New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-05-05
BOND BUYING AND MONEY.

| Secretary Tairchilds bond buying policy has
now been in operation nearly two weeks. Per-
| haps 1t may be safely assumed that bonds have
been offered to him as freely as can ever be
expected, until some commercial disaster or
unusual pressure occurs, for the supply Of bonds
held subject to purchase is not unlimited, and
every purchase diminishes it. Hence it is not
an uninteresting fact that the Treasury holds
but 81 81, 247 less money on the Sd of May
than it held when the bond buying began. Its
net gold silver and legal-tenders, April 81, the
Saturday before the first purchase, amounted to
S286,S55, O45, and the amount, according to
the statement Of May 3. was $286,l18, 09S.
The bond buying during these weeks, there
fore, has but barely suficed to prevent the cash
in the Treasury from increasing. The monthly
statements compared show that the Treasury
succeeded only to the same extent during the
month Of April it held of the three kinds OF
cash S286,87 1869 March 81. But during the
| month it took from circulation S62 0, 900 bank
notes because it held more at the end than at
the beginning of April and it also took from
circulation 81 ,582,712 other bank notes, which
it destroyed during the month, in excess of the
amount issued.
1t is not to be inferred that the currency of
all sorts diminished during the month of April
On the contrary, the Treasury having taken up
of the kinds mentioned only So, 100000, it is
certain that more than this amount of gold and
silver was coined, which, or a corresponding
amount of money of other kinds must have
been put into circulation. The fact is that. the
Treasury was unable to put out and keep out
more silver coin; indeed. its stock on hand OF
-. Il ILL
and it held besides little more fractional
silver at the end than at the beginning Of the
month. II paid out more silver certificates,
increasing the amount outstanding by 81, 900,-
600 during the month, and it also paid out
more gold certificates, but reduced the amount
of legal-tenders in use outside the Treasury by
81, so 1000. The net result of all these
changes, as has been stated is that the Treas
ury took from circulation of all kinds Of money
only about SO, 100000, so that the equivalent
Of all silver and gold coined, less that sum, was
added to the circulation in the form of certf-
Gates. The official account makes the increase
in all currency over 100000.
1t is growing more important each day to
watch these movements Of the Treasury, be-
cause the current opinion in business circles
relies upon them greatly for stimulus to trade,
industry and especially to speculation during
the year. The popular impression is that adj
vance in prices must come if the Treasury
"pours out money! Experience teaches that
the expanding circulation has many times failed
to produce such a result but the expectation
remains all the same. and like hope, springs
eternal in the human breast. With plenty of
money, the fanatical inflatonist Of the West
fancies, everything will boom" The Wall
Street business man has not been In the habit
of paying much respect to Western financial
notions in the abstract, but after all imitation is
the sincerest form of fiattery, and Wall Street
is initiating the Wild West at present with
singular fidelity.
The truth is that the circulation OF various
kinds has been largely expanded within the
past year, and yet prices of commodities have
not risen In the same ratio The advance which
would naturally follow partial failure OF
crops. and which the reports of injury to tho
next crops tend TO intensity, has for some weeks
past given place to gradual decline. which has
amounted TO more than per cent during the
past month, and yet. as has been shown, the
volume of all kinds of money in circulation has
increased during the same month. Nor can