[From the Detroit Post and Tribune.] THE CURRENCY. The Statement that it Has Been "Enormously Contracted" Since 1865 Absolutely Disproved. The Facts in the Case as Shown by the Official Documents-An Article Based Wholly Upon Records and Utterances Made Years before the Present Questions Arose-The Conclusive Showing of Cotemporaneous Testimony. Very many men of honest intentions have been misled in the current popular discussion of various phases of "the financial question" by the indefinitely re-iterated charge that there has been "an enormous contraction of the currency" since the close of the war, and that this has been the cause of the commercial and industrial depression of the last five years. This statement is given in various forms in the speeches, "documents," and newspapers of the advocates of an "absolute paper money," but it's average shape is this: The close of the war saw this country with about "$2,000,000,000 of currency," which has been, in the thirteen years intervening, contracted by retiring the amount of over $1,200,000,000, and this contraction is the source of the prevailing financial disaster and "hard times." To show that this assertion is as untrue as if its utterers should declare that this was the year 2878, or that the present volume of our public debt was five billions, or that a dollar contained two hundred cents, it is only necessary to refer to the official documents and records. As a preliminary to their examination, and for the purpose of preventing any misunderstanding, the questions should first be briefly considered, What is "currency," and what are "securities ?" Without pretending to aim at scientific exactness in these definitions, and treating these terms only in their relation to this single controversy, it may be said that the following will be conceded by all parties to this discussion: By "currency" are meant metallic and paper issues, which from their character go into general circulation for business purposes, are paid from hand to hand, and form the basis of bank checks, bills of exchange, etc. All coins (when not at a premium), bank notes (State and National), postal and fractional currency, and simple legal tenders are now grouped under this category by all parties without dispute. They can yield no returns as investments, their great use is in furnishing the conveniencies of exchange, and there is nothing in their nature that tends to keep them out of active circulation. Of course many of them are hoarded by the timid and the foolish, but this fact is not of any practical importance in this connection, and the entire aggregate of these issues is properly included in any "currency currency" statement. Paper issues of the government, which bear interest, are not clothed with the legal tender attribute, run for terms of years, and chiefly exist only in large denominations, all parties agree in classing as "securities" or "bonds" and not as 66 currency." They are held as investments almost wholly, and possess no other natural use. At times they may figure in business transactions, but not as money." A five-twenty" accepted for a bill of groceries would no more become a part of the "currency" as a result of that transaction than would a yoke of oxen "traded" in the same way. On this point, also, there is no difference of opinion. Briefly, then "currency" is what the commercial world uses to transact its daily business, and "securities" are what it employs for the purpose of investment. "" 66 All the issues of government paper appear in the public debt statements, which are the only source of official and reliable information in regard to their character and volume. The public debt reached its highest point towards the close of the summer of 1865; since that period it has been steadily and rapidly diminishing. It is at and about that time that "two billions of currency" are alleged to have been in existence. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury for 1865 (on pages 50 to 55 inclusive) gives an elaborate table of the condition of the public debt on June 30 of that year, with the statistics of each issue and detailed references to the laws authorizing them. The authenticity of this document cannot be questioned. It was prepared and published officially 13 years ago, long before the present controversy arose, and before its existing phase could have been foreseen. There were no material changes in the two or three following months (during which the volume of the debt was swelling) in any of its items which are involved in this dispute, and it is a fair table to compare with recent debt statements for the purpose of thus testing the accuracy of the charge that there has been $1,200,000,000 of "contraction.' For the convenience of those who cannot easily get access to the public documents, elsewhere is given an abstract of that table, with references which will enable any one to verify in detail the following statements. For the purposes of the comparison there is also given a table of the condition of the public debt on April 30, 1878, (the latest issued at the time of the preparation of this matter) taken from the official sheet for that month issued by the Treasury Department, and therefore also official in its character. These tables, the volumes of the United States laws, and the cotemporaneous reports of Government officials (nearly all of them prepared from ten to fifteen years ago, and before this controversy had begun)-let it be noted that every reference is to an official publication to be found in any large library!-show the following to be the facts concerning the history and the condition in 1865 and 1878 of every item in the public debt statement. [This article does not require any reference to the amount of "cash in the Treasury" at any date, or the copper and nickel coinage, and they are, therefore, omitted as not relevant.] TABLES, Giving the Details of the Condition of the Currency in 1865 and 1878: THE PUBLIC DEBT STATEMENT AT THE CLOSE OF THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1865-(Pages 50 and 55, Finance Report of 1865). TITLE. Acts. Date of Enabling When Payable. Interest ing June 30, 1863 large. ? Stat. at Vol. p. 5 438 5 473 1. Loan of 1842. 5. Old Funded Debt..... (Various acts 6. Old Treasury notes...prior to 1857 7. 1 yr. Treasury notes.. Dec. 23, 1857.... 8. Loan of 1858... June 14, 1858 ..... 9. Loan of 1860.. June 22, 1860 10. Treas'y notes of 1860 Dec. 17, 1860 11. Loan of 1861.... Feb. 8, 1861 12. Treas'y notes of 1861 March 2, 1861.. 13. Oregon War Loan..... March 2, 1861.. 14. 20-year Sixes of 1861 15. 7-30 notes of 1861...... 16. Demand notes 17. 20-year Sixes of 1861 18. Five-twenties of 1862 19. *United States notes or greenbacks....... July 17, 1861 March 3, 1863 After Dec 31,1862.. 6 p. c.... 1 year after date... 5&5pc After June 30, 1881 6 p. c.... 12 198 12 259 12 313 12 338 (12 345 13 218 13 13 12 345 432,687,966 Co 12 532 12 709 12 345 After June 30, 1881 6 p. c.... C.... 25. Certificates of In March 1, 1862) 12 352 March 17, '62 March 3, 1863 12 709 26. Postal Currency...... July 17, 1862. 27. Fractional currency March 3, 1863..... 28. Five-twenties of 1864 June 30, 1864...... After Nov. 1, 1865 6 p. c.... 29. Compound interest notes......... 30. 7-30 notes of 1864 31. Central Pacific Railroad bonds.. 32. 7-30 notes of 1865..... Total...... *Possessing the legal-tender attribute. tenders, but not themselves a legal tender. upon which the full text or the enabling acts 13 856 13 468 †Bearing compound interest. |