Year: 1874

among the States upon the basis of the act OF
1865. Under that act the New England States
were entitled to less than $40, 900, 600, but re-
eeiyed Sl10,000,000, and the other Eastern
States had an excess of nearly $4,000, 600.


Whether the volume of the currency is suf-
ficient for the business of the country is a
question of fact about which men may hon.
estly differ. During the four years preceding
the panic there had been an actual contraction
of the currency, and much larger compare
tive contraction resulting from the growth of
population and business. A majority of
Congress were of the opinion that, to
produce a restoration of confidence, a
speedy revival of business and return
to the prosperity which was so sud-
denly destroyed by the panic, some addition
should be made TO the volume of the cur
rency.


That the bill which has failed to become a
law would have produced some contraction is
undoubtedly true; but it would have been al
most entirely in the stock market in New
York. 1t is well-understood fact that the re-
serves of the Western and Southern banks
kept in New York have been loaned by the
New York banks almost exclusively upon call
to dealers in stocks, and have thus contributed
to stimulate unwhOlesOme speculation, and
have been of very little benefit to the mercan-
tile or manufacturing community. The evil re-
sulting from this fact was strikingly illustrated
during the panic last fall. The stockholders
who had borrowed the money were not able
to repay the New York banks, and they
in turn were not able to pay the coun-
try banks from which the money had
been received, and thus the disaster of
the panic was greatly aggravated. This
bill in effect required the banks outside of the
redemption cities to keep three-fOurths of
their reserve at home, and would have with
drawn some millions from the stock market
in New York, which would strengthen the
banks to which they belonged, and would
have produced contraction in quarter where
it is pretty we'll understood that contraction
would do no harm.


credit, declares that "the United States SOL
emnly pledged it's faith to make provision at
the earliest practicable period for the redemp-
ton of the United States notes in cOln." In
the debate upon this bill nobody has denied
the character or binding force of that pledge,
but the question as to the practicable period'
for its performance remains as open as 1t was
upon the day it was passed. Very few mem
bers of either house of Congress have agreed
upon any method for the resumption ofspecie
payments. Afew are in favor of boarding the
gold in the Treasury until enough has been
acquired to begin the redemption of the notes.
Others have proposed to acquire the requisite
amount of gold by selling our bonds in Eu-
rope; Others to fund a portion OF the legal
tender notes IN bonds bearing per cent. III
terest, and retire them in that way, to bring
the rest to par by contraction; others to fund
them into bond bearing per cent. interest,
to be issued and again funded.


While the Government is pledged to redeem
the legal-tender notes in coin at the earliest
practicable period-while the purpose to do so
should ever be kept in view-yet that period
is by many not deemed to be practicable when
there is great stagnation of business, much
oh hn l9rUp1U fallen
off, and much distress and suffering in every
Dart of tho country