The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1892-03-11
no USE THE SURPLUS.
The Natural Sequel TO the BulIon-Dollar
Congress.

ington is one to repeal the law Great
ing the sinking fund and another TO
cover into the treasury the one hun
dred million-dollar gold reserve held
for the redemption of greenbacks.
These are natural sequels TO the acts
OF the Fifty-6rst congress. by abol-
ishipg some taxes on imports and in
creasing others so as to make them
prohibitory, and by largely increasing
the permanent appropriations, that
congress put an end to the excess of re-
ceipts over expenditures and therefore
put an end to the reduction of the pub
lie debt for some years to come. by
stopping the redemption of four and
one-half per cent bonds before the
end of the last fiscal year Secretary
Foster threw a part of last years sur
plus over into the present year, and so
managed to meet in part the require
ments of the sinking fund for the cur
rent fiscal year. But in his annual re-
port the secretary admits that the
total amount TO be applied to the fund
for the year will fall nearly eleven
million dollars short of the require
ment, while for next year he estimates
that there will be only about fourteen
million dollars to be SO applied out of
about fifty million dollars required.
Inasmuch as it will be impossible to
meet the requirements of the fund
without additional taxation, it is natur-
al enough that representatives should
propose to abolish statutory require
ment which cannot be met
The last congress covered into the
treasury all the money which had been
deposited by the national banks for the
redemption of their notes, amounting
to more than fifty-four million dollars
1t treated the money which had been
so deposited and all that might be
deposited thereafter not as a trust
fund to be applied to the specific pur-
pose for which the fund was created,
but as revenue applicable to any gov
ernmental use. 1t was, in fact, APP
piled to the purchase of bonds at
premium.
Since the fund for the redemption of
bank notes has been so treated, why
not treat the one hundred million dol
lars held for the redemption of green
backs in the same way? This is the
question that arises in the mind of Mr..
Watson, of Georgia, who has intro
duced the bill to cover this money into
the treasury. Secretary Foster has
said that he would not hesitate to
break into this fund If he should find
it necessary to do so in order to meet
current expenditures. He will prob
ably feel grateful to the democratic
gentleman from Georgia for proposing
to remove all doubt as to the legality
of this proceeding and to place the en-
tire fund at his disposal.
Mr.. Watson seems to be one of those
philosophers who think that green
backs are not promises to pay, which
the government is bound in honor to
redeem and for the redemption of
which on demand it is under obligation
to provide, but absolute" money, or
fiat" money, which is not redeemable
any more than gold coin is redeemable.
Rational men do not accept this theory.
We have about three hundred and.fifty-
six million dollars of greenbacks out
standing, These greenbacks are notes
promises to pay-and the government
stands pledged by the act of January
II, 1875, to redeem them and to make
adequate provision for their redemption
in coin on demand. A hundred millions
is not an eXtravagant reserve to hold
for this purpose. In addition to the
greenbacks the government has issued
over seventy-eight million dollars of
treasury notes in payment for silver
bullion, and it has declared its purpose
to hold these notes at par with gold. 1t
is adding over fifty million year to the
volume of these notes and il is bound
to make suitable provision for main
tanning them at par. In addition to all
this the government has outstanding
over three hundred and twenty million
dollars of silver certificates which con-
gress has promised to keep at par with
gold There is, therefore, about seven
hundred and tfty-four million dollars
of paper afioat, with more coming at the
rate of over fifty million dollars year,
all of which congress has engaged to
keep at par with gold. The hundred
million dollars reserve is certainly none
too large for the purpose of keeping
this growing mass of paper at par.
And yet il is proposed to cover every
dollar of IL into the treasury and leave
all this paper without support. 1t
would be more rational to provide for
an increase of the gold serve.-Chi-
cago Herald.
nj