Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-20

The report of the comptroller of the
currency contains Il statement intended
to show the great cost of maintaining
the grecnbuck circulation and of course
TO supply an argument for the retire
ment of that currency. Doubtless the
advocates of such retirement will APP
peal to this statement in support of
their position, so that it is important
that its erroneous and misleading char
acter be exposed.
Mr.. Eckcs gives the total principal
of bonds sold for resumption purposes
as being S35T. SO. 400 and the interest
ut per cent on average of free gold
in treasury from January |, 1879, to
January, 1893. at $93,4iO.00O, these
sums together making $l51,255, 400. He
computes the interest on all bonds sold
from January l. 1895, to dates of ma
turity, Mt S2S3.945, 146. To which is
added the United States outstanding.
$346,6S1 ,OlG making together SG3O,626,
1G2. He thus figures Il total cost and
liability due to the legal tender notes,
Or greenbacks, amounting TO SLOSl,-
SSl ,562. ON the other hand, If the
United States notes had been funded
on January |, 1879 in 4 per cent bonds
the cost TO the government would have
been, us the comptroller states it: prin-
cipal of bonds, $34G. .GS1 coo: interest to
maturity go years., $500 2lG,3+0-a
total ccst of S741 ,S97,34O. ThMs he
makes it appear that the government
would have saved by funding no less
than S339.9S4222.
But there are serious defects in the
comDtrOller'S method of computation.
In the first place it is to be observed
that ii is unfair to saddle upon the
legal tenders the burden of the bonds
since sold, not only on their account,
of the government. During the first
fourteen years after resumption the
gold provided by the sale of bonds in
1877 and 1878 was an ample reserve
for the notes in existence during that
period. Ii was only when the revenue
of the government had begun To fall
short of its expenses that more gold
was required. 1t will be noted that
Mr.. Eckels charges interest upon the
gold for which the bonds were sold
thus reckoning IL both on the bonds
and on the gold. This is obviously
incorrect. Another fault in the comp
troller's statement is the fact that he
makes no allowance for the proceeds
of bond sales used to meet current
expenses, amounting to some $lGO,0GO,-
coo. Then he includes in his state
ment as an outstanding liability the
gold, legal tender notes and treasury
notes that are in possession of the gov
ernment, instead of deducting them
from his estimate of the cost of the
grccnbacks. When all the proper cor
rections are made on these accounts
the result is found TO be that the true
cost Of the greenbacks since 1879 and
present Liability on account thereof is
about S49l 100000, as compared with
STi1 ,S9734O If they had been funded
in 1870. Indeed, the financial writer of
the New York sun. discussing the
statement of the comptroller of the
currency, says that crediting the legal
tenders with the interest they have
saved produces Il balance In their favor
OF more than 100 per cent.
Thus another argument for the re-
tiroment of the greenbacks has been
disposed of and the advocates of that
plan of currency reform" viii have 10
lind some other reason In support Of