The National tribune., 1903-12-10
THE FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OF 1864.

had money helped themselves out of the
Treasury during the terrible year of 1864.
wien the Nations "far-flung battle line
extended from the Atlantic clear across
the Mississippi, and half million of her
sons were in incessant conflict the whole
to maintain her existence. and save the
glorious heritage received from our fa-
Tiers.
Financially. the year 1864 opened far
more gloomily than that of its predeces-
sors since the firing on Fort Sumter. The
greenback dollar was the lifeblood of the
business of the Nation, and its gold value
had declined on New Years Day, 1864
to 643 cents.
This greenback dollar was the yard
stick by which billions of dollars of prop
erty in the country was measured. 1t
measured the deposits in banks, the prom
issory notes, the mortgages, the shares
of stock in railway, manufacturing and
other business enterprises. Every bond,
Government, State. County of Municipal,
was measured by it. The National debt
had piled up to the colossal, it seemed
crushing proportions on the first day of
January of S1,S15, ,7S4,370.57.
Jan. 1, 1864, Gen. Grant was assem-
bling and organizing a great army at Cul-
peper Court House. His previous career
of unbroken victory gave high promise of
wEat he would accomplish. Gen. Sher-
man was massing another army at Chat
tanooga. and of him great hopes were en-
tertained. 1t was also expected that Gen.
Banks would move out from New Orleans
and speedily reduce Louisiana and Texas
to submission to the laws. Gen. Butler.
Norfolk and capture Richmond from that
side, while Grant held Lee fast in the
Piedmont region of Virginia, and at the
same time Gen. Sigei was to move Gown
the war-wrecked Shenandoah Valley and
capture Lynchburg. Other smaller expe-
ditions were planned to strike the South
ern Confederacy at vulnerable points, and
the sanguine friends of the Union thought
that the end was in sight.
In spite of these cheering hopes the
greenback went down to 63.1 cents in Feb
ruay, to 61.4 cents in March, and $40
cents in April The first chilling frost
upon the hopes came with the defeat and
narrow escape from destruction of Banks's
greenback thereupon sank to 56.7 cents
in May Sherman and Grant moved out
promptly at the beginning of May, and be-
gan a series of bloody battles which were
discoura gingly inconclusive. Every day it
was a terrible slaughter of men without
anything decisive, for the next day the
rebels were apparently as willing and able
to fight as before. Under the effect of this
the greenback, burdened with its weight
Of other securities, suffered an appalling
depreciation to 47.5 cents. or nearly 20 per
cent in 80 days. The man with 500 in
gold then wanted $21O.70 fer it. Nor was
a.is the worst. After two months of ter
rirle fighting, Sherman seemed hopelessly
tangled up in the mountains of Georgia,
with grave doubt as to whether he would
ever be able to extricate his army, and
Gen. Grant, after loss of 6S,000 men in
the Wilderness, seemed fought to a stand
still before the impregnable intrenchments
around Petersburg.
This was the history Of the first six
months of 1864.
Butler, attempting to take Richmond
from the south side, had ANONYMOUSLY
failed; Siegel had been whipped out of the
Valley, with great loss of credit; Stdrgis
had been almost destroyed at Guntown,
and to crown all, Lee was able to detach
force which raced down the Valley and
drove everything before it, actually build
ting its camp-fires within the limits of tine
National Capital on the 18th of July.
The moneyed men were in panic. and
| the man who had S1OO in gold demanded
and received 1885 in greenbacks for it.
In the estimation of the financiers, as ex-
pressed in these transactions, there were
ment being able to maintain itself to one
that it would. They absolutely refused
to lend the Government any more money,
and, in its dire need, the Treasury turned
| to the men who were fighting its battles
| in the field, and from their slender pay
they actually lent the Government $2O,.
| 100000 to tide over the awful emergency
All this is set forth in the Secretary Of
| the Treasury's report to Congress in De
cember, 1864. March 3, 1864, Congress
authorized the Secretary of the Treasury
to borrow $200,000,G coo, the loan to be re-
payable in 10 or 40 years-hence the
name 's10-40s." These bonds and interest
were to be payable ''in cnin," Congress sol.
EMMY pledging the faith Of the Nation to
this, and bore interest at ) per cent. As
these bonds We're purchas;ible in green
backs, this made the actual interest in
geld somewhere between 8 and - pei
cent. OF this loan 1886, 300 were is
sued As the average value of the green
back for the year was 49.2 cents, the golG
value Of the S196, 6,11S,3OO loaned was
S96, ,490, ,203. As these bonds afterwar6
went to par and were paid in gold, thu
| fortunate holders received for their Ioar
gold value of 500, ,49O, ,205, as follows:
Payment at face value. :. .$196, lis. 300. OF
Interest ................. 140,6S1 ia. 2.
Total .................$ 1886, ,793, ,314. 2:
OR MORE THAN 200 PER CENT. On