New-York tribune., 1886-02-12
GOJn-BrG ADuINISTR1T TTONS.

The debate in the Senate dIscloses some oil
! the extraordinary means by which the use OF
| silver and silver certificates has been promoted
| under past Administrations. The important
feature of the deb Ite is that il shows that Rc-
publ can Administrations have not tried to pre-
vent the use of silver, as has been SD often
charged, BAT have in fact strained the power of
the Government to the utmost to get silver and
silver cert fcates USED more largely. 10 the
far Southwest. on account of the expense OF
transporting other money from New York,
merchants and bankers were easily induced to
take silver dollars out of the sub-treasury there
for use in payment for products. The silver
thus used, being too bulky TO be conveniently
kept in considerable amounts. quickly came
b ick from the producers to the merchants and
bankers, and they then were permitted by the
Assistant Treasurer at New wOrleans to get silver
certificates for the coin before it was counted.
Ihe Treasury thus saved them all delay ana
trouble in the use of the more bulky aud incon-
venient money, by taking all the risk and
burden upon the Government. But the new
Administration has considered that 1t had
strictly no rgnt to favor the bankers and mer-
chants to that extent, and at once great outcry
is raised that the Administration Is making
war on silver" The same members of Congress,
nevertheless. will stand up unblushingly in
the Senate and House, and assert that previous
Administrations deliberately kept silver out
of circulation" and were used as tools by the
money power at New York"
These are rather hard people to satisfy, it will
be seen No matter how much the law is
strained for them, they always want something
more. Republican Administration trans
ported their money for them free of cost,
counted it for them, issued certificates against
bags of coin without counting 80 as to prevent
delay, and in every conceivable way tried to
make the standard dollars and the certificates
serve the public convenience, and yet they
called it @Gold Bug Administration" the
wicked TOOL of conspiratOrs and mOnopolsts."
Then Democratic Administration, with
Democratic notions of street construction, and
with the benefit of Republican experience OF
the impOss bIlty of putting more silver into
circulation without having to take 1t back in
stead of gold through the custom houses, de-
clines to give holders of silver any special
tavOrs or advantages that it does not give
holders of gold. AT once 1t is denounced IA
Cold Bug Administration" What these
people want is that the Government should
make a persistent and effective discrimination
IN favor of silver and against gold, and so drive
gold out of the country for their convenience
and profit. If it does any thing less than that,
it is accused of defying the silver act. And yet
the fact is that every Republican Alministra-
ton, and this Administration as well, has gone
beyond its strict duties under the law in order
to keep as much silver as possible in circula-
tion. Secretary Manning has issued many mill
Of eil
every month"; without requiring of those who
receive them strict compliance with the law in
the actual deposit of standard dollars. Yet he
is hated as heartily as any Republican Secre
tary.
The crime of all these Secretaries is that
they cannot wholly overcome the natural ncon
venience of bulky coin, which prevents its
extensive use.