The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-03
PAPER rONEY.

The total amount of paper money atloat
in the United States at the present time. ac-
cording 10 the report of the Comptroller OF
the Currency. is S1.074. 49,, 6S4. or something
like SIG per head Of the people, men,
women and children. or this $3.50. GOO, 900
is legal tenders. which are secured by a
special deposit OF 500. 100000 of gold for
their redemption. They neither increase
nor diminish. No demand has arisen for
their reduction, and no one except the sur
vivoTs of the old greenbackers seeks to have
fresh issues. Nearly an equal sum Of money
or 1924 ,000-is represented by silver
certificates. which are secured by deposit
of S227. 500, 600 worth Of silver bullion. A
further sum of S114, 567, 900 in treasury
notes represents silver bought by the treas
ury under the act of 1890; the silver is now
worth S102000.000. so that the treasury
notes are uncovered by coin to the extent
of $4,000, 900. Gold certificates TO the
amount Of S120. 255,0 900 are afOat They
represent actual gold. dollar for dollar. now
In the treasury vaults. Finally there is
SIP 49,, I46 of national bank notes ati0at,
the issue having increased S247. 5S8 In the
past year. The reduction of the national
bank currency by the voluntary surrender
Of their circulation by national banks APP
pears TO have ceased for the time. The
volume ahoat is and promises to remain
pretty steady.
1t goes without saying that it would be a
gain to consolidate all these forms of paper
money into one kind. and the question of
the day is, What kind should that be?
Greenbacks secured by a deposit OF 81 in
gold for every SIS in paper appear to be a
relic If war times, which is out Of place to-
day. The United States needs the aid of no
forced loan, and shape il as you may a legal
tender dollar can never be anything but a
forced loan. Treasury notes, representing
deposits of gold and silver, are convenience
to those who do not wish to incumber their
pockets with heavy weight of metal But
it is not easily seen where the Government
derives the authority to do banking BUSH
ness for the benefit Of owners of bullion.
The only other kind of paper money which
has acquired popularity is national bank
notes.
The Comptroller Of the Treasury recon-
mends the issue of per cent bonds, to take
up the existing bonds bearing higher rate
of interest, and to serve as a basis for new
issues of bank money. He assumes. and the
financial world will agree with him. that
such bonds would readily sell al par, and if
they wers made convertible into currency
by becoming a basis of circulation the eoun-
try would absorb enough of them 10 redeem
the greenbacks and the treasury notes. The
obstacle in the way Of this arrangement is
the cutlery which il would rouse against the
national banks. It would be said that
Congress was legislating for the benefit of
those institutions, and that the money If
the poor man was being absorbed by the
banks. Antipathy to national banks is one
of the most prominent planks of the Popu-
list platform; and unreasonable as it may
be the plank finds good deal Of favor in
the rural districts.
Happily. there is no necessity for imme-
date action on this question. Congress can
study it out al leisure. and when it has come
TO a conclusion the country will acquiesce
unless some financial revulsion should oc-
cur in the meantime.