The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1893-04-05

so it happened that instead of putting out
the money last summer, last spring, last
winter, year ago, or year and half ago,
during all this time when the retirement of
national bank notes was going on, the SEQ
retary waited until panic was impending,
not merely speculatOr's panic, but
stringency in the money market which
affected the banks of all the cities and seri-
Ously interRered with all the business oper-
ations of the country; and then he did what?
He gave out the money to the holders of
government bonds, under suoh circum-
stances as to enable them, and not him, to
control the money supply of this country at
their pleasure. The money which the day
before yesterday was in the treasury and
liable to be put out by the will of the score
tsry, to-day is in the hands of the men who
own the bonds TO the amount of SIG, 100000,
and more than thst-about $50, 900, ,O0O-be-
cause the bonds were bought at about %
per cent. premium or something over, and
it is perfectly safe to say that these men
having this money, and thereby this great
control over the money market, will use it
TO better themselves and their interests, and
not the interests Of the people of the United
States.
Now, if this money, instead of being
dumped into the pockets Of favored few,
had been put into the channels of trade as
fast as it came into the treasury last year,
and the year before, and last month, and
the month before, it could not have been
subject to the control of anybody, because
like blood in the human system, it would
have been dispersed through the entire
frame, performing it's legitimate functions.
l want to say now, as have said before,
not with the expectation of It's having any
effect, that nothing in the world but an
overwhelming calamity will ever divorce
the treasury from this malicious inter-
ference with the business of the country,
and that calamity will not come this year,
and hope it will never come, but we shall
never have the treasury occupying the
proper relations to the business of this ooun-
try until there has been a calamity which
enforces the wiokedness of the present sys-
tenn, which of course is not the misfortune
or fault of the person who may be for the
time being administering the treasury de-
partment, but the fault of the law and the
fault of the system, but still, whoever, ad-
ministers that system ought to consider him
self obligated by as solemn an obligation as
anybody ever operated under to put every
single dollar Of the money which he collects
from the people of the United States bsok
into the channels of trade at the earliest pos
sible moment in order that the withdrawal
Ofmoney by the collection Of taxes may not
be hurtful to the business interests of the
country.
Mr.. Stewart: Mr.. President, it is difficult
to conceive any reason why checks that are
given in the purchase of silver bullion should
not go through the ordinary channels of
trade in the manner as other checks 60
Mr.. Allison: l do not quite understand
what the senator means by "cheoks." AsI
understand the law, the secretary of the
treasury is required to pay out treasury
notes, but no checks at all. The law ex-
plicitly states that for 80 many ounces of
silver so many treasury notes shall be paid.
l do not see how under that provision checks
can be paid out.
Mr.. Plumb; Allow me to read from the
circular of the treasury department on this
subject:
Checks on the assistant treasurer of the
United States, in payment Of silver bullion
purchased at the United States mints, being
payable only in the new issue Of treasury
notes, should be presented at the counter Of
the sub b-treasurY, and not through kha az.