Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1893-08-12

k'tAaSaS
And The Sooner 1t Is Done, In His
Opinion, tie Sooner We Will
Prosper.
WASHINGTON. Aug. 1.-The presi
dents message was delivered to con.
gress shortly after noon. Its reading
was proceeded with. 1t is as follows:
To the Congress OF the United States:
The existence of an alarming and extra
ordinary business situation, involving the
welfare ard prosperity of all our people,
has constrained me to call together in
extra session the peoples representatives
in congress, to the end that through wise
and patriotic exercise Of the legislative
duty with which they solely are charged,
present evils may be mitigatel and dan.
gers threatening the future may be
averted.
Our Financial Plight
is not the result of untoward events, nor
of conditions related to our natural re-
sources; nor is it traceable to any of the
Affections which frequently check national
growth and prosperity. With plenteous
crops, with abundant promise Of re-
mrnerative production and manufacture,
with unusual invitation to safe Investment
and with satisfactory assurance to busi-
ness enterprise, suddenly financial distrust
and fear have sprung up on every
side. Numerous moneyed institutions
have suspended because abHnt1ant assets
We're not Immediately available to meet
the demands cf the frightened depositors.
The surviving corporations and individ-
uals are content to keep i'll hand the
money they are usually anxious to loan,
and those engaged in legitimate business
are surprised to find that the securities
they offer for loans, though heretofore sat
| isfactorE, are no longer accepted. Values
| supposed to be fixed are fast becoming
conjecturo!, and loss and failure have in
vaded every branch OF business.
hargcab,e 10 Legislation.
I believe these things are principally
chargcal,le to congressional legislation
| touching the purchase and coinage Of sill
yer by the general government.
| This legislation is embodied in a statute
| passed on the I4th day of July, 1890, which
was the culE;n,tion Of much agitation on
| the S,lb iect involved and which may be
| considered a truce after q long struggle,
| between the advocates Of free silver coin
age and those intending to be more con
Servatirn.
Undoubtedly the monthly purchases BY
the government Of 4,5W,G90 ounces Of sill
vcr. enforced under that statute. were re-
garded by those interested in silver pro-
diction as a certain guaranJy of its i'll
crease in price The result, however, has
been entirely different, for Immediately
following a spasmodc and slight rise, the
price OF silver began TO fall after the pas
sage of he act and has since reached the
lowest point ever known. This diSa Dpoint-
ing result has led to renewed and per
sistent effort in the direction Of free silver
coinage.
Evil Fleets :sccumniating.
Meanwhile. not only ere the evil effects
of the operation OF the present law con
rs; anti accull1-.iisJiEg, out the re>llt to
which its cscc.1.ion must inevitably lead
is beca,aiag ..pa,l., to all who give the
i>a.Ic heed to financial subjects.
This law provides that in payment for
the !, 4,5cO, coo ounces Of silver bullion which
the secretary Of the treasury is commanded
to purchase monthly, there shall be issued
gold or silver coin AT the di>cre. ion Of the
secretary of he treasury, and that said
rotcs may be re-issued. It is. however.
declared III the act to I've ''the established
policy of the United, States to maintain
tie two metals on a parity with each other
upon the present legal ratio or such ratio
a: may be provided by Law"
Prevents Discretion.
This declaration so controls the action OF
The secretary of the treasury as to prevent
Ills exercising the discretion rominally
vested in him, if by such action the parity
between gold and silver may be disturbed
ManiteStly ii refusal by the secretary to
pay these treasury notes in gold, if
demanded, would necessarily result in
their discredi: and depreciation as obliga-
tons payable only in silver, and would
destroy the parity between the two metals
by establishing a discrimination in favor
Of gold.
Up to the 18th day of July, 1888, these
notes had been issued in payment of silver
bullion pt.i ciiases, to the amount of more
than s1.i1 ,ooO,a 100. While all but a very
small quantity Of this bullion remains un-
coined, aad without usefulness in the
treasury, many of the notes given in It's
purchaae have been paid in gold This is
illustrated by the statement between the
first day of May, 1882, and the 18th day of
July, 1898, the notes of this kind issued in
payment for silver bullion amounted to
a little more than s54 100000, and that
during the same period about s49,GOO,c00
were paid By the treasury in gold for the
redemption OF such notes.
Made Depict ion Easy.
The policy necessarily adopted of paying
these notes in gold has not spared the gold
reserve of 500 100000 long ago set aside by
the government for the redemption CT
other notes, Tor this fund has already been
subjected to the payment of new obliga-
tons amounting to about $50 000, 900 on
account of silver purchases, and has as
consequence, for the first time since its
creation, been encroached upon.
We have thus made the depletion of our
gold easy, and have helped other and more
appreciative nations to add it to their
stock. That the opportunity we have of
fered has net been neglected, is shown by
the large amounts OF gold which have been
recently drawn from our treasury and ex-
ported to increase the financial strength of
foreign nations. The excess Of exports of
gold over its imports for the year ending
June 30, 1893. amounted to more than
sS1, 100000. Between the lst day of July, |
1890, and the 18th day of July, 1893, the
gold coin and bullion in our treasury de- |
creased more shan *132, ,000,0O, while dur
ing the same period the silver coin and |
bullion jn the treasury increased more than |
$l47, ,u0O,UU. Unless government bonds are |
to be constantly issued and sold to replen
ish our exhausted gold only to be again |
exhausted, it is apparent that the opera
ton of the silver purchase law now in
force, leads in the direction OF the entire
Of silver for the gold in the
government tt easury and that this must
be followed By the payment of all govern
lnent obligations in deprecated silver.
Must Part Company.