The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-02-05
mot ENOUGH GOLD"

way of stating il is, that the U. 5. Treasury
and the Eastern Banks hold all the gold there
is here, and their statements show iooing
of less than $l50,n00i 90. But is that any
proof that we cannot have the gold it we neeu
it: California paper estimates that Inc
two great mines of the Pacific slope. the Con
solidated Virginia and California, can be
made TO yield 5000, 90 Of gold and silver
month, and all other mines on the coast an
equal mountaineering total OF Sl4i,ooo'
600 year. No resumption scheme we have
yet heard of proposes to resume in less than
three years. BY tina. time the California ana
Nevada mines alone can place into the public
treasury, or into the Golfers of our banks, or
into the pockets of our people, $5Oh,OOlO1O
of gold and silver which, with Sl5o,OOOWo
on hand, would give double the amount any
rational man believes necessary TO enable the
national treasury and The banks to resume.
But how are we 10 retain this gold? Simply
by saying, through resumption act of Con
gless that we want it. Gold. though subject
like any other commodity to fluctuations in
price according to demand and supply, is
more sensitive to such pressure than any 9th
err commodity and seldom varies IN price
over from an 18th to per cent. year in and
out. When our banks or the national treas
urv, are therefore admonished that within a
given time they must have Oh hand given
amount of gold and silver, all they need do is
to offer llsth per cent above the current price
for it, and they will get all they want fast
enough Not a dollar from our western
mines will 20 abroad if we need it here
enough to pay 18th per cent. premium for it.
But how much gold does the country need
to be able to resume?
In the first place, we have at present about
$4OO,OO0O00 OF national bank notes in circu.
latlon. These are redeemable on demand in
greenbacks. If the banks have now enough
greenbaCks on hand to take care of their cur
rency, they will have enough when the green
backs, by the government treasury's resump
ton, are raised to ar with gold. Therefore,
in figuring the amount Of gold necessary for
resumption, there is no need to take into &C
count the national bank bills. They must be
paid IN greenbacks, and greenbacks being
equivalent, to gold, all our curreDcy--green-
backs, national bank bills and gold, will col
instante be on evel,-all on a par with sill
yer and gold.
Then, secondly, as to the grec1backs or
these there are about 100000 in clrcula-
ton, but OF that sum less than $lO0,00D,000I
are held in the eastern cities. The rest are
aaoat among the people, buried in stockings,
or held in reserve by the national banks to
take care of their currency with. Suppose the
government gives notice that she Will com
mence reGeeming them in gold on the LIST Of
next January. How many will be presented
for redemption on that day? Ifthe holders Of
the grecnbacks positively khOtc that the gov
eminent has at her command all the gold she
needs to redeem every dollar OF her green
backs, probably not half million will be
good as gold, nobody viii want the gold in
lieu Of il. But to place the question thus be-
yond every possible doubt, would make 1t
necessary TO have $350,OO0000 of gold on
hand This, however, is obviously not neces
sary. In no contingency whatever would all
the greenbacks be likely to be presented for
redemption in day or month The ma
tional banks, of course, would hold on TO their
reserves, for TO redeem their own paper the |
greenbacks are just as good as SO much gold. |
The only probable rush, therefore, would be
from the $750O0,000 10 $lOO,0oo,OO0 green,
backs held in Philadelphia, Boston and Wall
street. Add say $7j,U00,G00 of gold to the
present SG0,0O0,000 held by the treasury, and
does any one doubt that the treasury would be
able to meet any possible run that can be
made upon It for gold?
bringing the treasury notes 10 par with
gold, is, OF course, only the first in series Of
steps necessary for thorough currency re-
form. But this step, safely taken, would dis
sipa,e great many popular dclusions and
make the subsequent steps more easy. With
the present tendency TO muddle the subject
and surround resumption with imaginary ter.
rors, it would be great deal gained 10 have
made at least one great elementary truth
popular Lay the foundation stone, and
there need be no borrowing Of trouble about
the roof when it is certain there is a building
to be rooted.
Senator Morton, in ms Mississippi speech !
in the t. s. Senate two weeks ago, confessed !
that he had few facts to go upon in challeng.
ing the honesty of the Mississippi election last
fall, but while he believed the Commute he !
proposed to raise would find no difficulty in
nnearthlnr lOr inventncl facts abGndanily. !