Treasury note

“ Authority, it is conceded, exists in Congress to pass laws providing for the issue of treasury notes, based on the national credit, as necessary and proper means for fulfilling the end of the express power to borrow money, nor can it be doubted at this day, that such notes, when issued by the proper authority, may lawfully circulate as credit currency, and that they may, in that conventional character, be lawfully employed, if the act authorizing their issue so provides, to pay duties, taxes, and all the public exactions required to be paid into the national treasury. ”

“ Whatever a government agrees to receive in payment of the public dues is a medium of circulation; is money, current money, no matter what its form may be—treasury notes, drafts drawn at Washington, by the treasurer, on the receiver-general at New York, or, to use the language employed in various parts of this bill, ‘such notes, bills, or paper, issued under the authority of the United States.’ These various provisions were probably inserted not only to cover the case of treasury notes, but that of these drafts in due season. ”

“ They are redeemable in gold and silver on demand at the places of issue. They are receivable everywhere in payment of Government dues. The Treasury notes are limited to an amount of one-fourth less than the estimated annual receipts of the Treasury, and in addition they rest upon the faith of the Government for their redemption. If all these assurances are not sufficient to make them available, then the idea, as it seems to me, of furnishing a sound paper medium of exchange may be entirely abandoned. ”

“ I am convinced the only thorough and practicable remedy for our troubles is found in the retirement and cancellation of our United States notes, commonly called greenbacks, and the outstanding Treasury notes issued by the Government in payment of silver purchases under the act of 1890. ”

“ Congress has enacted that these treasury notes shall be lawful money. Nobody questions here the power to issue them and to give them some of the qualities of money. This power has been expressly admitted by this court. With certain exceptions, they are receivable for all dues to the government, and payable for all dues from the government, old and new. The largest creditor in the land, the government, is bound to take them. The largest debtor in the land, the government, pays in them. ”

“ The small amount of Treasury notes, not exceeding $4,500,000, still outstanding, and less by twenty-three millions than the United States have in deposit with the States, is composed of such only as are not yet due or have not been presented for payment. They may be redeemed out of the accruing revenue if the expenditures do not exceed the amount within which they may, it is thought, be kept without prejudice to the public interest, and the revenue shall prove to be as large as may justly be anticipated. ”

“ Soon after the outbreak of hostilities specie payments were suspended. The Government seemed to have exhausted every device of borrowing when it grasped the dangerous expedient of paper issues. Treasury notes bearing interest had several times in the history of the nation been resorted to, but it was not until the act of February 25, 1862, was passed that non-interest-bearing notes were issued. One hundred and fifty million dollars of notes were authorized and they were declared a legal tender for all debts, public and private, except duties upon imports and interest upon the public debt. ”

“ Even the United States, with almost inexhaustible resources, and with a population of 9,000,000 of inhabitants, exhibited during the late war with Great-Britain the humiliating spectacle of treasury notes, issued and payable in a year, remaining unredeemed, and sunk by depreciation to about half of their nominal value! ”

“ Such treasury notes would have formed a popular security always available to the holder as they could have been readily converted into money when needed for other investment or business. They would have been in such form and denominations as to furnish a convenient investment for the small savings of the people, and fill the place designed by the ten dollar refunding certificates authorized by the act of February 26, 1879. ”

“ We are now without any medium; and necessity, as well as patriotism and confidence, will make us all eager to receive Treasury notes if founded on specific taxes. Congress may now borrow of the public, and without interest, all the money they may want, to the amount of a competent circulation, by merely issuing their own promissory notes of proper denominations for the larger purposes of circulation, but not for the small. Leave that door open for the entrance of metallic money.... The State legislatures should be immediately urged to relinquish the right of establishing banks of discount. ”

“ That no power has been expressly conferred upon Congress by the Constitution to make the Treasury notes of the government a legal tender between private individuals in discharge of pre-existing debts, must be admitted. ”

“ The amount of estimated expenditures for the remaining three quarters of the present fiscal year will in all probability be increased from the causes set forth in the report of the Secretary. His suggestion, therefore, that authority should be given to supply any temporary deficiency by the issue of a limited amount of Treasury notes is approved, and I accordingly recommend the passage of such a law. ”

“ Nearly $8,000,000 of Treasury notes are to be paid during the coming year in addition to the ordinary appropriations for the support of Government. For both these purposes the resources of the Treasury will undoubtedly be sufficient if the charges upon it are not increased beyond the annual estimates. No excess, however, is likely to exist. Nor can the postponed installment of the surplus revenue be deposited with the States nor any considerable appropriations beyond the estimates be made without causing a deficiency in the Treasury. ”

“ By the beginning of the year 1893 the legal-tender notes, silver certificates, and Treasury notes had reached an aggregate of nearly $800,000,000, all depending on the Treasury reserve for gold redemption. ”

“ The people draw gold from the Treasury on demand upon United States notes and Treasury notes, but the proposition that the Treasury can on demand draw gold from the people upon them would be regarded in these days with wonder and amusement ”

“ Treasury notes could not be drawn from the treasury without such appropriation. The regular statement 'of the receipts and expenditures of all public m ney,' which the same section requires to be published from time to time, would be incomplete if treasury notes were left out. ”

“ And it is one of these incidents that the evidences of the debt shall perform the offices of money between government and citizen, and between man and man.
Counsel on the other side has insisted that the value of treasury notes is not increased by the circumstance that they are legal tender. One might as well say that a commodity is not increased in value by the opening of a new market for it. The more uses there are for an article, the greater is its value. ”

“ It may be added that in considering this subject the people ought steadily to keep in view that the Government in contracting debt is but their agent; that its debt is their debt. As the currency is held exclusively by ourselves, it is obvious that, if each person held Treasury notes in exact proportion to the value of his means, each would in fact owe himself the amount of the notes held by him ”

“ It is known that very large amounts of Treasury notes have fallen into the hands of the enemy by the fortunes of war, and one of the results accomplished by your predecessors in affixing short delays for funding was to prevent these notes from becoming available to the plunderers who had robbed our citizens. ”