The Currency Muddle In Congress

We have oeased to feol more than a anguid interest in tbe flat, wearisome, long-drawn-out " debates of the Senate n the most important questiou of the eason. Some ten days ago we abanoned all bopo of useful legislation on lis great subject, and we shall be agreebly surprised if Congress does anything ;o relieve the situation. We eannot at all agree with thoso of ur cotemporaries who find eneouragement in the nearly equal división of the enate on the question of inflation which ïas been disclosed within the last two ays. It is clear enough that the inflaïonists have a luajority, though a very mail one. If the inajority, however mail, were on the other side, we should eel entitled to the poor consolation that o new mischief would be done. No legslation at all would be better than furïer expansión of the currency ; but wo ïave serious fears that even this negative dvantage will bo denied to suffering inests. The narrowness of tbe inflationist maority in the Senate might save us from espair if the Senate possessed the whole egislative authority. But it requires a majority of both branches of (Jongress to )ass measures of relief, and the House is nore hopelessly wedded to inflation than ie Senato. The difliculty is with the outh and the West, and although ommendable progress towards sound pinion8 bas been made by the boards E trade of some of tho Western cites, the predominant Western and outhern feeling still favors inflation. ?he House is naturally more sensitive ;o this mistaken sentiment than the ■Senate. When Congress adjourns in üay or June, the members of the House will go home to canvass for a re-election, s a new House of Eepresentatives is to e chosen this year. The long term of ie Senators make them more indepenent ; and as there is a demonstrated inationist majority in the Senate, how an we expect anything favorable from iie House? When Congress assembled n December, all the hopes of the coun;ry were conoentrated upon tho Senate, oth because that body is credited with more independenee and a higher grade of ntelligence, and becauso it was believed aat if its judgment were decisively exressed against inflation by a strong and ommanding majority, its moral weight might restrain the ignorant demagogues f the House. But the event shows that ;he advocates of a sound currency in the atter body will not be steadied and suported by the Senate. The votes of memers of tho House will be governed solely y their interest in the electiona which are to take place this year ; and there is loo much reason to apprehend that when Congress adjourns the currency will bo n a worse condition than it was when Congress assembled. Sherman's bilí for a more equal distribution of the bank-note circulation, which has been debated for the last week and is virtually defeated, is a trivial measure at best. With such a currency as the national banks furnish the places of issue aro of no sort of consequence. All the bank notes might as well be issued by one institution as by two thousand loca] banks. They are never redeemed; the banks that send them forth seldorn see them again ; even if a bank breaks and is compelled to wind up, its notes can be collected only by paying a premium to cover the expense of sorting and transmission. Nobody who receives or handles theia ever looks to see froin what bank they come, their credit deponding solely on the obligation which the Government has assumed to mako them good. Thero would be a manifest advantage in having mch a currency issued by one central inatitution, which would make redemption easy by saving the expense and trouble of assorting and collecting the scattered, intermingled notes. A they are never redeemed at all there i no advantage in a redistribution of th points of issue. It is just aB easy for a citizen of Iowa or a citizen cf Georgia t get a supply of currency as for a citizen of Massachusetts. The West ovory yea receives a vast amount of currency for it grain and the South for its cotton, anc if they were not indebted to the Atlanti cities, they would easily retain it at home Tf they liad new local banks of circula ion, notes could be got only by paying or them ; and the same capital could as asüy retain the money reoeived for crops s it could procure new notes from the 3omptroller of the Currency. If now janks wero established in the West or louth capital would have to bo investod n bonds to secure their circulation, and he ownera of that capital could as easily ecure a share of the existing notes as ind currency to buy tho bonds. They an get currency from the East by payng for it, as they could get currency from Washington by paying for it. Tho new )ank notes would not stay in tho West r South, any more than the notes reeived for the Southern and Western rops; because, being equally current verywhere, they would go to the seajoard cities to pay debts. Sherman's equalization or rodistribuion bilí ís therefore of no importanco. !ut even that cannot pass unless coupled with somo measure of inflation. Tho deate and proceedings of the Senate have nly involved the subject in a hopeless