Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-06-20
THE CURRENCY QUESTION.

The man who complains of the pres
ent Administration because the amount
of all kinds of money in circulation
decreased SIC, 10000 during the month
of Nav belongs to the same family with
the one who holds Harrison responsible
for the Johnstown flood and the Seattle
fire, and is directly descended from him
who voted against the Wings because
there We're no eels in his eel pot. The
laws governing the currency have not
been changed. They are exactly what
they were before Mr.. Cleveland's exit,
and the remedies for financial evils
which are within Executive discretion
there has not vet been time to apply, or
or enjoy in realized results.
The power of the Administration over
the circulation depends upon its deci-
sions as to payments of claims, bond
purchases and classilfcations of goods
for import The Secretary of the Treas
urv has disbursed with freedom during
the last three months in the payment of
claims against the Treasury, and no
fault will be found with him on that
score. He has taken bonds in cOnsid-
cradle amount at prices relatively high
er than were paid by his predecessor,
but with the money markets every where
easy the offerings of bonds have not
been large. His decisions regarding
claSSifications of imported goods have
been calculated to lessen the exports of
gold. and also to lessen the accumula-
ton of money in the Treasury, but there
has not yet been time for their effect to
be felt.
The cause of danger was the impOrta
tion of enormous quantities of foreign
goods, designed to supplant in use the
products of American industry, which
importation had been encouraged by
Treasury rulings contrary to the intent
of the protective tariff, or had been eff
fected by fraudulent undervaluatiOns.
To meet the latter difficulty, appoint
ments of officials who are expected to
carry out the wishes of the AdminiStra-
tion and to enforce the law faithfully,
have been made with reasonable rapidi
ty. But even where change of officials
has stopped leak, it takes some time
for foreign manufacturers to discover
that shipments to agents here can no
longer evade the law. Decisions in re-
gard to clasSifcatiOns have been made
as promptly as the matters could be in
ha off Of
be felt in coming months.
1t is not deemed at all improbable by
experts that imports to the amount of
$70,000,000 OF more yearly have been
made. which would not have been if the
law had been executed with fidelity and
according to its intent. If other trans
actions between this and other countries
were such as to exactly balance, these
improper imports required exports of
$70,000,000 in gold, or else created a
foreign debt to that amount. In the
last twelve months the actual exports
of specie have been over $50,0OO,OOO,
the whole of which would have been
kept at home if goods had been import
ed only in accordance with the intent OF
the law and it's proper construction.
During the last month the amount of
specie which has gone abroad through
the port of New York alone has been
about $15, 100000, and this accounts for
almost the entire reduction in circulat-
ing money during the month. These
exports, so far as they are the result of
imports contrary to the protective poll
cy and hostile to the true intent of the
law, the policy of the Administration
will speedily arrest. They are the di-
rect result of policy which is distinct
" Democratic, for which the Democrat
ic party contended in the last election,
and which the late Democratic Admin
istration favored as far as possible in its
decisions and rulings. With a faithful
enforcement of the law, the amount due
abroad in settlements on merchandise
account ought to be reduced below the
value of goods exported, so that, unless
Withdrawals of foreign capital exceed
new investments of foreign capital here,
exports of specie will not be required.