New-York tribune., 1898-12-11

! issue OF paper currency was made 'Weyler's
scrip" was issued by the Spanish Bank Of cuba
under compulsion from the Government % the
| supposed amount Of S2Oo0OouD originally
/ there a gold reserve. rhen one If silver and
! finally one Of promises Weyler issued decree
after decree directing that the paper money
should be taken at face value. fixing penalties
| for the merchants who refused 20 receive u *
cept at their own valuation and putting All 'he
| supposed moral force back Of the issue But
| II kept falling In nominal value.
AN ARRANGEMENT FOR CONVERSION.
Ultimately an arrangement was Effected for the
| conversion Of this currency The basis ~ this
ARRANGEMENT was the setting aside II a certain
amount II customs receipts. paid IN gold for its
! redemption The quotations which had pre-
| viously been forbidden. We're also permitted
This measure vas a temporary benefit When
confidence in the ability Of Spain t. paciiy cuba
was lost the downward movement continued
! Finally "Weyers scrip" could not he forced On
anybody. not even the employees Of tn Govern
ment who preferred that their salaries should
he 4 year or more overdue rather than 20 accept
the paper currency in satisfaction. n Is now
held by the hushelful by Spectators who a short
time ago by means Of forged telegrams. made
some credul0us and greedy persons believe that
the American Government intended 70 make
these notes good. They sold a few pocks az an
advance over the nominal quotation ~ the 'tN-
letes" or scrip which was : per cent before the
fraud was discovered Nobody wasted sym
pathy on the victims
At all the stages ~ these "bHetes' the poorer
classes were the ones VINO suffered. They be-
came suspicious Of all paper currency To-day
they do not ike American money. The ex-
% ? fHl
lar and two-dollar bills because the greater
part Of the population VIII not accept them.
After the troops are all here and American
money comes into general circulation through
the payments 70 them. it Will be interesting 20
note their gradual acceptance by all classes II
will also be worth observing whether the lesson
OF the "biletes" or Weyler's scrip. IS forgotten
and the delus!on created that paper currency
has some intrinsic worth In itself This is what
the Havana merchants and bankers dread
CUSTOMS PAYMENTS AT HAVANA.
Rus,rcss men from the United states who
have recentlv been at Santiago think the pay
ment Of customs duties Al Havana IN the
money Of the United States will bring about
natural financial condition They are confident
that all the Spanish silver coins viii disappear
from circulation in this part ~ the island just
has happened at santiago. 4"ry are a's"
apprehensive lest famine arise for change in
the small transactions Of daily business. Al this
time a fye-dol!ar bill or a Spanish centen buys
seven Spanish silver dollars. A month ago the
same sum bought eight Spanish silver dollars
The large amount Of silver money which was
being carried back to Spain was given as the
cause OF the rise. though there was also specu-
lative element in it. Recently the variations
have not been great. though exchange on the
United States is tending toward lower pre-
MUM.
The disproportion, or dislocation' between ,he
Spanish gold and silver CONS Is shown py
simple illustration. The postage stamps nave
,oia cslue. 60 when an American wants to mail
q letter 10 the United States he pays eight cents
FOR a dve-cent stamp. When he is writing 70 MS
correspondents on the island he pays hve cents
for a three-cent stamp The minor Spanish
silver coins do not correspond with American