, 1885-02-28
C~LEvELAND'S REPLY.
His Answer to the Silver Coin
age Letter.
F. E. Warren Confirmed as
Governor Of Wyoming.
Cen. Grant in a Very Critical
- Condition.

IN IL req. lille lOilOW
ing is the reply addressed by Governor
Cleveland 10 the silver coinage advocate.
in congress:
To the Hon. A. j. Haracr amt OILERS,
Members Of The Fory-ei0hh Congress =.
GENTLEMEN The letter which I have
had the honor to receive from you invites,
and, indeed. obliges me to give expires
sion to some grave public necessities.
Although in advance of the moment
when they would become objects of my
official care and partial responsibility,
your solicitude that my judgment shall
have been carefully and deliberately
formed, is entirely just; and | accept the
suggestion in the same friendly spirit in
which it has been made. 1t is also fully
justified by nature of the financial crisis,
which under the operation OF the act of
congress of Feb. IS, 1873, is now close
at hand. BY compliance with the re-
q%uirements of that law, all vaults in the
federal treasury have been and are heaped
full of silver coins which are now worth
less than S5 per cent of the gold dollar
prescribed as the unit of value" in
section IA. Of the act Of Feb. II, 1878.
and which, with silver certificates repre-
senting such coin. are receivable for all
public dues, being thus receivable while
also constantly increasing in quantity at
the rate Of SOS, 600, 900 a year it has fol-
lowed, Of necessity, that the flow Of gold
into the treasury has been steadily d.
minished. Silver and silver certificates
have displaced, and are now displacing
gold and some of the gold in the Federal
treasury, now available for the payment
of the gold obligation of the United
States, and for the redemption Of United
States notes called ''~greenhacks' If not
already encroached upon is perilously
near such encroachment. These are facts
which, as they do not admit Of difference
Of opinion, call for no argument. They
have been forewarned to us in the official
reports Of every secretary Of the treasury
from 1878 until now. They are plainly
affirmed in the report of the present secre-
tary Of the treasury to the speaker Of the
present house of representatives.
They appear in the official docu-
ments of this congress, and
in the records of the New York clearing
house through which the bulk Of the re-
ceipts for payment by the federal govern
ment must pass. These being facts, our
present condition, our danger, and u
duty to avert that danger would seem to
be plain. | hope you concur with me
and with the great majority of our fellow
citizens in deeming il most desirable, at
the present j~uncture. 10 maintain and con-
tinue in use the mass Of our gold coin as
well az the mass of silver already coined.
This is possible by present suspension Of
the purchase and coinage of silver. l Am
not aware that by any other method it is
possible. 1t is of momentous importance
to prevent the two metals parting compa-
ny, to prevent the increasing displacement
of gold by increasing the coinage Of silver.
to prevent the disuse of gold in the GUS
tom houses Of the United States, in the
daily business Of the people and the ulti-
mate expulsion of gold by silver. Such a
financial crisis as these events would GER
tainly precipitate, were it nov to follow
upon so long a period of commercial de-