Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-08-17
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
THE FINANCIA. QUESTION DEALT
WITH At LENGTH.
Ia Sherman Law Must be Repealed
Says the president-rhe People De-
mand n Sound and stable Currency
-TariH Reform VIII Come Later.

message was delivered 10 congress Is
soon as the two bodies were called TO
gether at noon. Irs reading was pro.
ceeded with. 1t is as follows:
To the Congress of the United States;
The existence of an alarming, an extra
ordinary business situation, involving the
welfare and prosperity of all our people,
has constrained me to call together IN ex-
ira session the peoples representatives III
congress. to the end that through a wise
and patriotic exercise of the Legislative
duty with which they solely are charged,
present evils may be mitigated and Can
gers threatening the future may be
averted.
IDur Unfortunate Plight
Is not the results Of untoward events nor
Of conditions related to orr natural re-
sources; no is it traceahle TO any oil the
affections which frequently CHECK ma
tional growth and prosperity. With
pleanteous crops, with abundant promise
of renunerative production AMI manu-
facture: with unusual INVITATIONS 10
safe investment with satisfactory as
surances 10 business enterprise, suddenly
financial distrust and fear have sprung
upon every side. Numerous moneyed
institutions have suspended because their
abundant assets were not immediately
available to meet the demands of frigh-
| tened depositors; surviving corporations
and individuals are too content 10 Keep
In hand the money they are usually anN-
ious to loan, and those engaged IN legltl-
mate business are surprised TO lind b
the securities they offered Tor loans,
though heretofore satisfactory, are no
longer accepted. Values supposed to be
fixed are fast becoming conjectural, and
loss and failure have invaded every
branch Of business. j believe these things
are principally chargeable to COMPRESSION
al legislation touching the purchase and
coinage of silver by the general govern
ment.
This legislation is embodied in q sta
tute passed on the 14th day of July, 1880,
which was the elimination of much agl-
tation on the subject involved, and which
may be considered n truce after the long
| struggle between the advocates OF free
silver coinage and those intending TO De
more conservative.
Undoubtedly the monthly purchases
by the government of 4.5OO.000 ounces
of silver forced under that statute were
regarded by those interested in silver
production as a certain guaranty of its
Increase in price. The result, however,
has been entirely different. for immedi-
ately following a ~spasmodic and slight
rise the price Of silver began to fall after
iht piSSuEc vi Lis W. Aifb btAP 1872
reached the lowest point ever known.
This disappointing result has led 10 re-
newed and persistent effort in the direc-
ton of free silver coinage.
Meanwhile, not only are the evil eff
fects of the operation of the present law
constantly accommodating, but the result
to which its execution must inevitably
lead is becoming palpable to all who give
the least need to financial subjects.
This law provides that in payment of
the 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion
which the secretary of the treasury is
commanded to purchase monthly, L ere
shall be issued treasury notes, redeem
able. on demand, in gold or silver coin,
Mt the discretion of the secretary of the
treasury, and that the said notes may be
reissued. 1t is, however. declared in
the act to be ''the established policy of
the United States to maintain the two
meals upon a parity with each other
upon the leprtesraletragn ,oioe~lviransrOdx
upon the present legal ratio. or such
ratio as may be provided by law"
This declaration SO controls the action
of the secretary of the treasury as TO
prevent his exercising the discretion NOM
inally vested in him, If by such action the
parity between gold and silver may be
disturbed. Manifestly a refusal by the
secretary to pay these treasury notes in
gold, if demanded. would necessarily
Result I'm Their Discredit.
and depreciation as obligations payable
only in silver, and woul! destroy the
parity between the two metals by es
tablishing a discrimination in favor of
gold.
Up to the 18th day of July, 1893, these
notes had been issued in payment of sill
yer bullion purchased to the amount of
more than one hundred and forty seven
of dollars. While all but a very
small quantity of this bullion remains I'M
coined and without usefulness in the
treasury, many of the notes given in its
purchase have been paid in gold. This is
by the statement that between
the 1st day of May. 1892, and the 18th
day of July, 1893, the notes of this kind
issued in payment for silver bullion
amounted to a little more than $4,000
600, and that during the same period
about A 100000 Were paid by the treas
ury in gold for the redemption Of such
notes.
The. policy necessarily adopted of pay
ing these notes in gold has not spared
the gold reserve of 100000, 900 long ago
set aside by the government for the re-
demption of other notes, for this fund
has already been subjected to the pay
of new obligations amounting to
about xl00,OOO,OW on account of silver
purchases, and has as a consequence, for
the first time since its creation. been en-
upon. We have thus made the
depletion of our gold easy. and have
other and more appreciative ma
to add il to their stock. That the
opportunity we have afforded has not
been neglected is shown by the large
amounts of gold which have been recent
" drawn from our treasury and exported
TO increase the financial strength of for
aign nations. The excess Of exports of
gold over it's imports for the year ending
Tune 30, 1893. amounted TO over $751;
10000. Between the LIST day Of .Jaly,
1890, and the 18th day of July. 1893.
he gold coin and bullion in our treasury
more than S132. 900. 900. while
auring the same period the silver coin and
bullion in the treasury increased more
han S147. 100000. Uuless government
ponds are to be constantly issued and sold
% replenish our exhausted gold. only to
o be again exhausted, il is apparent that
he operation of the ~silver-purchasa law
low in force leads in the direction OF the
nitro substitution of silver for gold in
he government treasury and that this
must be followed by the payment of all
government obligations in deprecated
iilyer.
;oId and Silver Must Part COMPANY
md the government must fail i'm it's es-
ablished policy to maintain the two nc:
lis on a parity of each other. Given over
o the exclusive use of a currency greatly
according To the standard of
he commercial world we could no longer