The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-04-14
s THE UNITED STATES ABOUT TO DE-
pAULT,

all over tho United States Ia the ono Of tho
Treasury's ability 10 meet tho maturing bonds
in the absence Of any legislation on tho mat
ter, On the first OF May five per cent. bonds
to tho amount Of $463, 590,850 will be due
and on the 30tb of June, the end of the fiscal
year two six per cent bonds aggregating
Sl96, 1865, 600 will DO due, making a grand
total of $3.50, 6 $3.50 that must BIO paid, else
the government defaults. What would DO tho
effect upon the financial and business
Interests of the country If the government
should default in the payment of these bonds?
| Would not a panic fellow, with a cessation
of trade and a stagnation that is appalling to
contemplate? The last congress tried
earnestly and conscientiously to prepare for
the meeting of this great debt by the careful
preparation and consideration of the funding
bill, which Mr.. Hayes, among the very latest
acts of his administration, vetoed, just as
congress adjourned. so that if the government
should default in the payment of its debts
due, Mr.. Hayes will BIZ responsible for all the
evils that may result. The whole matter is
now with the treasury department., and it
must get on as best il can, with an exceeding
slender basis for operations. Mr.. Secretary
| Window with Mr.. Knox, comptroller, who is
representative of the national banking inter
ests of the country, and with Attorney
General MacVeigh ss his legal adviser, has
been in New York recently seeing what he
can do and consulting as to how best he can
use the little authority that is vested in him,
under existing laws. In 1879 a law was
passed by congress authorizing the secretary
of the treasury to apply the provisions of all
existing funding acts to the redemption OF
outstanding bonds, and under this act he will
operate as effectually as hey possibly can.
This statute had for its real and only purpose
the helping of the refunding of the
ten-forties, but as it happens it was not SO
artistically and closely drawn but what it
can be stretched to cover the present pressing
emergency. The secretary can under it, sell
the bonds authorized by the funding act Of
1870, not deposed of, which doubtless will
enable him to meet the demands that will
come upon him in May and June. These
1870 funding bonds not disposed of amount
to $104. 0 $1,000 and they may either be OF
four or four and a half per cent. Being III
the strait that he is we can readily see that
the secretary will be forced to put
them at four and a half per
cent. to float them at all. This
being so, is 1t not apparent
that Mr.. Hayes by vetoing the three per
cent. funding bill passed by the democratic
congress just adjourned, has enabled the
banks and capitalists of the country to chisel
the people out of one and one-half per cent,
or nearly $1O4. 900, 900 of bonds, or $1,56o,OOO
per annum? This is what a republican
president did for the country, and the repub-
lican party must answer for this great
wrong. But $1O4, 900, 900 is about a drop in
the bucket towards paying off a debt of
$3.50, 1863, $50, and the balance must conn
from the surplus money in the treasury. This
could not be used for that purpose had it
not been for the forethought of Sen
ator Bayard, who caused to be placed
in the sundry civil bill a clause which gives
the secretary of the treasury the power to
use the surplus money in the treasury to pur-
chase bonds, beyond what is necessary for
the sinking fund. Had it not been for this
motion of Senator Bayard, the secretary Of
the treasury could have done nothing to pre-
vent the government from defaulting except
10 the extent of the $l04, 900, 900 of 1870
unused funding bonds. The fact is, the
whole thing boiled down and put into a nut
she'll, Mr.. Hayes did the country a grievous
wrong when he vetoed the funding bill. He
either suffered himself hoodwinked by
a few national banks in the blus-
ter, or else he connived at an
Ubiquitous scheme on their part.
President Garfield made a mistake, too, when
he decided not to call an extra session of
congress to provide the necessary legislation
to meet this maturing debt. The best in
formed fnanciers and statesmen of the coun.
try all agree that a funding bond al three and
a half per ceHt. at the outside could be
loated easily at par, and perhaps at a pre-
MUM, and three and q half per cent. is
much better than four or four and q half, go
that we see that all this foolishness will cost
the country millions and millions of money.
The democrats can 20 before the country
with clean hands and truihfully say, ave
strove 10 our utmost 10 save you from
this wrong and injustice, but q
republican president and his republican
advisers defeated our efforts. All these
means that the secretary of the treasury will
use TO meet the debtsre by forced and strained
constructions Of the law, and best are but
miserable mskeshifts, unbecoming n great
country like ours, 30 able to meet oil its obi
cations when wise c~Ounsels prevail 10 ennb E
II