The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1892-10-05

sumed the consideration Of the bill H. r. 6O3l 10
provide for the purchase Of United States bonds by
the Secretary Of the Treasury.
Mr.. PLUMB. I move to add as a sepa-
rate section what send to the desk.
The SECRETARY. It is proposed to
add as an additional section the following:
SEC. 2. That whenever the circulation Of any ma
tiOnal bank or any portion thereof, shall be sur
rendered, and the same is not taken up by other
national banks within 80 days thereafter. the Sec
retary OF the Treasury shall thereupOn issue
equivalent amount of Treasury notes of the de-
nominations now provided by law for natiOnal-bank
notes Said Treasury notes shall be deposited in
the Treasury and paid out other moneys kept for
the discharge of the obligations Of the Government
They shall be receivable for salaries and for all dues
to the Government, including duties on Imports
shall be legal tender for all debts, public and pFi
Vate; shall be redeemable in coin as the ega-ten-
der notes OF the United States are; and when
received into the Treasury they shall be reissued
and when mutilated worn they shall be replaced
In the same manner as now provided by law for said
legal-tender notes. The coin held in the Treasury
At the date of the passage of this act for the redemp
ton OF the legal-lender notes OF the Government
shall also be applicable to the redemption of the
Treasury notes herein provided for; and such coin
reserve may, from time TO time, be increased by add
ing thereto other sums from pay yments made into
the Treasury I'm the discretion OF the Secretary of
the Treasury PTOvidet That the total amount of
said coin reserve shall never be less than 25 per
cent nor more than 30 per cent of the total
Of legal-tender and Treasury notes outstanding
The true intent and meaning of this section being
that the volume of paper money outstanding lex
elusive OF gold and silver certifcates) shall remain
Gs now existing.
The PRESIDENT pro tempors. The
question is on the amendment proposed
by the Senator from Kansas Mr.. PLUMB !.
Mr.. MORRILL,. The amendment of the
Senator from Kansas is entirely alien to
the topic that Is considered by the House
bill. There Is supposed to be an urgent
necessity for the passage of the House
bill with the amendments which have been
made by the Committee on Finance, and
agreed to by the Senate this morning. I
trust that the Senator from Kansas will
not press his amendment, which, if it was
to be seriously discussed and considered,
Is one that would be likely to require
week or 10 days of time for its considera-
tion. am sure that there is no present
necessity tor any action in the direction
proposed by the Senator from Kansas.
In order that we may get the Dll through
without taking much time this morning
from the consideration of the OaleI dar,
hope that all amendments which have
been proposed will be withdrawn and the
bill allowed to pass.
Mr.. PLUMB. Different people have
different ways of manifesting haste. The
bill under consideration has been upon
the Calendar Just 20 days to-day. If
there had been any great hurry about its
passage, any very great emergency, i'm
agine the Finance Committee would have
urged its passage long ago. 1t is not 60
ing to take 10 days to dispose of this
amendment, although it had better take
30 days than not have it or some such
proposition adopted. 1t is entirely ger
name to the subject of the bin-just as
germane as the punctuation that is in it.
This bill is for the purpose of relieving
the Treasury from its surplus funds and
adding TO the circulation Of the country,
kha hainuy he m i
it. The country to-day is IN distress for
lack of money, which the Treasury has
locked up; and this is an effort on the
part of Congress to induce the Secretary
of the Treasury to do what he has hereto
fore refused to do, and that is to pay out
the public money in discharge of the
public debt
But, Mr.. President, this will only ac-
eomplish a partial purpose. No one can
tell how many bonds will be bought under
the authority of the bill if the Secretary
shall choose to act under 1t, as he has here
toCore refused to act under similar author
itv now on the statute book. No one can
tell how much il will add to the volume of
money outstanding, because nobody can
tell how many of the bonds will come from
national banks now holding them as a
basis for circulation. According to the
Treasury view OF it, there is only about
S1O0,O00,O0O which can be paid ont in dis
charge of the public debt under the terms
of the bill which is now pending. 1 think
there are $16O,OOOOO0 there available for
such purpose beyond any reserve required
by law or by the practice of the depart
ment to be kept. But suppose there be
only $1O0,O00,000, and suppose the Score
tary OF the Treasury buys $1OO,o00,Oo0 Of
outstanding bonds of the United States
with that money, it must be $1OO,OOO,0OO of
course minus the premium, or plus, as you
may use the term. That is to say, that if
he buys per cent bonds at the market
price to-day, he would be able to take up
the principal of only about $S0,000,000
of bonds. If those bonds should be Of
fered for sale by banks holding them
already as q basis for their currency, there
would only be 10 per cent of that amount
added to the volume of the currency out
standi-g, Notwithstanding the disburse-
ment by the Treasury of $l0o,0OO,O00.
The gain, therefore, would be fractional
and imperceptible, and the purpose which
suppose the Finance Committee has in
view would be lost. If one-half the bonds
should be rendered by national banks, and
One-hslf by outside parties, of course the
gain to the outstanding circulation would
be greater. While the bill itself is proper,
at the same time as il stands, and by it
self, it is trifing with very great ques-
tion.
For years the national bank circulation,
and so the poItIHe Of money outstanding in
the United States, has been declining. The
population has increased, business has in-
creased, but the currency tOith I0hich that
business Is TO be transacted has diminished
each year during the last aUe years; and
yet the Finance Committee Of the Senate aud
The similar committee In the other House,
and all those tChOss special pTssiEs0s it has
kSrsGofOTO seemed to Be 70 tdIss care Qf these