Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-04

capita. This was larger than in any country
except France.
Nh. Stone-Is there, in your Judgment,
any lack of circulating medium in this
country?
Mr.. Leech-No, sir; the New York banks
hold about S35, 600, 600 of IDLE money over
and above their reserves.
Mr.. Leech having answered in the mega
tive a question of Mr.. Stone as to whether
any European paper money was based on
silver, Mr.. Bland inquired if he held that
| there was no country in Europe where paper
money was based on silver.
MIR. Leech Called Down Quickly.
Mr.. Leech's response was there was no
! country in Europe where the paper money
was redeemable solely in silver.
Mr.. Bland read from Secretary Win
dom's report, stating that the Bank of
France had issued many millions of notes
based on gold and silver deposits, and that
also other countries had out similar notes.
Mr.. Leech insisted that his answer had
been with reference to silver notes alone.
Mr.. Williams, of Illinois, called atten-
tion to the fact that Mr.. Leech had said
there was no country except the United
States whose notes were based on silver,
the United States were not on the same
basis in this respect.
Mr.. Leech admitted this was so, and said
that here, as in Europe, the notes were
based on both gold and silver.
Mr.. Williams asked if he regarded the
issuance of silver certificates to circulate
instead of the silver dollars as any obstacle
to free coinage.
Mr.. Leech replied in the negative, and
said he thought notes preferable The issu-
ance of gold notes was open to the same OBJ
lection, but not to the same extent as In the
case of silver notes, as they could be circu-
lated easier.
Silver Shipments in Shiploads.
Mr.. Williams inquired why Mr.. Leech
thought silver coins of other countries
would be dumped here if we adopted free
coinage.
Mr. Leech-I think European silver
would come here in shiploads, just as fast as
it could be brought in. Belgium would do
the same.
Mr.. Williams wanted to know how silver
coins could be dumped here when they were
needed abroad for circulation in the coun-
tries having it. To this Mr. Leech replied:
There is more OF 1t in domestic circulation
than is needed. The people reject it, and it
naturally gravitates into the vaults of the
Besides, this is not n question of any slight
loss. 1t is a question of the standard of q
sound currency. All Europe is practically
on gold standard, party from choice and
partly from necessity. The countries of
Europe are inclined to adapt themselves to
the gold standard, and do not believe any
loss OF small per cent would stand in the
way of their doing that. Besides, they be-
lieve it would be a temporary measure; that
we could not sustain free coinage of silver,
and that it would be to their interest to take
advantage OF it while we are making the ex-
pertinent. That, in my Judgment is the be-
lief of European fnanciers.
To Mr.. Bland Mr. Leech said he believed
that silver would come here as long as we
exchanged gold for it. The shipments
would cease when we got on a silver basis.
We would be compelled to pay the shippers
gold, because they could get legal tender
notes, which were practically interconverti-
bic with gold.
A Matter of Much Conjecture.
Mr.. Leech admitted that it was a matter
of opinion and of conjecture, but in his
judgment free silver coinage would either
send gold abroad or to premium.
Mr.. Bland-Have We gold enough to buy
a ship load of silver?
Mr. Leech-We think we have enough to
buy the worlds stock.
Mr.. Bland suggested that the proposition
of Mr.. Leech was that the people of Europe
would take their silver from home, where it
would buy as much as gold, admitting
that ii was not worth as much for foreign
transactions, and sell it here, where they
could not buy as much for it as at home.
Mr.. Leech insisted that that would be
the case, because of desire of Europe to
get on a gold basis, and said Austria was
contemplating that very thing.
Mr.. Bland said that so was Germany con-
templating it, but she stopped soon.
A query by Mr.. johnson, of North Da-
kota, as to whether or not the United
States had any agent abroad with view to
learning the sentiment toward bi-metallism
and an international agreement, led the dis
cussion into the field of international
agreements.
Private Citizens Deeply Interested:
Mr. Leech's reply to the question pro-
pounded by Mr. johnson was that we had
requested certain gentlemen who were
going to travel in Europe, and who had a
social and financial standing enabling them
to talk with public officers and fnanciers,
to learn the probabilities of some inter-
national agreement being secured. Those
gentlemen had nothing but general letter
from the Treasury Department They re-
ceived no compensation. Several letters
had been received from them and laid be-
fore the President within the last few
months.
Mr. Tracey, of New York-You were
somewhat encouraged to believe that an
agreement might eventually be reached?
Mr.. Leech-We were encouraged. Eng
land had shown a disposition to act favor
ably. 1 would regard an international
agreement as very great benefit to all
mankind.
Mr. Tracey-Would not a country in
England's position receive more benefit if
We alone were to pass free coinage bill
and they were to get our gold than if an
agreement were reached?
Free Coinage an Aid to the British.
MI Leech-A free coinage bill would cer-
tainly be largely to their interests.
Mr. Bland-Is it not fact that these in
ternational agreements and the talk of them
generally arises about the time we get up
the silver question here?
Mr.. Leech-No, sir; think we have been
at work quietly while you gentlemen have
been at home.
Mr.. Bland said it was his experience that
for 20 years every time free coinage was
talked of they had been told to wait for an
international agreement, but none had ever
come.
E. D. Stark, of Cleveland, O., tnen pre-
sented an argument in favor of free COIN
age.
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