Los Angeles herald., 1890-09-19
IN THE SENATE.
Plumb and Sherman Express Themselves
on the Financial Situation.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18.-In the senate
today the resolution offered yesterday by
Plumb, to recommit the bankruptcy
bill, went over till tomorrow. Plumb
offered resolution directing the secre-
tary of the treasury to inform the senate
whether the rule or policy of his depart
ment which requires the payment OF
checks for silver bullion over the coun-
ter of the sub-treasury,s instead OF
through the proper clearing house, does
not result in paying out notes of larger
denominations, instead of those suited
for circulation and use in ordinary busi-
ness transactions, and whether such a
method of payment does not result in
the payment of gold instead OF
treasury notes. As his reason for
offering the resolution, Plumb
sent to the clerks desk and had read a
letter from member of a New York
banking house, stating facts as to the
payment of such checks, and venturing
the prediction that the silver question
was not finally settled, and New York
speculation and accumulations OF silver
threaten to arouse it. The bank with
drawals of treasury gold, the writer says,
will be commented upon by certain in
fuential journals here, unscrupulously
Plumb spoke of thelconspicuous illus
tration that had taken place within the
last few days of the impolicy OF allowing
the treasury department to obstruct or
accelerate the business of the coun-
try. For years the treasury
department boarded money, and during
all that time the volume of currency
was constantly decreasing on account Of
the withdrawal OF national bank notes.
The secretary of the treasury had seen
the business of the country hampered on
account of that lack of money, but waited
until a panic was impending-no a
brokers' panic, but a stringency of money
that affected the banks of all the cities
and seriously interfered with the opera
tions of ordinary business-and then
the secretary had given money to the
holders ofgovernment bonds, under such
circumstances as to enable them, and
not him, to control the money
supply of the country during
their pleasure. Money which few days
ago was in the treasury, and which
could have been put out at the will OF
the secretary, was today in the hands of
men who owned bonds to the amount OF
$20,000,000. 1t was perfectly safe to say
that these men, having that money,
would use 1T to benefit themselves and
not in the interest OF the people. Moth
ing but an overwhelming calamity would
ever divorce the treasury from such ma
licious interference with the business of
the country.
Sherman said that while he had no
objection to the resolution, that which
had been done, had been done in strict
execution of the law. The secretary of
the treasury had no right to pay for sill
vel bullion in anything but treasury
notes those treasury notes had been is
sued in large denominations. There
had been only short time to prepare
for the execution of the law, and suffi-
cient amount of treasury notes of small
denominations could not be prepared.
Those large notes necessarily did not
enter into the general circulation of the
country. He (sherman) doubted the
policy of paying a years interest on
bonds in advance. The financial scare