The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-08-02
.a scAPEGOAT.

imam Silver Act II Not Guilty Ct
1ne the Crimes Charged Against 1t.
J There seems to be vast amount Of
misconception abroad concerning the
operation and net results of the Sher-
man silver act 1t is charged with be-
ing the direct cause of the heavy ex-
portations of gold from the United
States to foreign nations. It is claimed,
that it, and it alone, is responsible for
the looting of the United States treas
ury of it's stores of gold. It is conf
IDENTIFY asserted even by those who
should know better, that it has caused
q contraction in the volume of money
in circulation. None of these charges
are true.
First, as to the gold exports. These
would have taken place if there had
never been.such law as the Sherman
silver act. The demand for gold abroad
was caused by the need of it in the re-
adjustment of Austria's financial sys-
tenn upon gold basis and the none
tary stringency resultant from the
failure of the Barring Bros. and the
financial collapse in Australia. We
had to settle an adverse balance of
trade, for the eleven months, ending
May 81, amounting to $SS, 527, 442. Some
of the gold was sent abroad to pay in
terest upon our interest bearing securi-
ties held abroad. Some was sent to
pay for United States investment Sc
curities held abroad and offered for
sale at bargain. Much of the gold
was exported for pure cussedness, for
the profit there was in it. All of it
would have gone, if there had been no
Sherman law.
Then as to the charge that gold was
taken from the treasury, in payment
for silver, through the medium of the
treasury notes paid out for the pur-
chase of silver bullion. Suppose there
had been no such treasury notes, could
not the gold have been just as easily
and promptly obtained for greenbacks?
The greenback notes are as much re-
deemable in gold as are the Sherman
silver notes, and in case the gold had
been taken out of the treasury with
greenbacks, the treasury would yet
have lost it's gold and instead of receiv-
ing silver for it would have got moth
ing at all.
have no official data from which to
ascertain just how much gold was
withdrawn from the treasury with
greenbacks, and without such data all
is mere conjecture The withdrawal
of gold from the treasury is continu-
GUS operation and the net loss by the
peoples government of so-called free
gold, as shown at the end of the year,
does not even approximately guage, or
measure the gold lost by the govern
ment. For instance: It is claimed that
there were $47, 900, 900 drawn out with
silver treasury notes, and yet the net
loss of free gold for the twelve months
in question was only S22, SO3, 1875, or less
than one-half of the amount drawn out
with silver treasury notes alone.
While it is officially stated that of
$40, 900, 900 in such silver treasury notes.
issued during the eleven months ended
May 81, 1898, SAT 900, 900 were presented
for redemption in gold, such amount is
but a portion of the gold drawn from
the treasury during the period in ques-
ton Allow me to show that much
more gold was withdrawn by other
means.
l will first show the official statement
of the stock of money of all kinds in
the country at the beginning and end
of the year ended June 1, 1898, as pub
lished by the United States treasury
officials.
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