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Show OURBENOY PAYMENTS AGAIN. Tho now financial bill which it is reported re-ported hna been prepared by leading Republican members of tho Scnato Committoo on Finance, appears to carry out practically tho recommendation recommen-dation of tho .Hon. Loslio Itf. Shaw, late Secretary of tho Treasury. It is devoted, de-voted, from all accounts, to tho one point of increasing the circulation at times when there, h great nood for money. That is, it provides tho emergency currency, of which the couutry has heard so much in the past two months. Tho bill, as prepared, is said to allow of tho issue Of $2'(V 000.000 of additional currency on bonds other than those issued by the Government, Gov-ernment, to the amount of seventy-live seventy-live per cent of the value of such bonds: whether market or face value is not stated. No doubt this proposal would moot the requirements of such a currency-stringency currency-stringency aa overtook New York last October. At tho samo time, it is a mere palliative, a sort of patch on a syatom that is outworn and that requires re-quires to bo thrown aside in favor of a now and well-conccivod system of finances which will allow' of tho issuo of currency on a different basis altogether alto-gether from tho current issues of the National banks. According to the theory and basis of theso issues, this counlrj' is obliged to kcop outstanding out-standing a largo amount of its bonds; that is, the country can never get out of debt and also maintain tho National Na-tional Bank currency as issued at present. pres-ent. That this is a wholly absurd proposition needs no demonstration. Tho debt of the country has nothing to do with tho currency issue, and there should bo no system of iinanco providing for the i&suc of notes that would require the country to bo con-stautly con-stautly in debt lo provide a basis for the issue of bank bills of any kind. The absurdities that are not onb possible, but actually committed under our present financial unsystcm, aro illustrated il-lustrated by a pitby editorial paragraph para-graph in the Springfield Republican, as follows: The bank-note circulation of tho coun-trv coun-trv was increased last month by some S34.000.000 to $590,000,000, which 1b a new high record. Bui to get last month's Increase In-crease the Government interest-bearing deht had to be Increased for that and for no other purpose. It would havo been the name thing In principle and much cheaper to have made a new issuo of greenbacks to that extent a non-intcrest-bearlng Government debt. Now, it is abaolutelj- apparent to anj' oue that, what was done was merely to whip tho devil around the stump. Tn the horror of having the Government issue money directly, it" was-forced into an additional debt . . represented by interest-bearing bouds, so that the National Banks could issue currcucy upon those bonds. Tho Government is made the victim of this system at a very great cost, and is mado responsible re-sponsible for the country's business to just as great extent as if it had issued this currency direct in the form of greenbacks, as our Springfield contemporary con-temporary says. If it is desired to keep the Government out of the busi ness field and sever its functions from the commercial interests of tho coun-tiy, coun-tiy, well and good, do so. But if it is desired to have the Government eon-tinue eon-tinue in control of the financial j situatiou and to have it appealed to J constantly for relief when "'business goes awry and when moro currency is demanded, very well; the Government can then issue that currency direct, and not involve itself in an interest-bearing proposition of indefinite extent. But the Government is perfectly able to clear itself of debt, and should do so. And especially it should not be required to keep outstanding bonds and pay interest ou them merely that certain bankers can issue currenc'. It is far better for tho Government to issue the money direct in non-intercst-bearing form than to issue if. in this indirect manner. For no matter how much squirming and dodjng may bo indulged in, when it comes to tho analysis it if really the Government that issues this National . bank currency. cur-rency. It is a clear case that the Government Gov-ernment should either be further into this currency matter or else should bo out of it. If it is to be out of it, it should provide sdmo. way for the business interests of tho country to supply the needed currency without the connivance of 'the Government, and without the Goveumont having anything any-thing to do with it at all, any more thau to see that the people at large aro not swindled by any sort of device de-vice on nolo issues. But if tho Government Gov-ernment is to stand for it all, it should stand for it in a way that will be the least" costly to tho pcoplo, and in a way whereby it can get direct and instant action at nectli In the .meantime the . couutry appears ap-pears lo be emerging in very' good shape' from the cold douche that New York administered to it through its crar.y manipulations and cowardly scaring scar-ing of itwdf. The deficit in the reserve re-serve required has been practically made up, the premium on currency hna disappeared, and currency payments are generally resumed. Tt is a pleasure to note that Salt Lake banks aro keeping right up with the procession in this matter. They aro retiring their cashiers' checks, and are payiug out currency, without special restriction. Matter?, arc, in fact, so far as the finance? are roncerned. getting about on the old basis. But the blow administered will lake sonic limo to cure. And there were complications aside from the money business that it will take some time to adjust. The rise in silver yesterday lent added brightness to the financial sky; nnd though full resumption of prosperity pros-perity can not be expctod here until un-til the general working of tho mino3 is revived, it is hopod from abundant signs that the worst is over, and that from now on all will bo ou tho uplift. |
