Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-09-24
SPEECH
Hon. William Mckinley, JP,
OF OHIO,
is .lE llousE or REPRESENTATIVES,
H3pcsddy, Jnly II, l--G.
or ONO,


Tine House being ia Committee on rho
Whole on the state of the Union. and
having under consideration the Joint re-o-
luton If. Res. l2C) directing payment OF
the surplus in the Treasury on the public
} debit
Mr. Mckinley said:
Mr.. Chairman This resolution.
coming as it does from Demo.
cratic majority in one branch of
the Government addressed to IA
Democratic Executive in control o.
another branch of the Government,
Is. 10 say the least, very exception
al and most remarkable. 1t is %
proposition coming from a majority
Of The Committee on WAYS aud
Means which is in political accord
with the present President of tn 9
United States, and will undOubteC.
~ receive the approval Of the ma
iOrity on the other side of the
Chamber. 1t is a proposition to
compel the President of the United
States and his Secretary of the
Treasury to do that which they
have always had the power to do,
that which they now have authOri-
~ 10 do under section = of the act
of March 3, 1881.
The administration, which is in
accord with the committee that re-
ports this resolution, has been in
power sixteen months. When it.
came into power it found the fol-
loving section on the statute. books
of the country:
That the Secretary Of the Treasury may
at any time apply the surplus money IN
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
or so much thereof as he may consider
proper, to the purchase or redemption Of
the United States bonds.
Not only has the Secretary of the
Treasury the power to call in and
pay off the bonds the moment they
are redeemable, but he has the pow
er under that section of the statute
to go into the money markets Of
the world, wherever our bonds are
held, and buy them even if they
are not yet matnred. And yet in
sixteen months a Democratic adj
ministratiOn, with the expressed
and confessed authority TO do it,
has called but fifty-eight millions
of Government bonds for redemp.
ton, and leaves outstanding to-day
one hundred and forty millions or
more of the 8 percents extended,
now known as the 3 percents, which
are redeemable at the pleasure of
the Government.
1t is not to be wondered at, Mr..
Chairman, that with a record like
this, in view of the professions that
have heretofore been made by the
democratic party, In view OF their
declarations IN platform and upon
public rostrum in favor Of the dis.
tribution Of the surplus for the pay.
ment Of Government bonds, char
acterizing the Republican party, as
they have repeatedly done, as dis
honest for keeping the surplus in
the public Treasury say it is not
surprising, in view of the record
made by its own administration,
that the majority of the Ways and
Means Committee, under the lead
ership of the leader Of one wing of
the Democratic party, should in
sist that the President Of the United
States and the Secretary of the
Treasury should keep the pledges
which they made to the people
And it is all the more suggestive
and trying to these Democratic
friends of ours, Mr.. Chairman, when
they look back to the record made
by the Republican party on this
very subject, a record that we com
menced making from the very close
of the war, and of which all of us are
Justly proud, which the gentleman
from Pennsylvania was frank
enough to say had paid over twelve
hundred millions of public indebt-
edness since the conclusion of hos.
tilities and the reign Of peace. |
say it is not surprising, looking at
the record the Republican party
had made and then looking at the
first sixteen months of record male
by a Democratic administration,
that the two wings of the Demo.
cratic party on this flOOr-in the
language of the gentleman from
Pennsylvania-should flap together
and demand the President should
pay out some Of this surplus on the
public bonds of the country, no
matter what consequences would
follow.
Look at the record. In 1881,
two years after the resumption OF
specie payments, the Republican
Secretary of the Treasury called in
one hundred and twenty-One mil
lions of Government bonds and
paid them of. In 1882, the Repub.
lcan Secretary Of the Treasury |
called in one hundred and seventy !
three millions of Government bonds |
and paid them off. In 1888 the |
same Secretary called in eighty.six
millions; and IN 1884 over seventy |
millions of the Government bonds |
were paid off and cancelled. In
your first sixteen months you have
paid off $5S, $4,000. We averaged
in the last four years $4,000, 600
every sixteen months, aQd. yQl have
made a record Of flty.eight mil
i IL u y .me length OF TIME -,
n !. Is ny Ito be marvelled at that the
lI Ie' 10 =. attic majority here smart In'
ucl . 81 rich contrast and have DC
conei. impatient with its own al,
llnet stration and distrustful OF its
c as1slfpacity for financial management
y There is another remarkable fea'
I ture to which | desire to call atteh'
ton in this connection. When a
Republican Secretary of the Treas
ury was calling in these numerous
sums and canceling the bonds we
had no such surplus in the puoIlc
Treasury as you have today day IN
1850 we had but S14l, OOO,OOO; ana
in that one hundred and forty'one
millions we included twenty'Slx
millions of fractional silver com
which are not included in the sur
plus reported by the present Secre-
tary of the Treasury, although ne
reports as on hand more than t%eh,
tv.nine millions of such coin, which