Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1893-08-11

con,ant ,0 Leap in hand tho monev inv orc
noroIIy oryions 10 Ioan and tbooe onGa1od
in ieg;,imate business are snrnrIsed re 4 nd
that me securities thew offer for loans thouoh
heretofore satisfactorv. are no Ionqer ac.
cented VaInes sunnosed IN he Fl xed are
fast becoming coniectural and loss and fail.
nre have inv9lved every branch of hnsiness
believe these things are nrincInaIlv
cbargeahIe M ConoressionoI legialation
tonc6ing the purchase and COINAGE of all.
ver hv he general povernment
This ieSisIation is embodied in a statute
passed on The 18th dav of Julv. 1890. which
was the elimination Of much agitation ON
the subject Involved. and which NAV he
considered trnce after long strupgIe he.
tween the ADVOCATES of free Silver Coinage
and those intending 10 he more conserya.
five
Undoubtedly the monthly purchases by
the government of 800 600 ounces of silver
enforced nnder that statute were regarded
| by those interested in silver production as a
certain guarantee of lis increase in nrice,
| The result. however, has been entirely diff.
Eerent. for Immediately following a spasmod.
| lie and slight rise the price of silver began
| to fall after the passage of the act and has
since reached the lowest point ever known,
| This Disappointing result has led to renewed
and persistent effort i'm the direction of free
silver coinage.
Meanwhile, not only are the evil effects
of the operation of the present law constant.
| ly accommodating, but the result to which its
| execution must Inevitably lead is becoming
palpable to all who give the least heed 10
| financial subjects.
This law provides that in payment for the
4,5OO. 900 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 reissued. 1t is however de.
clared in the act TO be "the established policy
| of the United States TO maintain the two
metals on parity with each other upon the
present legal ratio or such ratio as NAV be
provided by law"
This declaration so controls the action of
the Secretary of the Treasury as TO prevent
his exercising the discretion nominally vest.
ed in him, when by such action the parity
between gold and silver may be disturbed.
| Maniiestly a refusal by the Secretary to nav
these Treasury notes in gold, if demanded
would necessarily result In their discredit
| and depreciation as obligation payable only
| in silver and would destroy the parity be.
tween the two metals by establishing a dis.
| elimination in favor of gold.
Up 10 the 18th of July, 1893, these notes
| had been issued in payment of silver bullion
purchases to the amount of more than $147,.
| 100000. While all but very small ouan.
tity of this bullion remains uncoined and
without usefulness in the Treasury, many of
the notes given in its purchase have been
paid in gold This is illustrated by the state
ment that between the LIST day of NAV, 1899
and the 10Th day of July, 1893, the notes on
| this kind issued in payment for silver bul.
| lion amounted to little more than S54 OO0..
| 900. and that during the same period about
$49,000,000 were paid by the Treasury in
gold for the redemption of such notes.
The policy necessarily adopted of paving
these notes in gold has not spared the gold
reserve OF one hundred millions OF dollars
| long ago set aside by the government for the
redemption of other notes, for this fund has
already been subjected to the payment of
new obligations amounting To about one
hundred and fifty millions Of dollars on &C.
count of silver purchases, and has as con.
sequence, for the first time since its creation,
| been encroached upon.
We have thus made the depletion of our
| gold easy and have tempted other and more
apprcciative nations TO add it To their stock.
not been neglected is shown by the large
amounts of gold which have been recently
drawn from our treasury and exported to
increase the financial strength of foreign
nations. The excess of exports ofgold over
its imports for the year ended June 30,
| 1893, amounted to more than 1877 ,500,0
Between the first day of July, 1890, and
the 18th day of July. 1898, the gold coin
and bullion in our treasury decreased more
| $132 100000 while during the same period
| the silver coin and bullion in the Treasury
increased more than $147,000,000 Unless
government bonds are TO be constantly
| issued and sold to replenish our exhausted
gold, only 10 be again exhausted, it is ap
| parent that the operation OF the silver pur.
chase law now in force leads in the dir.c.
ton of the entire substitution of silver for
the gold in the Government Treasury, and
that this must be followed by the payment
| OF all government obligations in deprecated
silver.
| At this stage gold and silver must part
company, and the government must fail in
in its established policy to maintain the two
metals on a parity with each other. Given
over TO the exclusive use of a currency
greatly deprecated according to the stand.
ard OF the commercial world, we could no
longer claim place among nations of
the iirst class, nor could our government
claim performance OF its obligation, so
FAR as such an obligation has been imposed
upon II, to provide for the use of the people
the safest and best money
IL, as many oil It's friends claim, silver
ought TO occupy larger place in our cur.
rency and the currency of the world
through general international Co operation
and agreement, 1t is obvious that the
United States will not be in position 10
gain hearing in favor of such an arrange.
ment 80 long as we are willing to continue
our attempt TO accomplish the result single
handed
The knowledge in business circles among
our own people that our government can
not make its fiat equivalent to intrinsic
yalue nor keen inferior monev IN n narit A.