Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1893-03-02
BPlntnftt GItrntttrle.
PUBLIC OPINION.
THAT GOLD RESERVE.

Cincinnati Tribune.
So much has been said of the gold re-
serve in the National Treasury during
the recent financial furry, and of the
sacred duty of keeping it intact, that
people have been led to suppose that 1t
was fixed by law at the round sum of
one hundred millions of dollars, and that
any, even the slightest, reduction below
that amount would be such an official
shortcoming as to deserve summary i'm
parchment But the fact is, that there
is no law on the subject.
The whole matter of keeping up this
reserve to slOOOOO,OOO, or to any
amount, is a mere regulation of the
Secretary of the Treasury, originating
with Mr.. Sherman when he occupied
that position, and observed by his sue
cessors. That the reserve has been
sacredly maintained through four sue
cessive administrations, including that
of Mr.. Cleveland, seems to. have given
it almost the force of law; and hence
the great uneasiness of Secretary Foster
lest the foreign demand for our gold
shall render it necessary to resort to the
sale of bonds to keep the reserve intact.
The reserve is referred to in the
National Bank law of 1888 as the fund
for the redemption of legal tenders, and
provision is there made that whenever
that fund falls below $100,000,000 no
more gold shall be taken on storage and
certificates issued therefor. But no
method is prescribed to replenish the
reserve when it falls below the $780,
100000, no reference being made to the
sale of bonds for that purpose.
The current Treasury statements, ever
since the administration of the Depart
ment by Mr.. Manning, have deducted
the gold reserve from the available cash
in the Treasury, and that custom has
doubtless had much to do in creating the
impression that the reserve is authorized
by law as fund for the redemption of
legal tenders.
We have shown that the fund was
originally created and reserved by Sec
retary Sherman for the redemption of
legal tenders and that it has been 50
regarded by all his successors, so that
now, when the pinch comes, it seems to
be considered too sacred to be used for
the original purpose. Secretary Foster
says the reserve must be kept intact, no
matter what happens, and some days
ago seemed to favor the issue of bonds
for that purpose.
The only way that gold can be with
drawn from the Treasury is by the pre-
sentation of legal tenders for redemption.
If areserve set apart for such redemption
can not be used for that purpose under
any circumstances, it becomes too sacred
to be useful The theory of the Treasury
officials probably is that if the reserve
were reduced below the regulation
amount the public would lose confidence,
and run would be made on the Treas
ury, which would compel suspension
of specie payments. In that event, how
ever, the silver dollars might be availa-
BILE to meet the demand for coin pay
ment. 1t is in the discretion Of the
Secretary of the Treasury to pay in
either metal, and he may safely exercise
that discretion in an emergency such as
that which seems to threaten If this
can not be done with safety the "parity
of the two metals in our currency, of
which we hear so much, is pure fiction.