The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1880-11-26
Report of Com mptre11er xnox.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24.-Com ptroller
Knoxs report says: The aggregate
amount of legal tender and national bank
notes in 1879 was $68l, SIS, $50; in 1873
S666. 333, 1873; in 1880 the amount was
$688, 744, ACT. The law provides that
after specie payments are resumed, nation
a! banks shall not be furnished with notes
Of less denomination than SIS, and in
accordance with this provision no notes of
the denominations Of $1,00 and $500 has
been issued since the first day of January,
1879. The amount of Zones" outstanding
on that day was $4,793,8 SIT and of ''twos''
81. .924. $50: total $7.7IS,747, Since that
date the ''ones" have been reduced TO
81 sol ,355 and the ''twos" to SI,7I7670,
making total reduction Of small bank
notes of $4.2l7,O25. The amount of legal
tender notes of the denomination Of S1.0O
outstanding at thai date was $40, l5T,lG9,
and of "twos" 500 OBS, ,525; total $40, 292,-
635, and the increase since that date to
November 1st, 1880. has been So. .49I ,564.
Thus it will be seen that while the small
notes of the National Banks have been
reduced more than four millions, t$4,2 49,
O25) in compliance with Law, slnce the date
OF resumtion legal tender notes of the same
denomination have been increased So. .49l,-
584. The total amount of these deDomi-
D2kiOnS. Oh DDiU kIDQSs OUtctdbQtD& NOf.
lst, 1880, is 81. .263.940, The total in
crease during the year So, 1875; de
crease during the year previous, So, ,649,-
451, Of the entire amount of national
bank and legal tender notes now outstand-
ing neariy per cent consists of one and
two dollar notes; more than 81 per cent
of ones, ''two's" and "hve's"; more
than So per cent is in notes of less de-
nomination than $50. and so per cent ia in
notes of lower denomination than $50. of
tho entire issue about 90 per cent is in
denominations of $50 and upwards,
| In foreign countries large amount
of silver and gold coin of lower
denominations enters into general circuia-
ton. but it will be impossible to keep in
| circulation large amounts of small gold
coin or silver dollars unless the coinage of
the latter is restricted and small notes
Withdrawn. The total amount of United
States bonds held as security for circula-
ting notes on the first of November, 1880
was 1859, l48 959; on October lst. 1865,
the total amount of bonds held for this
purpose was $276, ,250. $50, iof which
aud S76, ,S52, 600 ia FIVE per cents. All of
the FIVE and six per cent bonds now beId
by the national banks, with the exception
of Pacific railway bonds. will mature
on or before July first, ISL, aud will prob
ably be replaced BY bonds bearing interest
at or Al per cent, or by new bouds here
after to be issued by the authority of
congress bearing less rate Of interest
The amount Of bonds held by the Ma
,iansl Banks Nov. lst, 1880. was $4o3, :
36e. $50 and the amount held by other
banks and bankers of the country iu the
above table is $228, 1868, ,l04 The total
amount held by all the banks and bankers
ia shown. approximately, to be moro than
one-third OF the whole interest bearing
funded debt OF the Uni,ed States as fol
Hllows: State banks and trpst comranies,
S24 .49s GOA; savings banks, SIS9. 1877 sic;
nriyate bankers. $l4 800 6S4: nation al
banks. $403. 500 $50, total, 1851 .422 454.
i The total estimated amount Of clin and
hulion 10 the country Nov /. was $6l2.-
esq. .357, of which $454, ,0l2.030 was gold,
/ and s15S. .27l. .3-7 silver. The Comptroller
recon- ruends that the law now IN force be
So amended that the Eational bank circu-
llatioa shall be redeemed upon percentage
&C the notes outstanding; that banks IN
/ oneratiaD she'll tag heir pron1Tt:.t r. 4fc
.x.,euse aud tue / s. BY
i the government Hhieh alous receives the
benefit and should therefore pay its just
shares.