The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-02-06
The toUNThY'- MONEY AND CUR
EENCl.

Richmond, Va, Feb. 1 1870.
Editor The Times:
Dear Sir.--Wc notice in the DISCUSSIONS
Of the currency question the mention 81
national bank notes, greenbafKs, Sa'I
man notes. legal tenders. silver ccriih
Gates. etc. VIII you please. through your
paper, state the different classes OF
notes constituting the paper cure cy OF
the country and the amount or app Ok
mate amount OF each afloat Ana more
particularly still, state how and "he J
each class inclusive Of national bank
notes, IS redeemablc.
The Information Will be much appre-
ciated by many daily readers Of The
Times. y /. IL
During the war the United States Gov
eminent issued vast quantities Of its
notes payable on demand. These received
the name Of "grcenbacks." Though pay
able on demand In coin. the Cove nment
would not pay them. but Congress mad
them a legal tender for all that, so that
If payment of them were demanded, the
Government would pay them with other
"greenbacks." 1t took In, however, in
Payment Of its revenues a great mary
Of these after the war. and cancel el
them, until 1t had reduced the amount of
them to $3i6.6Sl. Ole. which is their present
amount Whea they had come down to
that point Congress forbade the carCe la
ton of any more of them. In 1913 the
Government resumed specie payment. ana
ever since then it has held itself ready
TO pay these notes off In gold. but IL Is
required to pay them out in discharge Of
its current liabilities whenever it re-
deems them in gold. That accounts for
the "grccnbacks.'
The sherman notes were i sued b.
the Government to pay for the $4,000
ounces Of silver that the Sherman act OF
July II, 1890. required the Treasury to
buy each month. These are. by the terms
of that act, payable in gold or silver, in
the discretion of the Secretary of the
Treasury. but practically in such coin
as the holder asks for and amount to
$l5l, .56S. The Government Is required
to pay them out again likewise. when
they have been redeemed, which has al
most without exception been in gold.
The Bland act of 1875 required the
Treasury to purchase. with any money in
the Treasury. enough silver bullion each
month to coin two millions of doliais
and the mints were required to coin IT
into silver dollars. This act remained
in force until 1t was repealed by The
sherman act OF July II, 1890. Under it
there were coined S37S l6G 793. Congress
further provi led that every one might
deposit these silver dollars in the Treas-
ury. and receive certificates that they
were so deposited. There are $685. tl2.o0l
OF these silver certificates il circulation
the silver dollars that they represent
being stacked up In the Treasury. Con
gress also allows gold dollars TO be de-
posted is the Treasury and certificates TO
be issued against them. There are S54,
sos 249 of these gold certificates In ctrcu-
lation. There were outstanding on the LIST
Of November, 1894, S2O7. J65,O9O OF national
bank notes.
our paper currency consists, then, of
Gold certlhcateS ............".... A4,SJS,3iJ
Silver certificates ................ 331.712. JOi
Sherman notes .....,............. l5ll4 SOS
trccnbackS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. SAG. hAl ,Ol6
National bank notes &c. ........ 9o7 .ysp
Total NlO1t07 81
our coined money consists, then of the
following:
Gold coin. exclusive Of that
deposited NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. SlL2S9 iH
Standard silver dollars, eN-
elusive OF those deposited ...... &,063y0i
Subsidiary silver ..,.............. lo.66i,il2
Total S5H.02Uo yS
We nave a population Of about 5000 JO
and We have this immense circulation OF
coin and money. amounting TO 81 ,7St62sO3
while Great Britain. with population OF
100000 has less coin and paper than
$4,000 600. yet she IL the greatest com
merciai nation the world ever saw How
foolish TO say this country has not enough
money. What this country wants is an
ending OF the attack on our standard OF
value, 30 that we shall have PEI feet con-
fidence In contracts. and then hair our
present supply Of money will be enough.
A CORRESPONDENTS CRITICISM
In a recent article The Times sald
eff there were no money at all business
would Gad its way 20 make swaps. and
prosperity would come from that"
Mr. f. T. Purkins. OF saluda, Middlesex
county, writes US a letter. which appears
elsew where, asking us 10 suggest what