The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1885-11-04
MANNING'S POLICY
REGARDING REDEMPTION OF GOV.
ERNMENT BONDS INDICATED,
Tho National Debt Reduced Over Thirteen
Millions. and How 1t IL Done Com
msnts ON the New bookkeeping
The Surplus.

WASHINGTON CITY, Nov. 4-The Chi
cago Times correspondent here telesraphs
h~ paper as follow:
The monthly financial statements Issued
by the treasury Monday are mainly inter
estng as showing the inlisposition of TIE
financial administration to call bonds, and
its desire to conceal in some degree the
large proportions which the surplus
is attaining. The unwillingness to call
bonds is due to fear lest the gold
in the treasury should become re-
ducei To point where silver payments will
tao necessary. Toe stock Of gold is now
large AMI still growing, ard yet the secre-
tary AMI the treasurer are un willing to put
out any of it in the red uction of the interest
bearing debt, The very evident fact is that
tho treasury authorities are afraid of the
financial and political effect Of precpitating
silver payments, involving as it would a
rise OF prices AMI fall in quotations for
govern mont bonds
The debt reduction for October is given
as Sl3, 2Ii IA. and for one-third of the fiscal
year a. s. $40, 5Sl, which is nearly s. 0O0,-
900 in excess of the reduction OF the debt in
the corresponding months OF the last fiscal
year But last year there was an actual re-
duction i'll the debt a calling in and redemp-
ton of bonds. Since November, 1884, there
have been no calls bonds, and
10 reduction OF tie interest
bearing debt except by the re-
demption of IA few odd bonds covered by old
calls, The statement that the debt was re-
| iucei Sl3, o0aO00 in October means that
thore is SlS, 900 900 more of cash in the
treasury.
The surplus cash in the treasury has now
reached such high figures that it is deemed
| advlsa Die to disguise some Of it, Before Mr..
Jordan became treasurer he devised state
ment IF assets and liabilities that reduced
| the apparent surplus by two large items
| 500 UUo, 900 set off as security for the
sreenbscks and go 900. oO1 or $50. 900. 900 Of
| small change set Off as an available asset
Several millions of the latter have been
mole available by exchanging them for
| gold. Mr.. Jordan has now found i'll neees-
sary to reduce the surplus again by book
| keeping and no has invented two liabilities.
| For tho first time he inserts among the gov
.rnment's liabilities nearly 81, 1000 Of
| interest accrued on government bonds
and 81, 800, 900 of interest accrued on Pa
cific railroad bonds. This s7,0O0.000 is in
| terest that has accrued snce the last interest
paying days, and while it is Il liability it is
not one that is Immediately due. 1t has, Of
course, always been customary to include
,mong the liabilities interest due and un.
paid but here is $1,000, 900 Of interest that
isn't due. BY inclu ling this among the
liabilities the cash balance is, of course,
just so much smaller.
| The available cash balanc, on Oct. 81 is
stated as sos SIS, 292, an increase OF ST., 900,
10O during the month BY the method of
bookkeeping in use up to last April this bal
lnco would be Sl97, 727 1873. Secretaries
| sherman AMI W iniom were in the habit of
keeping this down to about $l4), 10000 by
bond calls, and Secretary Folger kept
tie balance consl lerably lower than
that. If tho presidents they estab-
ished were bong followed by Secretary
Manning, he would At once call so, 900
or $40, 900, 600 of per cent bonds. During
the month of October there was very little
change in the account of gold coin and
bullion in the vaults. but the outstanding
gold certificates fell off during the month
from Sis, 600, 900 to 800, 900, 900, increas-
ing tie sum of gold owned by the govern
ment from $l23 COO, 900 to Sl42 100000
The treasury is succeeding pretty we'll in
getting silver dollars into circulation, the
number now held being 1856, 379 less than
II the 1st of October The foil wing table
-nowl the receipts and expenditures for the
Iast four mouths, comparsi with the corre-
punding four months of last year.