The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-06-16
CLEVELAND FINALLY SPEAKS.
4 Session of Congress Called to Meet in
September.

Session of Congress Called to Meet in
September.
President Cleveland has announced in
semi official way that congress will be
called together some time between the
LIST and the 18th of September. OF
course some contingency may arise to
occasion an earlier call, but unless
some unforeseen contingency arises the
season will not be rushed. The middle
If September is as early as Washington
will be tGlerable, for the heated term
there is very oppressive, the first half
Of September being the worst part of
the year. Still in an emergency the
weather is not much of a factor.
The statement made by the president
in connection with this announcement
is to the effect that the only reason he
will hasten the meeting of congress will
be for the purpose of repeating the
Sherman silver-purchase act. He makes
no allusion to the tariff. He does not
at all recognize the fact that the APP
prehension of radical change in the
luties on imports has seriously de-
ranged business, mercantile and manu-
featuring. He lays everything to the
monthly purchases of silver bullion. To
his mind it is all perfectly plain. Zone
does not need" he says, 1.-THE eye of a
financier to see that the gold subtracted
from the government stock to pur-
chase idle silver bullion is eagerly
seized by other nations for the purpose
of strengthening their credit at our ex-
pense."
This is very good statement of the
way the purchase policy has worked
ever since Grover Cleveland was elected
president, and it is natural that he
should not look back of that date, but
as a matter of fact the act had been In
operation more than two years before
his election, and for the greater part of
the time the act has been in operation
no such outflow as the president de-
scribes was occasioned. This IS not
matter of theory and speculation. but
of absolute fact. At the time the bill
was passed there was no reason to APP
prehend an outflow of gold from this
country.
The president seems to think that if
the purchasing of silver bullion cease
the outflow of gold would cease, but 1t
is to be remembered that this outflow
was not started by the Sherman act. 1t
was started by the failure of the Bar
ing Brothers. London, or, to go one
step farther back, by the collapse of
the Argentine boom, followed later by
the utter fat-out of the Australian
boom. American bonds and debentures
have been sent over here in large
blocks. to be exchanged for gold. The
silver purchased by the government
was all, or nearly all, mined in this
country. and the purchase money en-
tered into the general currency of our
own people.
1t does not follow that a repeal of the
silver purchase act might not help in
stopping the outflow. Care must be
taken not to disturb the bimetallic
basis of our finances by the repeal OF
the RECOMMENDATION feature of our exist
ing financial enactments. Neither the
coming of given amount of silver dol
lars nor the purchase of given amount
of silver bullion is an integral part OF
bimetallism The volume of silver
money now in circulation is as large
as the business of the people will util-
ize. Ii it were increased the increase
would remain in the government vaults.
If an increase were desired the stock of
bullion is ample for a good while to
come. We can, therefore, see no risk
TO bimetallisn in shutting down the
silver supply gates now until such time
as some future congress shall again
open them. But if the president and
the other monometallists should at
tempt to use the present demand for
the repeal of the silver purchase act as
an opportunity to demonetize the silver
dollar, they would undoubtedly defeat
the very object had in mind in calling
congress together in extra session.
Chicago Inter Ocean.