US Presidency
1888

It has been made quite apparent that the Government was in danger of being subjected to combinations to raise their price, as appears by the instance cited by the Secretary of the offering of bonds of the par value of only $ 326,000 so often that the aggregate of the sums demanded for their purchase amounted to more than $ 19,700,000. Notwithstanding the large sums paid out in the purchase of bonds, the surplus in the Treasury on the 30th day of November, 1888, was $ 52,234,610.01, after deducting about $ 20,000,000 just drawn out for the payment of pensions. At the close of the fiscal year ended June 30, 1887, there had been coined under the compulsory silver-coinage act $ 266,988,280 in silver dollars, $ 55,504,310 of which were in the hands of the people. On the 30th day of June, 1888, there had been coined $ 299,708,790; and of this $ 55,829,303 was in circulation in coin, and $ 200,387,376 in silver certificates, for the redemption of which silver dollars to that amount were held by the Government.