Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-06-22
CONGRESSIONAL NEGLECT.

There has been a very disappointing fea-
ture exhibited during the present session si
Congress. is an avoidance of subjects in,
volving difficulty. Anything that would
arouse feeling, stir up debate, require watch
fulness, exertlon, and downright labor, has
been postponed, where possible. The bust
ness interests of the country are especially
neglected. Tue bill fer rechartering the ma
tionsl banks still fingers, as if most weighty
interests were not involved in it. The bill
for su-pending the coinage of silver is unat-
tended to, and yet contingencies might pos
siply arise in which neglect to act may bring
most serious consequences. Congress appears
t. rely upon a good harvest setting all 10
rights that it has left at loose ends; but this
Is depending upon the chapter Of chances in
a way such body should not do. We have
at present good hopes Of the harvest, al
though all has not been plain sailing with it
20 far; but good harvest alone will not
save US. We want also a good demand for
our products, 40 that our grain and cotton
may yield good returns. Il is not one but
two chances Congress is relying on, where it
might have all taut in trim in safe port. The
delay to recharter the national banks N axes
possible, and failure TO do so makes certain,
disturbance and stringency in our monetary
circulation. War breaking out in Europe
from the embroglio in Egypt. or other unto
wsrd event coming upon such striDgency,
might cause serious embarrassments, one
effect Of which would certainly be to lead all
capitalists to fortify themselves with gold as
much as possible. The mischief is that
whenever any dead set for gold sets in, silver
certificates will be paid for government du-
ties instead of gold. III the government should
in this way be driven to make payments
largely in silver, then silver would be at a
discount as was the case with paper before
resumption. With all the good will in the
world such a result could not be avoided.
Among ourselves we could pay bills in pa
per, silver or gold, but We have an immense
foreign commerce., and our law making sill
ver-eighty-seven-cent dollars equal to gold
one hundred-cent- dollars has no effect out
side the United States. Banks and CONNER
cial houses that have to keep their credit
good in the worlds markets, cannot satisfy
drafts from London or Paris, from Cuba or
Canada, by daying out silver or notes; they
would want the government to redeem such
legal tenders they have, and to do it
IN gold. To receive silver and silver certifi-
Gates and pay out gold would place the
treasury in difficult situation, one not
pleasurable to contemplate even hypotheti-
cilly. Why not Congress then, by the exer-
ZION of little care and energy, deliver US
from any liability to such a catastrophe by
suspending the mining of silver, not per-
m anently, but until the people require more
in circulation than is nov lying unoalled for
in the treasury wants. As a matter of the
commonest caution this should be done, and
G. he proof that Congress is guilty of unpar-
donable neglect if they refuse action lies in
the fact that even now, while they are sitting
iuattentive in their seats at Washington, the
amount OF gold is decreasing. December LIST
the treasury held S17S, 225 1903 in gold; June
Ia, S153, 9S5, 545-a loss of over $24 600, 900.
December LIT it held S97, O24 Alb in silver;
June 1st, SIG, 155, 630-an increase OF S19,-
100000. To those who understand business,
these figures show the fragrant wrong Con-
grees is guilty OF to neglect attention to the
present business needs of the nation.