﻿THE PAST

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legal tender issues. Not only did the historic
treasury note develop into new instruments but the
actual term, treasury note, came to be associated
with one of these newer devices instead of remaim
ing identified with the original expedient. There-
after, when recourse was had to the use of short-
term interest bearing obligations, the title treasury
note was associated in public usage with legal tender
demand notes and the term certificate of indebted-
ness was used in lieu of the old phrase.

In February, 1862, Secretary Chase, embarrassed
by the pressure of floating indebtedness, then vari-
ously estimated at from $80,000,000 to $180,000,-
000, sought and obtained authority from Congress
to issue to creditors who might desire to receive
them certificates of indebtedness bearing six per
cent, interest and payable in one year or earlier
at the option of the Government. Substantial
amounts were issued during the remaining three
years of the war in payment of contractors’ audited
accounts and disbursing officers’ checks; $50,000,-
000 in 1862; $157,000,000 in 1863; $169,000,000
in 1864, and $131,000,000 in 1865. When re-
ceived they were used either as collateral for pro-
curing bank loans or directly as a form of currency.
Although circulating at a small discount they passed
freely from hand to hand as current funds. The
successive issues remained outstanding for the full
term of their maturities, being then discharged from
out of general revenue. At the end of the fiscal
year 1866 only $26,400,000 of such certificates were
outstanding and these were paid off in the next
twelve months.