The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-05-13

Our friend, Capt. Geo. Crumbacker, who
is one OF the Grecnback leaders OF this i'm.
mediate region, informs US that he thinks
pretty well OF the present financial situl.
ton, and regards the times rs comparatively
good, and that while he is not willing to
see return of the old State bank system,
yet he favors the issuing OF such an amount
Of sreenbacks rs will enable the Govern
ment to retire the bonds and stop the pay
mcnt OF interest. Why should we pay in
terest he says, when VIC can stop it by the
issue Of obligations that do not bear inter.
est. .a
This is a curious sort Of programme, We
must say. But curious as it lnay seem to
some people, it is, we presume, the view Of
many persons who call themselves Green
hackers. 1t strikes us as something very
wild in its character.
The present bonded debt is about 81 ,GOO,-
100000. OF this amount less than $780,
100000 are subject to call, aud these latter
bear interest Mt tho rate Of 8! per cent.
The other bonds (4!s and ls) mature in
lS9l and in 1907. So that the amount O.
greenbacks that could be substituted 10,
bonds would be the amount represented by
the bonds subject to call. And these
bonds we are paying of at the rate o.
Sl2,O0O,oOo to sl5,oOO,O00 per month out Of
our surplus revenues, which revenues are
largely derived from taxes on tobacco and
liquors OF various kinds. The interest on
the public debt has been gradually rcduc
cd from Si50,000000 per annum to &c.,,
100000. So inst has the interest been re.
duced that We are expected to have this
year nearly or quite sl0OOOO,0Oo Of surplus
revenue over the necessities OF the Govern
nent, after paying intercstand all expenses
The tobacco and liquor taxes, and other so
called internal revenue taxes, are expected
Of themselves to yield Sl55, 900, 600, or NOR,
than two and half times the interest or
the public debt. The tax on spirits alone
more than paid tho interest last year, being
over sG7,o0o,ooo.
We have today over Sl,450,00O,OOO OF
paper aud metallic moncy-which is $50
per capita, whereas the average per capita
OF the. civilized world is only SlG.l5. We
have over S700,00O,o0O OF paper money,
whereas Great Britain has less than S2lO,-
100000 and Germany less than 3o0,OOo,.
900. Great Britain has SGlS, 100000 OF gold
n. tho back OF her paper and Germany
SaS,oOo,0o0 ut the back OF her paper. We
have at the back OF our paper about 500.
100000 in gold.
Our volume OF money is over 70 per cent
above what it was in the flush days OF
1866, when the ini|ationists attributed our
prosperity to the abundance OF money.
More than this, ii We compute the gold
value OF our money today as compared
with 1865, We tiud TINT the volume is at
least le5 per cent greater than it was then.
And yet our friend Crumbackcr, and
those who think as he docs, believe that
We ought TO liquidate nearly s50O,o0O,OOO
OF 3! per cent bonds, and add tlat much
to the present volume OF circulation. This
would add over 3S per cent to the present
volume, and would send prices, without in
the least enhancing values, kiting upward.
This, too, in the face Of u decreasing export
trade and increasing shipments OF gold
( For instance, on the LIST OF April this year
the balance OF trade i'll our favor only stood
S65,00O00O for nine months OF Tic fiscal
year, whereas April ono year ago it stood
SeS4, 100000 for the same time. The re.
turns for April show continuation OF this
loss. So that on the LIST OF this month ii
is not probable that our balance was oyer
S3o,0Oo.Ooo. Before the new crops
come in We will probably, at present
rates, have parted with s50,o0O,Ooo
OF gold. II the crops arc short we will par,
with it rapidly and largely. Then how
about the 500, 100000 OF paper that we now
have, and the s50oooO,OOo more that our
friend Grandmother proposes to have? Its
purchasing power will fall pari passu with
our exports Of gold, and We shall srt down
pretty quick to tho level OF the S7.cent sill.
vcr dollars The country would soon ripen
for a whirl and panic Of iirst.class proper
lions, to be foll9:cd by long season OF
depression aud misery. @
This is the feast 10 which the Grccnback.
ers invite us. 3.
We have said nothing in Ill this about
the llnconstitutionality OF slnnlantinr