Year: 1873

Il


The Committee Of Ways and Means has


been trying to solve the difficulty of the pres
ent financial condition of the government, and
on Wednesday sprung debate chiefly among
its own members. in the House of Representa-
tives on the subject. Yesterday the Senate
Committee on Finance entered upon the ques-
ton and brought it before the Senate through
the vague resolution which was reported by
Mr.. Sherman last week The resolution is as
| follows -


| Resolved, That II is the duty OF Congress during
the present session TO adopt definite measures 10


March is iseg entitled AN act to strengthen the


public credit, as follows:-"And the United states


solemnly pledges its iaith to make provision az the
| the United States notes In coin.n And the COM
mittee on Finance is directed to report TO the


measures - as viii not only redeem this pledge OF


the public faith, but will also furnish currency OF
I uniform value, always redeemable In gold or its
| equivalent, and so adjusted rs to meet the chang


ing wants OF trade and commerce.


This was reported, it is said, because the
committee could not agree upon any measure
whatever, every member having theory Of
| his own, and because this appeared to be the
easiest way of bringing the matter before the
Senate. 1t was, in fact, to test the Senate on
the subject and to receive instructions. 1t
is further reported that the committee were
about equally divided as to expansion or con-
traction of the circulating medium, four
being for and four against, and one being
undecided. From what has occurred and
from all the information received up to the
present time, the probability is that moderate
expansion, in addition to the issue of the legal
tender reserve, will meet with most favor.
Mr.. Boutwell, informed the Senate that he
would resist either contraction or expansion.
Mr.. Morton was incredulous about specie pay
ments, and expressed himself in favor of q
moderate expansion of the currency. Mr..
Howe called the paper issue of the govern
ment lie, said it would be criminal to issue
any more, and condemned the Secretary of
the Treasury for putting out the reserve. 1t
is said there is decided majority in both
the House and Senate committees on financial
matters against receiving legal tenders in part
payment of duties.


The resolution reported from the Senate
Finance Committee by Mr.. Sherman is utterly
impracticable at the present time and not ap-
plicable to the question at issue. 1t is all
very well to talk about pledging the faith of
the government to redeem the legal tenders in
coin and to instruct the Committee on
Finance to prepare for that; but where is the
coin to come from? The Treasury Depart
ment has not enough to meet the demands
upon it for interest on the debt and TO take up
the bonds called in. Supposing even the gold
coming in from the customs duties will
payment of interest on the debt up to the end
of the fiscal year, the Secretary will have little
or no surplus. How, then, can specie pay
ments be reached without specie? As to
furnishing a currency, in the language
of the resolution of uniform value, always
redeemable in gold or its equivalent, the
idea is absurd under existing circumstances.
This is merely unmeaning verbiage.
Then, what does Mr.. Sherman mean
by so adjusting this uniform currency las to
meet the changing wants of trade and COM
merce ?" Are we to understand by uniform
currency the legal tenders and no other? Or
does he purpose to give US national bank
currency only, and, consequently, to withdraw
the greenbacks? That would put off specie
payments indefinitely. The national banks
would find it to their interest never to resume,
and we question if the government would
have the power to force them to pay specie.
But it is useless to talk of resumption when
there is no specie. The government might
some time in the future accumulate coin and
bring the legal tenders to par, but if specie
payments depend upon the national banks,
and they should have all the currency circu-
lating medium Of the. country, Doomsday
would come about as soon as resumption. Mr..
Sherman squints at elasticity in the currency
by the expression 'and to be so adjusted as to
meet the changing wants of trade and COM
merce." What he means by this we do not
understand An elastic currency we can COM
prehend, but elasticity with specie basis is
hardly comprehensive.
The question Of the time, however, which
the resolution Of the Finance Committee does
not touch, is that Of supplying the Treasury
Department with the means to carry on the
government, or else to cut down the expendi-
lures to the means that are and will be avail
able without additional taxation. Here, in
fact, is the dilemma in which Congress is
placed. Members are unwilling or afraid to
impose fresh burdens upon the people They
fear the unpopularity of such course. Still,
Congress being overwhelmingly of the admin
istration party, the majority, probably, would
like to meet the wishes Of the President and
his Secretary of the Treasury. Then they are


seldom adverse to large appropriations and
have good many schemes OF their own to
draw upon the Treasury for. The proper
solution of the difficulty would be to
reduce the estimated expenditures thirty to
forty millions, instead of either imposing that
amount of additional taxation or issuing more