so long that it is still perfectly
1mpracticable to put any such act il
successful operation. We sincerely
hope that it will not be so after 1880
Correspondence.
| Ledoux, Minn., April 2, 1870