The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-04-10
GENERAL T.ELEGRAMS.
Secretary sherm An Continues to Give
His Views on Il Ie Resumption of Specie
Payment.


WAsHINGToS, April 4.-The conference be-
tween Secretar g Sherman and the house
commissioners on banking and currency, in
regard 70 the assumption act, was resumed to-
the ability 4 the government to resume and
maintain ne specie payments and that OF the
nahk OF ngland, the secretary insisting upon
IL tnat III . government was in equally as good,
II not ID fter, condition than the bank of Eng
land. After this point had been Thoroughly
exhar s ed lir. Ewing asked the secretary
wher and bow he expected to get additional
Inll fe'ns ofgold which he required by tte INST
: sscretary Sherman-You must see that for
II r. 10 st&te too closely what propose TO do
s5sght prevent me froES doing what expect
30 DO, and therefore viii answer your ques-
EiOn lust as far as thjsik you will say ought
20 go. Answer-Mainly from the sale OF bonds.
Indeed. IN the present CONDITION OF the reve-
plusIrevenue, except so far as that surplus
revenue may be applied to the payment or
grer nbacks and tOredemptiOn offractiOnal cur.
reucy in aid of the sinking fund; 20 that KITE nj
re- refi . United states notes redeemed under
the resump tfon act, so that / would say that
Ne can get SJ0,U00cU0 Of gold additional by the
sale of bonds. AS to the kind of bonds that
etc. / ought not to say anything on that sub
ject at present, because you should allow me,
as an executive officer ia the exercise of q very
delicate discretion, Tree power 10 act as think
right at the moment, holding me responsible
for my actiesa afterwards. As 70 what bonds
will sell, where Will sell them, or how
Will sell tholn, as that Is discretionary power
left with the secretary, ought not to decide
that now but TO decide II as the ease ARISES.
interview with the senate committee that You
would nave 10 rely upon the natural currents
of trade TO enable you to sell-that is, that
there can not be a large sale OF bonds for cola
abr0ad2 1t is not on foreign sale that you
are relying?
at home, Perhaps ] might well say that
can gettwo-thirds of this years supply OF gold
and siIver-it will amount to a good deal more
than q fly millions; so that / do not have to go
abroad for gold. III we can keep cur own gold
and silver from going abroad, IL is more than
The Chairrnan-For tins 80 millions addi-
tiOnal 1 suppose you rely to some extent on
the coinage of silver.
Secretary Sherman-Tc some extent; silver
and gold we consider the same under the Jaw
NJ. Ewing-Do you expect to pay out the sill
yer dollar coined by you for current expenses
or only for coin liabilities, or 10 hoard IL Tor
resumption?
now only in exchange FOR gold coin or for sill
yer bullion. | am perfectly free 10 answer the
question fully, because on that point after
consulting with many members OF both
houses l have made up my mind what law re-
quires me to do l propose 70 issue al the
silver dollars that is demanded In exchange
for gold coin that has been going or
to some extent, how far L can not
tell; then / propose to use the silver
in payment for silver bullion, which l can do
at par in gold without any loss after the first
five millions is purchased, for which an aPpIe-
priatiOn was made in the silver bill. tnen
propose o buy all the rest OF the silver bullion
which need under the law with silver coin.
As a matter of course IN the current course OF
business some of that silver coin Will go into
circulation, how much / do not know-the
more the better for the United States-but the
most of il / take Will be transferred
to the treasury for silver certificates,
and those silver certificates will come into tn e
practically silver will belong TO the govern
ment. Again. until silver is so abundant that
1t becomes the acknowledged basis OF coin
transactions, we can not pay out the silver for
the ordinary expenses OF the government ne
we have not enough to pay all the ex-
expenditures in silver, ana il silver is main
tanned at par with gold, ana if the United
States notes are below par with gold, We can
not discriminate in favor Of the class of credi-
tors. We wOuld, therefore, have 10 hold
silver at par with gold until We either have
enough to pay everything with IL, or until the
gold and silver. That is matter over which /
have no more control than any other citizen.
The silver dollars being receivable for duties
Unjust receive them, and could not prevent
If l tried silverfrOm coming into the treasury,
either for silver certificates or in payment OF
duties. As to when will commence paying
them out for the current expenditures of the
government or in payment Of the interest OF
principal of the deot, ] can not tell, because
that would depend upon the equality OF the
three kinds OF cuTr- ncy, gold, silver and paper.
do not know whether make myself under
stood, but that is the general idea / have IN
great discretionary power which you have in
vested in the Office of secretary of the treas
ury, while hold the Office Will be very care
ful to exercise that power Is to carry out i'm
good faith the law as congress has passed II aOd
that law, think, contemplateS that gold, silver
and paper money shall all be brought on an
Coming to the question of sinking fund, Ew-
ing asked whether any law, officer of the gov
eminent, or any secretary of the treasury
had given written opinion that the sinking
fund was to be composed merely OF Surplu.
revenue in the construction Of that section
of the revised statutes which says that the IN
come from customs snail be applied nrst tC
the interest on the public debt and second Il
the sinking fund.
that the established custom as well as TN,
theory OF our government would seem 10 re
quire that any sinking fund provided for the
extinguishment of debt can not be applied
enues are paid, otherwise the treasury would bs
bankrupt whenever there was a temporary
failing of in the revenue. From the necessity
of the ease any secretary of the treasury was
compelled to pay current demands on revea a,
before he paid tie sinking fund, just as a man
ager of railroad, whether lnortgaged or not
would be bound 10 pay his hands and furnish
fuel to run has locomotives before he woulC
pay the interest on the first bonded debt.
Up to the panic OF 1873 the public debt wa
being reduced all the time, and we paid moI'
during all those years tnan the law required Oh
what we call the siuKing fund: that is the re-
demptiOn OF the debt. The payment came from
surplus revenues, and so 1t continued unit
1873, then all atOnce there was "a deficiency o
sixteen millions. The secretary of the treas
ury, as a matter OF course, would go on anC
pay the ordinary expenses first, and if ther
was any deficiency he would report that de
hciency To congress, and If there was any faul
about II il was with congress-. for cOngrc :
should either provide additional revenues z
keep the sinking fund up, or else should =
duce the appropriations, as congress die
not feel disposed, and think right
fully wac in congress myself a
the time, and take my share of the response
bility TO levy tue new taxes upon the people
in time of great distress. TINS deficiency in
the sinking fund allowed to confirm,
from year TO year until now. and presume
that il will be allowed 10 continue, although
if congress can zee its way clearly and levy 1
tax upon tea and coffee. and make "A gooS
sinking fund. would like IL very much, bu
do not think eGngress will do So.
Mr. Ewing-Iu case of a drain of gold fron
the treasury whsE measures VnzlId YOU resOr
10 to check 1t? IEean AFTER resumption.
Secretary SherSaan--The treasury ought [,
be 20 strong that the thing would regulat
itself. \ on can scarcely imagine the imprOba
bill ies OF business that, with no.outstandin.
habikties that are 2ot covered by actual casl
on hand. except the $500 10000 of legal tende
notes, the drain up0n the government for gOlC
would6e so great a. to exhaust the reserve o
l2j,0l0ys00. That proposition is all based, no
upon the fact that SIG ,000,0e0 would pay 300.
O00O00-We all know that is not so--Dut upol
the fact 1'lat IL is inlpossibleto gather togethe
United StRtes notes and present then in sucl
n mass and in such coCtinuou6 stream
but that the very effort to d.