296 



FINANCES OF "THE UNITED STATES. 



The total decrease of the debt from March 

 1, 1869, to December 1, 1871, was $277,211,- 

 892.16; the reduction of the annual interest 

 charge during the same period has been 

 $16,741,436.04. 



The views of the Secretary of the Treasury 

 on the relative value of gold and paper cur- 

 rency were thus expressed : 



The average premium on gold for the year 1868 

 was 39.54 per cent. ; for the year 1869 it was 32.56 

 per cent, premium ; for the year 1870 it was 14.83 

 per cent, premium ; and for the first eleven months 

 of the year 1871 it was 12.1 per cent, premium. The 

 value of the paper currency of the country during the 

 years 1869 and 1870 was apparently appreciated by 



the increased use of paper money in the South, but 

 chiefly by the establishment of the credit of the Uni- 

 ted States upon a firm basis. On the first of January. 

 1871, the last-named fact was fully accomplished, and 

 since that time the appreciation of the paper currency 

 has been due wholly to the increased demand for it 

 in the business aifairs of the country. The difference 

 between the value of paper money at the present mo- 

 ment and its value on the first of December, 1870, 

 may be attributed to the latter cause, and furnishes 

 the best means which the country has yet had, for 

 ascertaining the quantity of paper currency which can 

 be used, and its value kept at par with gold. 



In the following table is given a state- 

 ment in detail of the public debt on June 30, 

 1871: 



STATEMENT OP THE PUBLIC DEBT OP THE UNITED STATES, JUNE 30, 1871. 



