Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-01-26
VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS TO CONGRESS.
Peter Cooper's Open Letter TO
Secretary Folger.
The Secretary's Financial Views
Criticized.

Va oiiN So'OlhnIcuu, Illt great pro
perity of business, the rapid extinctio
OF the public debt, and the sound CO.
dltlon of our finances, are calculated |
inspire feeling of admiration an
pride in the minds of every America
citizen.
That portion of your report, howeve
which calls the attention of congres
to some measure requiring considers
tlon, and the kind of legislation su.
gested, has filled my mind with til
greatest misapprehension, and canno
therefore, permit the opportunity t
pass without entering my protes
against the adoption of some of til
measures you have proposed.
Will you permit me to call your al
tention to some of these measures, an
to the disastrous consequences, whicl
in my judgment, would be certain t
come upon the people, if they were cal
ried out.
The measures which your repor
recommends, which l object to, are tn
following:
|. To withdraw the silver certiG
Gates.
@ To stop the coinage Of silver dol
lars.
D. To remove the legaltender quail
ty of the treasury notes.
4. To permit banks to supply the pa
per currency, as the claws of trade de
mand."
5. To reduce the revenues of the gov
ernment by removing the tax on banl
deposits, and by reduction of custom
duties.
3. To postpone the payment of the
debt until the next generation.
Z. To practically have all the bonds
paid in gold coin.
Let us consider these measures brief.
ly in the order here mentioned.
If | understand you correctly, all OF
the silver certificates. shave been issu.
ed by the treasury Office, upon deposit
ofgOld coin in like amount"
Now if this is true, is it not an evil
dence that the business men of this
country prefer these silver certificates
for business purposes to gold coin
Why then, | ask, should congress pass
an act to withdraw currency that is
preferred to gold coin? | understand
from your report also, that these silver
certificates, are payable in silver dol
lars" If so, is not this a further evi.
dence that silver certificates payable in
silver coin even, are equal to, if not
superior to gold coin as a currency in
the estimation of business men?
Your report informs us that all but
S25O,OOO of the silver coin in the treas.
ury is already covered by these silver
certificates, and that the currency in
circulation has been increased to the
extent of s66.0OO,O00 by the issue of
these certificates. Can you not with
draw these certificates, without con-
tracing the currency that amount? :?
Do you think it would be a safe expert
ment to contract the circulating medi.
um $6G,OOO,0OO? You say the "circu-
latiOn of s66,0OO,000, of silver certii.
Gates seemed an inexpedient addition
to the paper currency" Do you think
that after having put them in circula-
tion, and busintss operations had been
based upon them, prices increased as Il
result of such imitation, and debts con.
tracted on them, that it would be a
just and safe experiment now to take
this currency away and leave that much
less money in circulation? Would the
business men be satisfied to use silver
coin in place of certificates that they
prefer to gold coin?
You intimate that thenational banks
under existing laws might, if they were
disposed, "cau 'e a serious contraction
OF the currency, and grave embarrass.
ments to business" by retiring their
circulating notes, and refer to the re
suits of such transactions at the time
of the passage of the refunding bill by
the last congress.
If such serious consequences and
grave embarrassments to business fol-
lowed the contraction of only $lS,00D,-
600 of bank notes last spring, what
would be the result of the withdrawal
of S66, 100000 of silver certiGcatesY
You say, that "there need be no ap-
prehension of too limited paper cir
culation, for the national banks are
ready to issue their notes in such quan.
titles, as the laws of trade demand,
and as security therefor the government
holds its own bonds"
1t is very evident that the banks
would gladly issue their notes in any
quantities to be required as money, and
therein lies the danger. The silver
certificates are based on their full value,
in coin, in the treas, y, but what as.
surances have you that the banks would
be able to redeem the increased volume
of their notes n coin. Basing a bank
currency, that is not legal tender, on
government bonds, does not protect
the business community from the effects
OF dangerous imitation, or from bank
and panics afterwards. The
bill holder might be secured, but busi.
ness men would not be protected against
a sudden contraction of the currency,
which might make the depositols un-
safe
Again, you question the constitu-
tional right to issue legal tender notes
in times of peace, and suggest that
these notes be deprived of their legal
tender quality.
1t seems to me that in making .ch
q suggestion, you could not have a Just
of the value of these
notes to the people, or realize TO what /
extent that value is enhanced by their s
legal tender quality.
You admit, however, that legal ten. {
Ter notes "are without doubt a conven-
lent and safe currency for the people {
and that it is for the profit of the gov I
,rnment to continue their circulation" d
and yet you advise taking from them
)ne OF their most valuable qualities. I
Do you not know that by depriving '
hese NOES of their legal tender func. {
o., you would diminish the volume a
If legal debtpaying money, to the ex. Q
ent Of S346,862, 900. at once? Have 4
ou considered what would be the eff b
ect OF such a course upon the debt n
'r'p II your policy was carried ont, r
t would practically force every debtor p
n the country to meet his obligations +