The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-12-03
WINDOWS REPORT.
What the Secretary of the Treasury
Ess TO Say about Finances.

Hss TO Say about Finances.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2.-Secretary Win
doms report was made public to-day. It's
most important features are covered in the
residents message. HIS estimate for pen
sions for 1892 is s1S5, 900. coo. With refer
ence to the money striugsncy he says:
In my Judgment. the gravest defect in our
present nnanclal system is its lack OF elasticity
1ne MISUNDERSTANDING system supplied this
defect to some extent By the authority which
the banks nave to increase their circulation IN
times OF strlnSency, anieo reduce when money
becomes redundant; but. by reason OF the nigh
price Of bonds this Authority has ceased to DE
or much practical value
The demand for money in this country is so
irregular that an amount of circulation which
wlii be ample during ten months of the year,
VIII frequently prove 50 deficient during the
otner two mon rs as to cause stringency AMI
commercial di asJer, Such ssFinyency may
occur without any speculative manipulatiOns OF
money, though, unfortunately, II is CT zen inten-
Si1ed by su n manipulations the crops of the
country have reached prop Jrtions so immense
tnat their M Jvement TO market IN
August and September annually
causes dangerous absorption of
money. Tn lack Of sufficient supply to meet
the Increased demand during those months may
entail heavy losses upon the agricultural as well
as upon other business interests. Though
financial striagency may occur at any time, an
from many causes. yet nearly all OF the great
during the months named, aud unless soma
provision be made to meet such. CONTINGENCIES
IN the future ike disasters may be confidently
expected.
/ am aware tat the theory obtains, in the
minds OF many people, that if there
were no surplus In the treasury a
sufficient amount of money would be
would occur. The fact is. however, that such
stringency has seldom been produced by treas
ury absorption, but generally by some sudden
or unusual demand for money entirely in le-
p 'ndent OF treasury conditions aud opera
tions. The financial pressure III Sep
TENDER last, which at one time
assumed threatening character illustrates the
truth or this statement. There was at that
time no accumulation of money ia the treasury
from customs or internal revenue taxes nor
ifom any other source that could have affected
the money market On the contrary, the total
disbursements for all purposes. Including bond
purchases and interest prepayments, during
the last preceding flfty-tnree days, mad been
alb 2ut $4,000 900 in excess Of the receipts from
all sources
THE AMOUNT AVAILABLE.
The total apparent surplus on Sept 10, when
the money stringency culminated, was 99509.-
go So. OF this amount S24 BIG, S04 96 was on
deposit in the banks, a d presumably in circu
latiOu among the people, and S2l, 109.319 e. was
fractional silver, which had been IN the treasury
| vaults for several years, aud was not available
| for any considerable disbursements. D 9ducting
the sum of these two items, viz
Si5,92o, la q, left an actual s.1 al, available
! amount Of the bank note redemption fund
| then in the treasury, which had been trans
ferred to the available funds by the act of July
| IA. 1890 was $4,000, 900, ing substantially
| amount Of the avail aole surplus Sept 10,
| 1890. This bank note fund had been In the
| treasury in varying amounts for many years.
| In August, 1857, IL wac 9l05 S73, 005 GO, which
| had been gradually reduced by disbursements
| to the amount above named. 1t is apparent,
| therefore, that the financial Stringency, under
| dis usSon, was not produced by the
| absorption of money by the treasury, but by
cause waolly outside of treasury operations.
| AT the time when the financial pres sure in Sep
| TENDER reached its climax the extraor mary
| disbursements for bond purchases had sub
| stantially exhausted the entire ordinary
| rrea Jury Accumulate ms, and but for the fact
| that congress had wisely transferred the bank
| note redemption fund to the available cash,
| there would have been no money at command, IN
| the treasury, by which the strained financial
| conditions could have been relieved, and
! threatened panic and disaster averted Had
| this fund been in the banks instead of the
! treasury the business of the country would
| have been adjusted to the increased supply,
| and when the strain came it would have been
| impossible for the banks to meet it. The gov
! eminent could not have withdrawn 1t from the
| banks without compelling a contraction of their
| loans and thus diminishing their ability to give
| relief to their customers,
The more recent financial stringeucy i'll No
! veniber. Immediately after the disburse nenJ of
| over $780, 900 900 for the purchase and redemp.
| ton of DO Ids within the prec ding four monJhs
furnishes another forciole illustration that such
stringencie' are due to other causes than treas
| ury operations.