Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-04-16
The Revised Statement.

IL true.
The Revised Statement.
Those who had the pleasure of list
ening to our ex-congressman, Burr w
Jones in his speech at the Court House
during the late presidential campaign,
will remember his statement that there
was locked up in the national treasury
some $3.50, 900, 600 of cash, large share
of which ought to be in circulation;
that rs there was no legitimate use for
such an amount it would simply serve
as a corruption fund.- for dishonest
legislators. II our memory serves us
we heard substantially the same state
ments from our present Postmaster
peatedly made by Thomas A. Hendricks
in his campaign speeches. In vain did
the defenders of the late Republican re-
gime explain the special purposes for
which most of this amour. was held
The cry of "turn the rascals OUT only
rang the louder from the blind followers
OF those leaders who were either ignor-
ant Of the real state of the treasury, or
willfully trying to deceive the people
Those OF the former class, as well as those
who have been led into error by them
have something to learn by care
ful 81 Iy .,ff al.
Public Debt of the U. 81 issued by our
new Secretary of the Treasury, while
the latter class will feel that they have
been ruthlessly exposed.
The new form of statement is an i'm
proyement on the old as it makes
the matter SO plain that the way
faring eX-congressman, etc, may not
err therein. After presenting a clear
exhibit of the principal and interest of
the interest-bearng debt, the matured
debt and interest, and the debt bearing
no interest, Secretary Manning proceeds
to deduct, not the total cash in the
treasury, but, first, the leash items
available for the reduction of the debt, -
and, second, the reserve held for the
redemption of United States notes. !"
This last he places at Just 800, 900. 900,
and finds his authority for doing so in
the act of July u, 1882 The cash
items available at the close of March
amounted to 1921, $50, l65. But he does
not leave the exhibit in this shape, for
the statesmen might assume that there
was this amount in the treasury that
ought to be taken out and applied forth
with to the payment of the debt He
therefore proceeds to state in detail
what the cash items available actually
are. First, there is gold held for the re-
demption of gold certificates actually
outstanding, $1l5, 647 $40; next, there
is silver held for the redemption of sill
yer certificates actually outstanding,
SIP, 800, 220; third, United States notes
held for redemption of certificates of
deposit actually outstanding, S26, 2l0,-
900; fourth, cash held for matured debt
and interest unpaid, S6,7SS, 92l; fifth,
fractional currency, $3. l7S AS these
sums enumerated are all held for spec
ial purposes, it is manifestly out of the
question to think Of using them for the
purpose of calling in and paying bonds
To take money out of the treasury that
is held for the redemption of gold, silver
and greenback certificates, and apply it
to the payment of United States bonds,
would be to take money belonging to
persons who have entrusted it to the
government for safe-keeping and apply
it to the payment of the debts of the
government. Nor can the cash held
for the payment of matured debt and
interest unpaid be applied to the pay
ment of other debt.
But in order to make the matter of the
cash still palmer, he recognizes the
rather obvious fact that the fractional
silver and minor coins in the treasury,
amounting in all at the end of the month
to S31, 50S, 37S, are not available for the
payment of debt Deducting this item,
and cash held for certificates issued but
not outstanding 500, 900. 605-he linds
that the net cash balance on hand at the
date OF the statement was S22 2j9, ops.
This is not quite S450,000, 000.