Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-01-25

States in silver. In making col
payments, however. payees are pei
} mitted to elect which currency the
7 shall receive, whether gold, silver
? coin certificates or United State
/ notes. The Treasury has also eN
) changed standard silver dollars wit
: / the public for gold coin to tn
, amount of 81 ,534, ,785. The receipt
of silver coin for customs dutie
during the current fiscal year hav
: not been sufficient to enable the DE
partment to make payment exclus
lively in silver coin. No genera
demand for it, in lieu Of gold, wa
manifested by those entitled to coli
!. interest from the Government
While reserving the legal option 0
the Government to pay either golC
or silver coin, it has been the gen
eral practice to comply with the re
quest of the holder of a demand
against the United States as to thi
form or denomination of money de
sired by him, and this practice ha
been observed in the payment o
interest of the public debt.
In the disposition of the coin paiC
the requirements of section 3,694
/ Revised Statutes have not been dis
regarded in respect TO the applica
tion OF coin received, first, to the
payment of coin interest second, t.
! the sinking fund third, to the pay.
lnent of the residue into the Treas.
ury, attention is directed TO the
fact that nearly the entire receipts
of standard silver dollars from all
sources, including coinage. have
been expended in the purchase Oi
silver bullion under the appr0pria-
| tion made in the first section of the
| act of February, Is, 1878, entitled
"Ap act to authorize the coinage OF
the standard silver dollar and to
restore IFS legal-tender character y
To the third inquiry it is replied,
/ that the ecia Interest paid during
the current fiscal year amounts to
! $39, ,345, 224. 81, and Ro fuller informa-
tion can be given than that con-
tanned in the reply to the second
inquiry as to the amount of such
interest which was paid in gold and
silver coin respectively. Very re-
spectfully,
JAMES GILFILLAN.
Treasurer United States.
Hon. JOHN SHERMAN, Secretary
OF the Treasury.
Mr.. President. / think it probable
that l would have allowed the SEN
ate to refer the communication of
the Secretary of the Committee on
Finance when it was received, with
cut saying a word, but for a very
remarkable statement which the
chairman OF that committee (Mr.
Morri3l) say fit to make on .he 10th
of December Sast in reply to my eX-
planatiOn Of the Eeas0ns why | de-
sired prompt answer 10 the reso-
luton passed by the Senate on the
Sd day o. December. lie said, as
the Record shows:
Mr.. MOTrili-Mr. President. rose
merely to say that if the Senator
desired to make his explanation,
had no objection To that; but / do
object TO the consideration of the
resolution to-day. / hare no doubt
Of the purpose Of the Senator from
kentucky. and that purpose, Z titijak,
Is 10 ts7b0ITdss resumption.
The Senator has Il right To his
opinions, but he has no right t0 Gt-
tribute motives to me other than
what the resolution I offered or the
reasons ! assigned Indicated. l OPP
posed and voted againstthe resump-
tion act in 1876, as unWise andim-
polite when such enormous debts,
Federal, State, municipal, corporate
and individual, Dppresseda the Peo-
plei when all industries We're. pros
frated a4ad labor sought employ
naent in vain. Il has been reached
by fherufn Of lfu1rtr edsof tIs6VtSAs4ess-
of tbs best men in the country, by
the destruction OF values amounting
to eoB fiscation of one-third, at least,
OF the property of the people in the
interest OF the bOndhOlders and
nl0ney-eiaangers. AL that ] am
roW seeking 10 Gu is 30 Fcquire the
Secretary as the lar T6qtlisi&s tim, to
use the silver COIN as he uses gold
coin, and TO prohibit him from
further increasing the bonded debt
of the country.
/ do not propose to anticipate the
report Of the committee on Finance
in regard to the answer which the
Secretary of the Treasury has seen
fit to make to the resolution of De-
cember 3, 1873, further than TO eX-
press the opinion that he has
ExADED THE PLAIN, DIRECT CUES
TIONs
put TO him, in q manner wholly
unbecOming q high public officer,
when responding to resolution OF
this body. He knows, and should
have said frankly, that he has not
paid dollar of the silver coin re-
gel we'd from customs on the interest
on t9se public debt, aud the pretense
that he ailQWS the public creditor to
say in all cases what character and
denomination of c0lts he would like
to have, because any otileF course
would he a discrimination against
and might tend to depreciate the
silver dollar, will not be believed by
intelligent men anywhere, while
the claim that silver certificates re-
ceiVed on account of customs, as the
says they have been, to
the amount of over $1l 100000 since
July, 1873, are anything but SYM
UOiS anu 0NIuenttS lilGb tllc COAu
they represent is in the hands of the |
and subject to its con-
troll, is simply absurd. The act of |
February %, 1873, which makes |
silver dollars a legal tender for all |
public and private, by the |
third section thereof authorizes any !
holder of not less than ten dollars 10 |
deposit with the Treasurer or any |
Assistant Treasurer of the United |
States, and receive a certificate, up |
on the presentation of which the !
holder is entitled to the amount Of
coin deposited, and Custom House I
officers are ordered to receive II Sc
precisely as they w61ld ,
coin. the amount they represent be- /
ing already in the Treasury. The /
customs dues are paid in coin, not /
in certificates these merely attest .
the fact that the coin is in the Treas
1ry. aud it becomes the property of
the United States, being paid for /
customs dues precisely as if it was
counted dollar for dollar into the
hands of,the revenue collector, who /
IS charged with that amount OF
as soon as the transaction is
Iosed. Ihe merchant who pays, I
say 81 ,099, to pass goods through /
the Castom House, may pay It one
l =. I,,cd ,,o-AFAao&os of %lQ pncI