Year: 1874




INDIANAPOLIS, IND, May 9.-The fol-
lowing Is summary Of the letter publish
ed in this mornings Journal, from Senator
Morton;


lie explains that the first section did not
provide for any imitation of greenbaeks, as
the President and the Secretary of the
Treasury had all along contended for the
right to issue the forty-four million reserves.
The law was doubtful, and this only made
it clear


The other section of the bill authorizes
the increase OF hank-Tcte Circulation I'd The
amount Of $46,000,000, to be distributed
among the States having less than their pro-
portion, upon the basis of the act of 1865,
requiring the redemption Of bank notes in
United States notes Upon dSmand over
their own counters or in one of the re-
demption cities, and with the additional
restriction that all banks shall keep one
fourth of the coin interest they receive
upon their bonds deposited for the security
of their notes. This provision looked to-
ward resumption; and was the first step
taken in that direction by Congress. The
S46,000,0O0 provided for came full $50, ,OOO,-
900 short of equalizing the distribution
among the States upon the basis of the act
of 1865. Under the act the New England
States were entitled TO less than $4,000
600, but received Sll0,000,000, and the
other Eastern States Had an excess Of nearly
S12,000,000.


The most of the friends of the bill de-
sired


Free Ranking,


that is, the restriction taken off as TO the
amount and locality of the circulation OF
the National Banks, so that the people
should be left free in every part Of the
United States to establish National Banks
wherever and whenever their local wants
and necessities demand them.


RWhether the volume of the currency is
sufficient for the business Gf the country is
a question Of fact, about which men may
honorably differ.


That the bill which has failed to become
a law would have produced some contrac-
tion is undoubtedly true, butt would have
been almost entirely in the stock market in
New York. 1t Is


A Well Understood Fact
that the revenues of the Western and
Southern banks kept in New York have
been loan; by the New York banks
almost exclusively upon call 10 dealers IN
stocks, and have thus contributed to
stimulate unwholesome speculation and
have been Of very little benefit TO the
mercantile or manufacturing community.
The evil resulting from this fact was
strikingly illustrated during the panic last
fall. The stockholders who had borrowed
the money were hot able to repay the New
York banks, and they in turn were unable
to pay the country banks from which the
money had been received, and thus the disas-
terof the panic was greatly aggravated. This
bill in effect required the banks outside OF
the redemption cities to keep three-fourths
of their reserve 1T home and would have
withdrawn some millions fIOm the stock
market in New York. which would
strengthen the banks TO which they be-
longed and would have produced eontrac-
tion in a quarter where it is pretty well un-
derstood that contraction would be nc
harm.


Nobody has denied the character or bind
ingforce OF the pledge to redeem greellbacks
in coin, but the question as to the ''practi-
cable period" for its performance remains
as open as it was upon the day it was
passed.