Year: 1872

dogmatic motto was, "The way to resume
specie payments is TO resume" He, however.


has changed his views somewhat, through the
responsibilities of the position he now occu-
pies and the broader grasp of his mind He
now sees there are difficulties in the way. It
will be remembered, too, that Mr. McCulloch,
President Johnson's Secretary of the Treasury,
the present Secretary and host of our public
men held out the expectation and proclaimed
the necessity Of specie payments. This, we
were told, must be brought about that there
must be contraction Of the currency for that
purpose. and that then we should be on solid


financial basis This theory 80 full of promise,
was not found practicable. We hear little or
nothing now from the Treasury Department
or the administration writer's and orators about
specie payments. In the meantime, and in
spite OF the want Of ability and blunders of the
administration in Congress with regard to the
national finances, the premium on gold has
declined and we have been approximating
specie standard. The wonderful resources,
progress and industry of the country have over
come in measure bad legislation and the
incompetent administration of the Treasury.
How long the premium on gold will remain
fuctusting between ton and fifteen no one can
tell; but if the national finances should be
better and properly managed the tendency must
be downward all along. But will there be
better management Will our financial affairs
be so regulated that neither spectators at
home nor disturbances abroad could seriously
affect our market and the general current of
business? No doubt if we could come to a
specie basis, and remain there, everything
would be more steady, and there would be
fewer opportunities for such gambling opera
tons in Wall street as frequently occur under
the existing state Of things.


The government might make the effort at
least to bring about specie payments. Con-
gress and the administration might during the
coming Winter prepare the way for such an
effort, and then, after the plan should be ready
and the public prepared for the change, there
would be, probably, little difficulty. When
people know they can get specie for notes
little specie, comparatively is really needed,
except for small change, because notes are
more convenient to carry and use. The gov
ernment has in round numbers three hundred
and ninety-seven millions of paper money in
circulation, greenbacks and fractional cur
rency included, and the national banks have
within fraction of three hundred and forty
millions. The total paper money of the coun-
try is, therefore, about seven hundred and
thirty seven millions What amount of specie
in the hands or under the control of the gov
ernment would be necessary to meet the de-
mand of noteholders in the event OF resumption
cannot easily be determined. The Bank Of
England usually has an amount Of specie in
its vaults approximating half the issue of its
notes, but the relative proportion of specie
held by oil the banks of the United Kingdom
to the whole volume Of paper money in circu-
latiop would not be, probably, over one-fourth.
Could the United States government, with a
hundred millions of specie, safely undertake
to redeem its three hundred and ninety-seven
millions of paper money? Contraction is out
of the question. That has been tried and the
revulsion and alarm among the business COM
munity and all classes compelled the govern
ment to stop its contracting experiment. We
do not take into account here the national
bank circulation, because the banks would be
compelled to redeem their notes either in legal
tenders or specie, for these would necessarily
be at par if the government resumed specie
payments on its own notes. If the govern
ment has not specie enough to resume or to
maintain a specie basis after proclaiming re-
sumption we must wait till the country grows
up to that condition when paper dollar will
be as good as gold one, taking care in the
meantime not to initiate the currency and,
most of all, not to enlarge the national bank
circulation. 1t will not be many years before
the vast increase Of population, wealth and
business of our country will absorb and appre-
ciate every dollar of the seven hundred and
thirty millions Of paper money now in circu-
lation. II some practical measure could be
devised by which United States bonds and
currency could be converted and reconverted
into each other at any time the money market
could be kept steady, neither having too great
an abundance OF money nor scarcity, and there
would be no possibility of Wall street cliques
creating panic or disturbing business.