Year: 1869

When prudent business man, in tht


ordinary course of his affairs, findl
1 himself with large surplus in bank


not needed in his regular transactions


what does he do with it, If he has


notes not yet due, oT-EEbich he is pay
| ing heavy interest, is he likely to delay
L for an hour an effort to use his surplus


cash in discounting his notes?


The United States owes twenty-one
handred and eight millions Of dollars,


on which it has heavy interest to pay
/ in gold. Meanwhile it has, unused and


unneeded, IL its Treasury, eighty mil
lions III gold. That Secretary of the
Treasury will best discharge the duties


of his great Office who so manages the


money at his disposal as to make il 60


the furthest in meeting the Govern


ment's obligations. There is the enOr-


nous debt, on which he is paying high
interest. There is the heavy surplus OF
idle gold, which is earning nothing and
paying nothing. What viii he do with


On this statement alone the case
might rest. But there is another fact
to be taken into the account. Here In
Wall street, this debt, on which we pay
heavy gold Interest, is selling at a dis
count of about fifteen dollars on the
hundred dollar bond. That is to say,
in spite OF the recent sharp advance,
eighty-five of the gold dollars now lY-



outstanding note of ours which calls
for hundred gold dollars, and which
bears enormous INTEREST,"


But it is objected that the Secretary is
forbidden to take the obvious course
which plain business principles would
dictate by this unfortunate clause, final
" forced into the Public Credit bill:


"NOne of the said interest bearingob-
legations not already due shall be re-
deemed or paid before maturity, unless
at such time United States notes shall
be convertible into coin at the option Of
the holder, or unless at such time bonds
of the United States bearing a lower
rate of interest than the bonds to be re-
deemed can be sold at par in coin.''


We deny the force of the objection
Here is a clause in the original Legal
Tender act of February, 1862, not in
conflict with the above and not repealed:


ftAll duties on imported goods shall
be paid in coin And the coin
so paid shall be set apart as a special
fund, and shall be applied as follows:
First, to the pawn ent in coin Of the in
terest on the bonds and notes Of the Uni /
ted States; second, to the purchase or /
payment of one per centum of the en-
tire debt of the United States, to be
made within each fiscal year after the i
first day of July, 1852, which is to be set
apart as a Sinking Fund, and the inter
9st of which shall in like manner be
applied to the purchase or payment of
he Public Debt. as the Secretary of the /
Treasury shall from time to time di-
rect"


We do not now ask that the bonds
hall be redeemed or paid" In our
that would have been wise;
1ut contrary counseIs have prevailed,
Ind the law has been made to forbid it.
What we do ask, and what the above
lnrepealed law makes the absolate, i'm
,erative duty of the Secretary, is that
le use his surplus gold ''for the purchase
# one per centun1 Of the entire debt of
he United States, to be set apart as a
sinking Fund, the interest of which
hall in like manner be applied 60 the
purchase of the Public Debt" The en-
ire debt of the United States amounts
o twenty-six hundred and thirtY-six
Millions. OF that amount the law not
,nly allows but commands the Secreta-
v to buy up in open market twenty-six
to be set aside in the Treasury
g Sinking Fund. We call upon Mr..
Boutwell, to obey the law.