Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1881 — BANKS AND BONDS. [ARTICLE]

BANKS AND BONDS.

Text of Secretary Wlndom’s Decislen ltclative to the National Banks. The decision reached by the Cabinet on the request of the national banks to withdraw their legal-tenders deposited to retire circulation maintains that the precedents of the department in similar cases should be adhered to, and no return of legal tenders made. The text of the decision is as follows : Treasury Department,) Washington, D. C., March 11,1881. ( President Merchants’ National Bank, Cleveland, Ohio ; Sin : I am in receipt of your letter of tho sth in it. stating your bank had, -during the previous week, deposited with the Assistant Treasurer at New York SIBO,OOO in legal tenders, with a view of retiring that amount of its circulating notes; that bonds to secure the sarno, amounting to $200,000, had been forwarded from the treasury in this city to New York, and that the bank now desires to return them to the treasury of the United States, and receive back the above amount of legal-tender notes. As the action taken in this case would establish a rule by which tho department would necessarily be governed in regard to similar requests from other banks, some delay in answering your letter has occurred. It seems since the 19th ult. about $19,000,000 in legal tenders have been deposited by the banks for a purpose like that mentioned by you. Of this amount about $1,000,000 was returned by the Treasurer, the request therefor having been received before any redemption of notes had been made or security bonds delivered. In such cases, the transactions being incomplete, the department had clearly the right to return the notes, as has been done. Of the remaining amount, about $18,000,000 security bonds therefore have either been surrendered or redemptions against the amounts deposited have already been made, and transactions have been so far completed that it has been decided that the precedents of the department in similar cases should be adhered to, and no return of legal tenders be made. In this connection it should be stated no apprehension of unfavorable results need be entertained in this matter. Since the 25th ult. the department has paid out for bonds purchased about $6,500,000, and is to-day paying out on like account an additional amount of $5,000,000. In addition to these payments there has been advanced from the treasury since the Ist inst, to meet payments of arrearages of pensions, the amount of $7,583,844, and on the Ist prox. there will fall due of interest more than $7,000,000, and there are on hand of incomplete national-bank notes, which can be issued at opce to the banks, to the amount of $4,000,000, which in aggregate, will be observed, take an amount from the treasury largely in excess of the amount of legal-tender notes which have been deposited by the banks since the 19th ult., and which, it is now desired, should be returned. Letters have also been received asking if the identical United States bonds held as security for circulating notes which were recently withdrawn by the national banks can be re-deposited without transfer. This request will be granted if the bond bears no assignment except that of the Treasurer of the United States to the bank returning it. Very respectfully, H. F. French, Acting Secretary. The decision, although signed by Acting Secretary French, was actually rendered by Secretary Windom. “Wht should a red oow give -white milk?” was the subject for discussion in a suburban agricultural club. After an hour’s debate the Secretary of the meeting was instructed to milk the cow and bring in a decision according to the merits of the milk. It was blue,— tfew flaven HegUter,