New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-28
STIVER NOTES.

SILVER NOTES.
Some anxiety has been expressed by intelli-
cent bankers lest serious trouble should be
caused by the provisions adopted by the Senate
in regard to silver certificates. Respecting the
folly of those provisions there can hardly be
two opinions among men OF sense. But exam
ination of the matter appears to justify the
conclusion that the legislation proposed would
be merely impotent and foolish, but not
dangerous. The clauses i'll question were put
into the Bank Charters bill upon the urgent
demand of Senators Coke and Maxey of Texas.
Pugh of Alabama and Vest of Missouri, all
Democrats of the Confederate pattern, who are
as jealous now in making war upon the banks
as they were formerly in assaillng the pubic
credit, and still earlier i'll making war upon
the Union. Nevertheless four Repubhcans
voted with the Democrats for the amendment,
namely, MessIs. Cameron of Pennsylvania, Hill
of Colorado, Ingalls, of Kansas, and Van Nyck OF
Nebraska. Senator Bayard earnestly opposed
and voted against the amendment though
not another Democrat had the good sense
| to do the same. 1t provides that silver as well
as GOLD certificates shall he counted as part
of their lawful reserve by banks holding them,
and that no national bank shall be member
Gates shall not be receivable in the settlement
of clearing house balances" The object
evidently, was to force the national banks to
treat these silver certificates asif they were,
what Congress has no power to make them,
legal tender. But the practical effect is only
TO expose the impotent spite of men who have
| tried in vain to destroy the Union, the public
credit, and the national banking system.
he'll
10. by all of the 1928 national banks in the
country, was only $1,202,02O. Nothing has
prevented the general acceptance of these GER
tificates by the banks, except the TACT that
| they bad no particular use for more. Ii they
have taken no more than s ,2OO,OO at time
when other certificates for use instead OF specie
were not obtainable, and when legal-tender
notes were scarce there is not much danger
that any clearing -hOuse will find HSelt deluged
with them when gold certificates can be ob
tanned in their stead at the same cost.
The kew of the whole business is the fact that
| silver certificates will be less needed when gold
certificates can be obtained in any amount.
| The very section which contains the splteful
! clauses above quoted also provides that the
Secretary of the Treasury shall receive deposits
| of gold and issue certificates for it, i'll denOm-
nations of not less than $50 each, without
any limit as to amount; these, being IN
staptly redeemable or demand in gold, need no
legal tender quality to make them pass cur
rent in every part of the country. But the
silver certificate, being Iedeemable in gold
only through the process of paying duties to
the Goyernm ent needs to make it pass freely
a legal tender quality which Congress cannot
give If the bill becomes law, 1t will prob
ably come to pass that the silver certificates
will be emptied into the Treasury, through
payment of taxes, as fast as possible while
gold certificates will be taken cut and held
instead of them.
Hitherto, it has been at times convenient to
use silver certificates instead of specie, in max
ing transfers of money when legal tenders
could not be spared. The gold clearing
house certificates met the need in this city, and
would have served the same needs elsewhere
in time. w it'll full supply of gold Treasury
certificates, redeemable on demand the banks
and the people will have less occasion than
ever to use paper promises to pay deprecated
silver Inasmu ch as there is no way IN which
anybody can get silver certificate without
paying for it in gold or its equivalent, or con-
senting to receive from the Treasury some
thing else besides the gold which it is bound
to pay when called upon, there Will exist nc
reason for accepting the silver certificates
when the gold certificates can be had at the
same terms. If the banks consult their own
convenience and that of the public, they will
now decline to receive the silver notes. and
thus oblige holders to.put them back into the
Treasury where they belong.
Clearinghouse associations will have nc
occasion to refuse certificates in payment OF
balances, if the banks composing each associa-
ton individually decline to take these notes
Nor is there anything in existing law or in the
Senate bill to prevent such unanimous refusal
by the banks separately Banks which should
insist upon passing of upon each other an incon-
venient and inferior kind of money, merely
out of Miniature, would soon find that theiI
presence in clearinghouse association was
not desired. AS they are not likely TO make
trouble for themselves, when no money can be
saved or gained by it, and with no better
motive than to please set of silver lunatlcs at
Washington, the number of banks that will
accept silver notes instead of gold is not likely
to be large enough to occasion serious incon'