The Fort Worth gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-189?, 1891-05-07
Secretary Foster Talks About
the $25o,Ooo,ooO Surplus.
TREASURY OFFICIALS AT SEA.
They Are as Ye. Unable Satisfactorily to
Settle the Public Debt Statement.
In the Year 1865 There Was Only Nine
Hundred Thousand Dollars in the
Treasury, and the Off cial See
NO Danger Now.
Condition of the Treasury.

| Special TO the Gazette,
| WASHINGTON, April 29-It is regarded as
an assured fact by the treasury department
officers that Secretary Foster will change
| the form OF the statement of the public debt
OF the United States on the 1st day of July
| next. The secretary to-day declared the
| present form of the statement to be unsatis-
| factory, and that the form issued by Secre-
tarles Sherman, Folser and others, prior to
| 1888, was, in the opinion of Secretary FoS-
| ter, a much better form than the one row
| used.
Secretary Foster has not decided upon
the details OF the reform which he viii
adopt, but 1t is believed they will be III the
direction of increasing the aggregate
| amount OF liabilities
The treasury officers, who have upwards
| OF twenty years experience in the inside
workings OF the department, say that
changes IN the form of the debt statement
have been quite frequent, as the statement
OF the public debt is made to conform to
certain lines of policy. The same officers
say that the recent financial discussion ap-
pears TO have aroused a feeling of distrust,
while there is no cause for il. In view of
conflicting statements, which have been
made about the available assets of the
treasury, even to men well versed in the
intricate details of the management of the
department, the subject is confusing. One
statement makes
AVAILABLE ASSETS
$3.50, 100000; another, S10,000,000, and the
statement put on Secretary Fosters desk
this morning makes it S5i, 154, AS 09. The
net surplus is given as s10,6s7 ,412.15 The
daily receipts from customs are about
one-half what they We're last year, but no
doubt is expressed that every obligation of
the government will be paid when pre-
sented.
1t is recalled by old employees that for
.:.Nl of
the treasury of the United States but $780,
600, and thatwas in scent nickel pieces.
The government then met its liabilities aud
there was no distruSt created, as the con-
dition of the treasury at that time was
not known.
THE $3.50, 100000 SURPLUS.
, WASHINGTON, April GA reporter had
talk with Secretary Foster to-day rela-
tive to the statement made by Director of
the Mint Leach that the government has
surplus or available cash balance Of some
$3.50, 100000. and TO make this amount
he counted in the so-called
gold reserve of sl00,00O,0O0 and
about S34,000,000 of silver, which was
purchased by the issuance of legal tender
certificates. Secretary Foster said. in sub
stance:
Il guess Mr.. Leach is about right in the
main. l think that matter that may well
be discussed. I should have stated it little
differently If | had been writing it myself.
| should have said that some of the $780,
1000 of available cash might be re-
garded as trust funds might be- ] say it
would be correct to say that about So
600, coo is unquestionably available cash;
that is, about S2S, 900, 900 in banks, SCI
600, 900 in subsidiary coin, 81. 900 600 in trade
dollar bullion, S2,000.000 of current cash,
and 5000, 600 in silver. against which no
certificates have been issued. AS to the
&c al1 ni,oct hos
900, 900 greenbacks to make the credit of
the government impregnable, for no one
would be able to get together enough
green5ac to take all the gold out of the
treasury, and therefore they do not take
any; but these notes outstanding are legal
tender and the government can and would
use this gold reserve if ii needed it in
pinch. 1t should, therefore, appear in the
debt statement as available cash"
'Do you regard silver purchased under
the new act, against which certificates have
been issued, as available cash that may be
used by the government at any timer"
''No; l do not agree With Mr.. Leach
there. Certificates are issued against that
and it is in the nature of trust but the
profits on silver purchases, which amount
now to some q, 900. 600, may be used. I am
in a different position from that of my
predecessors, who have held large sur
pluses. / presume that during May and
June there will be extraordinary eXpendi-
lures for Observation-Disclosures in that it
will be probably s4,O00000 larger than last
year
Now, as to redemption of the AZ per cent
bonds, l am thinking of trying to substitute
per cents for them as Window proposed.
If it can be done there will be two adj
vantages in it over redemption. TO be able
to float 2 per cent bonds will demonstrate
the extraordinary soundness of the govern
ments credit, and money that would be re-
quired to redeem the 41ss may be used for
the purchase of As at saving of 2 per cent
interest that would be paid in them up TO
the time of maturity. l talk about these
matters freely, because l believe it to be
good thing to have them discussed well and
well understood before they are tried. I |
en- getting good many letters from bankers |
and others; some of them are silly, but !
many of them contain valuable opinions |
If some paper criticizes in merely par |
tisan spirit it makes no difference. l be- |
lieve ii is wise to talk these things over |
with the public and get the benefit of dis |
CUSTOM