Omaha daily bee., 1888-10-18
NURSING TIE SERPL US.

No more trcnchant blow has been
struck by Mr.. Blaine in the present
canvass than he delivered at New AL
bany, Ind, last Monday, in commenting
on the speech Of Secretary Fairchild in
New York, in which the secretary eX
planned and defended the treasury
policy of loaning large amount of the
surplus to the national banks, rather
than use it in the purchase OF bonds.
We have also referred at some length
to the position taken by the secretary
of the treasury, by way of show
ing that the policy defended was
in hostility to the views Of the
president as expressed in mes
sage to congress and that its adoption
was undoubtedly in pursuance Of a de-
liberate plan Of the administration for
nursing the surplus" but it will do no
harm to recur to the matter in order to
note some of Mr.. Blaine's incisive OBJ
servations upon it.
Mr.. Blaine declared that Secretary
Fairchild did not frankly and maufully
confront the issue. He failed to explain
to the people how the banks could afford
ernment itself could not afford to buy
them. eff it was an advantageous pro-
ceeding," said Mr.. Blaine, "for these
| banks to invest sixty million dollars in
government bonds, why was it
not still more advantageous for
| the government to do it?' and
we do not doubt that the question will
remain unanswered. 1t must be evident
to the merest tyro in finance that if the
| banks could make two and one-half per
cent upon the purchase Of government
| four per cent bonds the treasury could
| have made as much, and that if it had
done so the debt OF the government
would to-day be sixty million dollars
less than it is. The surplus, also, would
be less by this amount, the money being
in the hands OF the people, instead OF In
the banks. The example OF two demo
cratic secretaries Of the treasury,
Guthrie and Cobb, whose ability was
certainly equal to that Of any mem
Der of the present administration,
in buying bonds not due on the
| ground that they were worth as
much to the national treasury as to any
purchaser in Wall street, will hardly be
regarded by any intelligent democrat as
unworthy of consideration.
But there was no political capital to
be made by the administrations of Pierce
or Buchanan in nursing surplus, while
the present administration believed
there was and proceeded accordingly.
The democratic party had got into power
by the help of the false charge that the
republican party had allowed four hun
dred million dollars of idle money to
accumulate in the treasury, and when
it was found that there was no
surplus to speak of it became the
plan of the administration to per
init an accumulation for future political
service. Immediately the surplus began
to pile up and every opportunity has
since been given it to grow, in order
that the fact might be of service in pro
noting the fiscal policy OF the demo-
cratic party and assisting it to retain
control of the executive branch of the
government.
But the scheme has been exposed
and the intelligent people of the country
|
that for year past favored banks have
been getting the profit from between
fifty and sixty million dollars of the
public money cannot be justified by any
such shallow defense as that of
cred by Secretary Fairchild, which
Mr.. Blaine justly character.
lied rs positively amusing. Nol
will ANYBODY be deceived by the latest
pretense of treasury officials that the
surplus revenues for the current fiscal
year will largely exceed one hundred
million dollars. The extravaganza o
the democratic house Of representatives
has made any such result impossible
, and no amount of juggling with figures
can alter the fact, AS campaign CAPT
tai for the democracy the surplus bug
bear has been pretty thoroughly dis
| poSnd Of