Helena weekly herald., 1886-07-15
APPLYING THE SURPLUS.

Yesterday the House nad unuer COLI
sideration the resolution OF Morrison,
instructing the Secretary of the Treas
ury to apply the surplus in the treasury,
in excess of the hundred millions held
as a reserve to redeem the greenbacks,
to the payment of the nation debt. The
measure is right and it ought to pass.
What is the use of boarding money in
the treasury so long as there is large
debt bearing interest subject to redemp-
ton. Every month since the present
administration began the idle hoard has
been increasing.
1t was one of the charges made against
the Republican administrati ton that it
kept large surplus on hand while it
might and should be used in paying the
debt, and as soon as the new admins
tration came in, it was supposed that
the policy would change. but instead
the evil has been increasing. For
many months Manning issued no call
for bonds, though every month showed
an increasing surplus. Not until Con-
gress assembled and a resolution of
inquiry was introduced in the House,
which showed that there would be
trouble in any further delay, did Man
ming issue his first call for bonds. The
surplus had increased seventy millions
and has stood at that amount for long
time, for all the calls made have not re-
duced the amount at all. The annual
interest at three per cent. on this seven
ty million of increased surplus is over
two millions, quite an item, and all en-
tirely useless expenditure.
Can it be pretended that it is neces-
sary to retain our national currency at
par? Even if the entire surplus and re-
serve were applied on the debt there is
no danger that greenbacks would depre-
ciate fraction of a cent so long as their
legal tender quality is preserved.
Can it be offered in excuse that there
is any danger of the revenues falling
short of expenditures? No one pretends
that, unless inteJpal revenue taxes ..are
abolished, of which there is not the
slightest danger.
The speech of Hiscock leaves no room
to doubt where the trouble lies. The
Secretary announced ON first assuming
control of the Treasury that fractional
silver would no longer be regarded, as
heretofore, as part of the available sur
plus. In fact he has held in addition,
though he never dared to assert the fact
openly, that all the silver dollars were
part of the unavailable surplus. The
law that requires the purchase and coin
age of two millions of silver dollars per
month has been regarded as retiring too
much Of the revenues of the country
from use. Only the gold in the treasury
has been regarded as money. The Presi'
dent announced his views before he was
sworn in, and chose Secretary to carry
out his policy in antagonism to the ma.
jOrity of his party associates.
He has done all that he could do tc
discredit silver, to treat it as bullion
unfit to tender in payment of bonds
which only call for payment in coin.
Those who assert that payment o.
bonds in silver is repudiation are simply
lunatics. Bondholders are no better
than any other class of creditors. Il
anything is reputation it is the unwar'
ranted assumption that the bonds are
payable in gold. So long as the govern
ment maintains the law On the statute
books that silver dollars are unlimited
legal tender, no bondholder can suffer
loss by being paid in silver. If he does
not like the bulk of the silver coin, he
can deposit it and take silver certificates
instead, just as others do.
For our part, we can see no sense OF
Justice in forever coddling these bond
holders. They have been treated with q
liberality never before paralleled in his
tory, and instead of gratitude it has
only begotten arrogance. They whine
if the government calls their bonds fol
payment at all, and whine louder still il
they are not allowed to dictate in what
kind of coin they are to be paid. Ii
silver was higher than gold, they would
swear that it was the understanding and
that they expected to be paid in silver
Pay them off and get rid of them as
soon as possible, we say.