THE  PAST

17

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.  Thereafter, ­
  when  recourse  was  had  to  the  use  of  shortterm ­
  interest  bearing  obligations,  the  title  treasury
note  was  associated  in  public  usage  with  legal  tender
demand  notes  and  the  term  certificate  of  indebtedness ­
  was  used  in  lieu  of  the  old  phrase.
In  February,  1862,  Secretary  Chase,  embarrassed
by  the  pressure  of  floating  indebtedness,  then  variously ­
  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  received ­
  they  were  used  either  as  collateral  for  procuring ­
  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.