The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-01-26
CONGRESSIONAL.
TNyENTY-NINTH CONGRESS-,
Second Session..
MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 1917.
SENATE.

[Conduded from yesterdays Union]
MIR. EVANS SAID that he agreed with the sentiments
which had lust been advanced by the honorable chair
man. He should at move amendment If the
Treasury Department had announced that the loan could
be effected then there was occasion for issuing treas
ury notes, and he would have the bill modified not
to authorize the issuing OF more than ten millions at the
most. But such evidence could not be obtained. The
House did not think so; else they would not have passed
tins bll There was no just expectation that the loan
last loan had deprecated so that was now down to
97s and there was not honorable senator present
who thought that men, with their money in their peck
cts, would come and give 100 per cent Tor the scrip
when they could go Wall street and buy The last issue
Tor 97a. When one issue was below par and another
eight millions more, and then expected to get the money
i would not be They would not get the money.
But why had i happened that, with all the resources
in these straits unable to 20 on' With all this expert
ence in in the last year, he TO have confidence
in the estimates This twenty three millions, far
from carving them to the 30th OF June 1913, would
not carry them to LIST JANUARY, lS4s They talked OF Ia-
tons. Who knew the expense OF rations in the
army now How many steamboats, and ether vessels
had been wrecked How many were to be bought to
supply the places of them How, with such state OF
things could they expect to carry the OF the
government He had not doubt that il the war should
terminate, the notes would all be funded, but not during
the for every would that SO long the war
continued, they must be borrowing and borrowing He
should not be there to remind the honorable senator Of
the truth of these predictions January, 1915 but II
any other friend should see to do it, he hoped he would
take ii in very good part IA Taught And after this loan
used up, then they would put another batch of
treasury notes Would not moneyed men through III
Surely they would. Would the last loan have been a-
ken al par it had not been said that no more troops
were wanted No; they would have been without
the funds and yet the loan had scarcely been taken
up, before large number OF additional troops were call
ed for Those who had plunged the country into this
great expenditure were bound to furnish the means
What was done in ls4l, when they found the country
sunk SO low They imposed duties Even tax
on tea and coffee proposed He did not vote for that
he
then. But if they ready to impose duties then, they
certainly ought to allow il to be done He would
only say that if he had the responsibilities which rested
upon those who brought about this disastrous state OF
things he should feel bound to propose some more ef
cent means of raising the revenues There would be
difficulty in obtaining thirty Eight millions from customs
Six or SIX and a-half millions might be raised from tax
tea and Coffee without any serious effect upon the
sumption. They had thrown away millions by their low
by proper duties While they were living by borrowing
no one would believe that they would be able to main
tam their treasury notes at par Gentlemen had com
pared the working OF the tariff OF 1916 with that of 1912
for few weeks. 1t was no test They must have the
experience of year before they could say how would
work He dill not know what would be the compexo
of the next House of Representatives, but it should be
different from the present one, they would have the re-
spOnsblty OF restoring the currency and credit OF the
country. The gentleman from Arkansas had told them
that the tariff of 1912 dead forever Suppose the
next House should send them scheme, in effect repeal
ing the subtreasury act how he asked could the Senate
reject IT, Gentlemen need not be quite so confident that
the tariff of 1912 dead and buried He had pointed
out the way in which he would restore the credit of the
country If he were responsible. He hoped those who
were responsible would look to 1t and adopt such sys-
TEN would receive the confidence OF the whole country
1t was their business, that they had the power,
which they were not very certain OF keeping long, to re-
pensh the treasury He knew that there were
enough in the country, but bad legislation would render
those inefficient He would not take up the
time OF the Senate with further remarks on that OCCASION
but simply desired to make few suggestions which he
might, perhaps enlarge upon at some future day
Mr.. HUNTINGTON was deslrous that this amend
ment should be understood There material diff
ference between and that OF his colleague Gentlemen
had improved this remarking upon the merits
of this bill itself AS the question was soon to be taken
he felt bound also to say few words and TO ask the Sen
ate, why the bill needed in this emergency? lie
would not say that the chairman OF the committee was IN
fault but he would say TO them that the exgences Of
the country required that this or some other similar pill
should pass Immediately, to sustain the public credit.
This bill, then, given to them the only measure
of furnishing them with the of sustaining the
credit OF the country. He would examine it then The
would continue to be with the country in such con-
dlon as IT was at present. Capitalists would not lend
the money under the contingencies which existed. Go
into Wall street, said he, every capitalist would say there
many contingencies which they must know before
they could lend the money First they would ask what
security they had for obtaining the money with which to
pay either interest prncipali How could they know
that either would be paid Did not gentlemen recolect
the difficulty with the loan bill of ls4 which had been
referred TO by the honorable gentleman from Maine
Why that difficulty Because capitalists had not conf
dence that they should be paid What did the pledge of
the public lands IN thus Dill amount to- lhey reserved 10
themselves the right TO modify the prices of the pub
lie lands so that they would produce but compa-
lively small They had voted large portion of
the public lands to the soldiers and had but little left TO
pay the principal interest of these treasury notes with
Men of capital would not place confidence in such security
| Again. they would ask how long the TO con-
tnue How long they were to require these funds Tor
disbursement He believed for one, that they would be
compelled to make another issue another year, and the
value of the present stoch would depreciate there
fore prudent capitalists would not lend them.
These and other important considerations would prevent
the Secretary of the Treasury from obtaining the loan
The state of the money market showed the mpossi-
bilty of obtaining it, They could not negotiate loan
when treasury notes previously ISSUED were now below
par or only at about par But again. treasury notes and
treasury drafts to be the not only OF carrying
on this war, but of paying all the expenses of the gov
eminent He knew that the Secretary had proposed a
tax on tea and coffee. But under what circumstances
had he done it 1t was TO be ad vaorem duty; and
they would realize but very little from it, II had well
been rejected ii such to be its character But did the
Secretary OF the Treasury suppose that he could levy
ure-they could not levy such tax The only
this loan bill He could readily perceive how they
expected TO get along with these treasury notes In the
hst place. the Secretary proposed supposed that there
would he temporary investment by capltaliss--that
they would be willing IN instances, to take the
notes at par Again, he proposed to borrow money on
the strength of these notes They well knew that he
would use such language TO certain persons would not
be misunderstood and they would be compelled to let
hum have the money Again the Secretary expected that
the public creditors would take these notes Though the
bill presented no compuson It's face, they would be
held forth to creditors of very deserving classic the
soldiers and othersunder such circumstances that they
would be morally obliged to take them. When con-
tracts were to be made, men would be told that
al % in trpoz1 MO and