Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-08-28
THE GOLD DEFICIT In THE FED
ZEAL TREASURY.

The United States Treasury is a biz
thing-altogether too big for the purity and
simplicity Of free government. The nation
al debt is national curse, take it as we
may, and the complicated transactions
which it involves are not easily watched and
followed by The public mind. Jomini says
the military genius was never born who
could maI9avre more than 100, 900 soldiers
to advantage. Perhaps The financial genius
was never born Who cou.d marshal all the
figures of our immense debt with absolute
accuracy i'll every detail. But such
gross fall2cies as counting tens
of millions of cancelled paper bonds
for SO much solid gold, could certainly be
avoided; and whsE we remember that Wall
street gamblers make immense profits on
such misrepresentation, they should be
sedulously avoided. The debt statements
given TO the public once month are not
true in their details are the correct details
given to favored few, TO gamble on? This
government just now is run ON the princi-
pie Of fleeing the people for the benefit Of
the few. The New FORK Bulletin of Aug.
%, journal edited with rare financial
ability, has the following in reference to the
gold deficit:
The truth is that the Treasury did hold
on July some Sl0,000,000 less of actual
coin than was stated in the debt schedule
of July /; and practical Misrepresentation
on such an important matter calls for Off
cial explanation, when differences damaging
to the publ credit are drawn from it, In
fertile snCe Of pernicious speculations.
"These documentary Misrepresentation
are ret made now for The first time Last
year, pending the Syndicate funding opera
lions, like sudden snd frequent fluctuations
in the official statements of the coin bal
lance occurred, and demadd for explana-
tons made BY the Senate elected from
Secretary Boutwell, the in .ormation that, in
the monthly debt statements of the first five
months of 1872, the following amounts of
scaled" bonds, with interest added, were
included in the figures purporting to repre-
sent the amount of coin in the Treasury:
Jan. l. 10. S28, 112 282 April /, IT, $50 2a4. 309
Feb. l, IT,. u,2O236O May i, '72. S,435 ,S5l
March l, ~. s,9S3,9l6
"This method Of calling paper gold may
be v,ry convenient for Treasury book
keepers; but, in an offici Al statement intend
ed for public use, it is very reprehensible
fbbing and leads to important popular mis-
conceptions. Last year, this paper-st: ffiiug
of the gold balance, at times to the extent
Of So, 100000, fostered speculation which
put down the price of gold to 1881, from
which, ON the discovery OF The Justification,
there was reactioDary speculation, carry.
ing up the price to 114i. This year, the
discovery of like Misrepresentation has led
to misconceptions and rumors, which have
aided powerful clique bent on initiating
the gold premium and producing
the utmost possible mischief 10 all inter-
ests. 1t cannot be the business of finance
minister to put forth statements which are
liable to create alarm by the disappointing
discovery that We have ten millions less gold
in the country than we supposed we had.
Will the Secretary please let the public
know how much real gold we have? and
will he, in future, please abstain from mis-
leading the public on this very important
matter" .h-
For the benefit of importers and others
who are obliged by their legitimate business
10 deal in gold, as it is required in the pay
ment Of duties, tie New York Tribune re-
produces q detailed statement of the
amounts and location of government gold
on June 80, 1873. Our readers may find
passing interest in The items: