The daily gazette., 1881-10-28
FRIDAY. 0CroRER 2s. 1881.
THn RETIRING TREASURY sEoRH

vHH hETIRiNG TREASURY SECRE-
TARY.-It may be that circumstances
favored Secretary Window, but wheth-
Or this is so or not it is but just to
acknowledge that his decisive action
In commencing to refund the govern
ment loan at the earliest period he
could after his appointment, and the
adjournment Of Congress, resulted in
remarkable success, and effected a
great saving to the county. Had Mr..
Hayes not foolishly vetoed the bill
that passed Congress, Mr.. Window
could have done better with the bonds,
and the whole amount that were re-
funded could as readily have been re-
funded at three per cent. But Mr..
Hayes was always the creature of a
ring, and he now enjoys less credit for
his administration than any other
President did that had served whole
tsrm in the Presidential chair. We
do not undertake to say that Mr..
Window deserves to be called great
statesman because of his short official
term, as Secretary. But, it must be
remembered that number of so.
called financiers in his own party un-
dertook to urge him to pause, and not
to undertake to refund the bonds.
6ome said he would be guilty of COM
mitting an unauthorized act and that
the whole procedure would be illegal.
Notwithstanding this Mr.. Window,
with the assent of his Chief, went
forward and sold some six or seven
hundred millions Of dollars worth of
bonds, and thus reduced the interest
to three and a half per cent, greatly
lessening the taxes upon the people.
He deserves great credit for this,
although it required no great states
nanship to do it. However, it mostly
happens that the greatest coed the
country receives flows from the
action Of men who are, after all, held
as having good business capacity and
heads we'll stored with common sense,
who set red tape aside and go 10 work
on business principles, just as Win
dom did. Had John Sherman been
in tne Treasury the reiunding would
most likely not have been done at all,
and II 1t had been, it would have cost
the country about ten times what it
did under Mr.. Window.
Had 1t been left undone it is doubtful
whether the next Congress would have
passed bill for the purpose, and still
more doubtful whether the bonds could
have been refunded for less than four OF
four and half per cent. while the dis
counts ranged so high in Europe. The
Bank of England few months ago wa,
discounting at X and per cent, bu
some weeks ago it raised its rate to
per cent. and the Bank of France ha
also raised its rate TO A I or per cent
while Bank discounts in Boston hav
ranged as high as 7 per cent, and i
New York and Philadelphia money ha
also been high. 1t is not reasonabl
therefore to suppose that the refunJin
Of such an amount of bonds could no.
be effected at SO low a rate OF lnteres
Notwithstanding the high price at whic
United States bonds are quoted in 4,
rope; the quotations yesterday being
high as l04A for the 81 s.; 1l6a for IL
Al, and 119s for the per cent. bond
1t was stated in the GAZETTE yesterdi
that the President would send in Il
name OF Judge Folger to succeed N
Window. This was done and Mr.. FL
ger was confirmed by the Senate, al
Mr.. Window retires with the credit
having done good service to the Go
srDment In the few months he served
a. the head of the Treasury Depal
ment by carrying Democratic mcasu
as nearly as he could venture, althou
1t had been vetoed by Hayes.