The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1893-08-11
PRESIDENTS IDEA
Mr.. Cleveland Sends to Congress His
Message on the Financial
Question.
The Tariff Can Wait, But the Sher
man Law Should Be Re.
pealed,
And the Sooner 1t Is Done, In His
Opinion, the Sooner We Will
Prosper.

WASHINGTON. Aug. S.-The presi-
dents message was delivered to con-
gress shortly after noon. It's reading
was proceeded with. tits as follows:
To the Congress of the United States:
The existence of an alarming and extra
ordinary business situation, involving the
welfare and 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 mitigated and dan
gers threatening the future may be
averted.
Our Financial Plight e..
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-
munerative 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 abundant assets
We're not Immediately available to meet
the demands of the frightened depositors.
The surviving corporations and individ-
uals are content to keep in 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
isfactory, are no longer accepted. Values
supposed to be fixed are fast becoming
conjectural, and loss and failure have in
vaded every branch of business.
Chargeable to Legislation.
I believe these things are principally
chargeable to congressional legislation
touching the purchase and coinagecf sill
yer by the general government
This legislation is embodied in a statute
passed on the 18th day of July, 1890, which
was the elimination of much agitation on
the subject involved, and which may be
considered a truce, after long strrsgtA,
between the advocates of free silver DIN
age and those intending to be NOR; Nv
servative.
Undoubtedly the monthly purchases by
the government of 100000 ounces of sill
yer, enforced under that statute, were re-
garded by those interested in silver pro-
duction as a certain guaranty of it's in
crease in price, The result, however, has
been entirely different, for Immediately
following spasmodic and slight rise, the
price of silver began to fall after the pas
sage of the act and has since reached the
lowest point ever known. This disappoint
ing result has led to renewed and per-
sistent effort in the direction of free silver
coinage.
Evil Effects Accommodating.
Meanwhile, not only are the evil effects
of the operation of the present law con-
stantly accommodating, but the result to
which its execution must inevitably lead
is becoming palpable to all who give the
least heed to financial subjects.
This law provides that in payment for
the 4, 100000 ounces of silver bullion which
the secretary of the treasury is commanded
to purchase monthly, there shall be issued
treasury notes, redeemable on demand in
gold or silver coin at the discretion of the
secretary of the treasury, and that said
notes may be re-issued. 1t is, however,
declared in the act to be ''the established
policy of the United States to maintain
the two metals on'a parity with each other
upon the present legal ratio or such ratio
as may be provided by law"
Prevents Discretion.
This declaration so controls the action of
the secretary of the treasury as to prevent
his exercising the discretion nominally
vested in him, if by such action the parity
between gold and silver may be disturbed
Manifestly a refusal by the secretary tc
pay these treasury notes in gold, il
demanded, would necessarily result in
their discredit and depreciation as obliga
tions payable only in silver, and would
destroy the purity between the two metals
by establishing u discrimination in favol
of gold.
Up to the 18th day of July, 1898, these
notes had been issued in payment of silvel
bullion purchases, to the amount of more
than s147, 100000. While all but very
small quantity of this bullion remains un
coined, and without usefulness in the
treasury, many of the notes given in it!
purchaae have been paid in gold. This il
illustrated by the statement between til,
first day of May, 1892, and the 18th day o
July, 1898, the notes of this kind issued il
payment for silver bullion amounted tt
little more than 100000, and tina
during the same period about s49, 10000
were paid by the treasury in gold for tn
! redemption of such notes.
Made Depletion Easy.
The policy necessarily adopted of payin,
these notes in gold has not spared the golt
reserve of 800, 900 900 long ago set aside b.
the government for the redemption @
other notes, for this fund has already bee
subjected to the payment of new obliga
tions amounting to about S150000,00 O
+ account of silver purchases, and has as
consequence, for the first time since it
creation, been encroached upon.
5 We have thus made the depletion of ou
gold easy, and have helped other and MOI
appreciative nations to add it TO thei
: stock. That the opportunity we have OF
, fered has not been neglected, is shown b
r the large amounts of gold which have bee
recently drawn from our treasury and e,
: ported to increase the financial strength {
foreign nations The excess Of exports {