Year: 1874

j
keep our reserves in the banks as pro
vided by our law, it still leaves her with
| an absolute banking capital, including
| circulation, that is available for the pur
| pose of accommodating those who want
| discounts as our people do, a gross sum
of more than So, 300,000,00O for thirty-twc
million people, or over S105 for every
man, woman, and child in the kingdom
1 of Great Britain.


Now let US see where we stand We
have an authorized circulation perhaps
! in its various forms, including fractional
currency, Of about S756, 10000 but, Mr.
! Speaker, that is not the true amount ot
our circulating medium; because since it
was issued by the bank and the Govern.
ment, there has been an absolute destruc
ton in the paper oney of the country
amounting, | presume, to 10 per cent or
thereabouts. And therefore, Mr.. Speaker,
instead of having seven hundred and
| ffty-six millions of authorized circulation,
we only have about seven hundred mil
lions. OF that seven hundred millions
there are more than one hundred million
constantly idle in the sub-treasuties OF
the country. That reduces it to six hun
dred millions. OF that amount there are
twenty to forty millions in the State
treasures of the various States and the
municipal corporations of the States of
the Union. And there are one hundred
and thirty-eight to one hundred and fifty
millions constantly held, l believe, by
the banks as reserve. Now where do you
stand with your circulation? Why, sir,
you have not S500,000,000 to-day that
can be called the currency of the coun-
try for the purpose of making its ex-
changes.


But let us 60 to the question of depos-
its and see what the facts are. Instead
of twenty-nine hundred millions in the
various banking institutions of the coun-
try as deposits, you have only six hun
dred and sixty-four millions Put your
circulation as you have it, only that
which is made available for the purpose
of making exchanges in this vast country,
and the deposits together and you have
not eleven hundred millions in a popu-
lation of forty million people scattered
over the continent. While Great Britain
has one hundred and five dollars of
banking capital and currency for every
man, woman, and child in the country,
the United States have but twenty-seven
dollars. Isubmit, Mr.. Speaker, whether
that is sufficient for the vast and increas-
ing business of this country.


l know very well that the contrac-
tionists, who are desirous of getting back
to what they call specie payments, bur-
lesque our ideas here, saying we are in
favor of an indefinite initiation of the cur
rency. No such thing, sir. But as 1
understand it-I speak for myself and
nobody else-I am in favor of such an
initiation of the currency of this country
and putting it on such basis as that we
shall have a reasonable amount per capita
To n hn hIlS of thx-
upon, and have that so diversified and
diffused as that the people of all sections
of this country, from north to south and
from east to west, shall have their pro
rata.


Well, then, when we make this COM
parison, the argument of the contraction
lists seems to fail But then they instance
France. France, with her seven hundred
millions of circulation, it is said, has an
abundance ofxeurrency for her people.
| They speak in eulogistic terms of its
character because it is so nearly abreast
with gold. Why, Mr.. Speaker, if the
wisdom of this country, financially could
be concentrated and crystalized as that OF
the French, how long would it be until
our currency would be abreast with gold
Could we adopt policy in this House,
and by legislation enforce it, that would



twenty millions of gold annually more
than we export from it, how long do you
! expect, on the principle of the old law OF
supply and demand, which governs prices
and which also, by the way, fixes the
rates of interest in this country-how
! long would it be before our greenbacks
would command a dollar in gold? In.
stead of importing more gold than we
exported during the last decade, our
exports of the precious metals have eX
ceeded our imports more than five hun
dred and twenty-six millions, the balance
of trade, exclusive of precious metals
against US reaching the enormous sum ot
nearly three hundred and seventy-six
millions, the latter sum being paid tc
| foreign countries in the bonds of the
Government and other money obliga
tions. How can we reach specie payments
with such drain upon us to pay for for
eign merchandise?


! Why, sir, these gentlemen are so much


in favor of contracting the currency ot
the country and getting back to gold and
silver that they characterize greenback
| (our national currency as having the
mark of Cain upon it. 1t goes out among
our people branded, they say. All, Mr.
| Speaker, it may be branded but if it is


they had better think of the parable


they are invoking here Let them re
member that the mark was put upon
Cain by the Almighty in order to prevent


the slayer from taking his life, and ven


geance seven-fold was denounced upor


him who should destroy him. Take care


that, in thus branding our currency, you


are not incurring the same penalty thai


was denounced against the destroyer o


Cain by contributing to its destruction


Mr.. Speaker, who is it that does more


than any other class of people in this


country to depriciate the value of oul
paper money; who has done it? Why


sir, in the first place it is the Governmen


that put it forth, and made an unfair anC


unhallowed distinction between th'


promise of the Government to pay dol


lar, and gold dollar And that depre


citation is Intensified by those who speal


in such contemptuous terms of it. Som
| of them are the lawmakers of the coun


try, too 1t is said that it is a very mea1


bird that fouls its own nest. But hov


much more ineffably mean is the one tha


does it and then brags of the achieve


ment?


Now one of the arguments of thes


gentlemen, and the strong reason the


give, why we should have a contraction
of the currency, is because of the law O
, 1869, entitled IAN act to strengthen tn
J public credit" All, that was legislativ
abortion, brought in here monster, sen
} forth before its time into this breathin
world half made up. Strengthen th
) public credit by the legislation that put
; this brand of Cain upon its circulatin
| mediuml Why, what is the public credit
: In this case it is nothing more nor les
than the aggregate of the credit of fort
: million people of this country, backe
| by a property worth $4,000, 0,0O0,00(
J Strengthen the public credit by brandin