The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1893-08-12
! II19lD1le ! MESSAGE.
It Deals Only With Financial
Troubles.
MAINLY a STATEMENT OF FACTS
Recommends n Repeal OF the ssIivaE
Purchasing Clause.

Recommends Repeal OF the siivar
Purchasing Clause.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Aug S.-Presi-
dent Cleveland's message, which was
| read to both houses of congress to-day at
noon. is as follows:
To the Congress Of the United States:
The existence of an alarming and ex-
| traordinary business situation, involving
the welfare and prosperity of all our peo-
| pie, has constrained ME to call together
in extra session the peoples representa-
tlveS in congress, to the end that, through
| the wise and patriotic exercise of the leg
islative duty with which they are solely
| charged, the present evils may be nliti-
| gated and the dangers threatening the fu-
| ture may be avoided. Our unfortunate
| financial plight is not the result of un-
| toward events nor of conditions related to
| our financial resources, nor is it traceable
| to any of the Affections which frequently
| check national growth and prosperity
| With plenteouS crops, with abundant
| promise OF remunerative production and
! manufactures, with unusual invitation to
surance to business enterprise, suddenly
| financial distrust and fear have sprung up
on every side. Numerous monetary in
stitutlonS have suspended, because abun-
dant assets were not Immediately avail
| able to meet the demands of frightened
depositors. The surviving corporations
| and individuals are content to keep in
| hand money they are usually anxious to
| loan, and those engaged in legitimate
business are surprised to find that the Sc
curities they offer for loans, though here
totore satisfactory, are no longer aC-
cepted. Values supposed to be fixed
are fast becoming conjectural, and loss
| and failure have invaded every branch of
business. | believe these things are
principally chargeable to congressional
| legislation touching purchase and coinage
of silver by the general government.
| This legislation is embodied i'll the stat
ute passed July ID, 1890, which was the
! elimination of much agitation on the SUBJ
ject involved, and which may be consid-
cred truce, after long struggle, be-
tween the advocates of free silver coinage
and those intending to be more conserv-
ative. Undoubtedly the monthly pur-
chases by the government of a, 500, 900
ounces Of silver, forced under that stat
ute, were regarded by those interested in
| silver production as certain guaranty of
its increase in price The result, how
ever, has been entirely different, for i'm
mediately following spasmodic and
slight rise, the price of silver began to
| fall after the passage of the act, and has
since reached the lowest price ever
known. This disappointing result has
| led to a renewed and persistent effort in
the direction Of free silver coinage.
EVIL EFFECT OF THE SHERMAN LAW.
Meanwhile not only are the evil effects
! of the present law constantly accumulat-
| ing, but the result to which its execution
| must inevitably lead is becoming palpa-
BILE to all who give the least heed to the
financial subject. This law provides that
in payment for a, 500, 900 ounces of silver
bullion, which the secretary of the treas
ury is commanded to purchase monthly,
there shall be issued treasury notes re-
deemable on demand in gold or silver
coin, at the discretion OF the secretary of
the treasury, and thar said notes may be
re-issued.. 1t IS, however, declared in the
act to bee.'the established policy Of the
United States to niaiBtain the two metals
upon a parity wigh each other upon the
present legal ratio, or such ratio as may
be provided by Isw." This declaration
SO controls the'aeiion of the secretary of
the treasury as TO prevent his exercising
the discreuon Hominally vested in him, if
by such action the parity between gold
and silver may be disturbed. Manifestly
refusal by the secretary to pay these
treasury notes in gold as demanded
would necessarily result in their discredit
and depreciation as obligations payable
o,lx, = 81,
parity between the two metals by eStab-
fishing discrimination in favor of gold.
SILVER BULLION PURCHASED.
Up to July IS, 1898, these notes had
been issued in payment for silver bullion
purchased, to the amount of more than
$I47, 200, ,ooo While all but very small
quantity 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 illus
trated by the statement that between
May I, 1892, and July IS, 1898, notes of
this kind issued in payment for silver bull
lion amounted to a little more than $54,-
900, 900, and that during the same period
about SAG, 900, 900 was paid by the treas
ury in gold for the redemption of such,
notes. The policy necessarily adopted
of paying these notes in gold has not
spared the gold reserve of $780, 900, 600
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 SI5o'ooo,. 600 on account of silver
purchases, and has, as a consequence,
for the first time since its creation, been
encroached upon. We have thus made
the depletion of our gold easy, and have
asked other and more appreciative ma
tons to add it to their stock. That the
opportunity we have offered has not been
neglected is shown by the large amounts
of gold which have been recently drawn
from our treasury and exported to in
crease the financial strength of foreign
nations.
EXCESS OF GOLD EXPORTS.
The excess of exports of gold over its
imports for the year ending June 80, 1893,
amounts to more than $751;, 900, 900. Be
tween July I, 1892, and July IS, 1898,
the gold coin and bullion in our treasury
decreased more than $I32. 900 900, while
during the same period silver coin and
bullion in the treasury increased more
than SI47, 900, 900. Unless government
bonds are to be constantly issued and
sold to replenish our exhausted gold,
only to be again exhausted, it is appar-
ent that the operation of the silver-pur-
chase law now in force leads in the direc-
ton of the entire substitution of silver for
gold in the government treasury, and
that this must be followed by the pay
ment of all government obligations in
deprecated silver. AT this stage gold
and silver must part company, and the
government must fail in its established
policy to malntaiu the two metals on a
parity with each other. Given over to an
exclusive use of currency greatly depre-
ciated, according to the standard of the |
commercial world, we could no longer
claim place among nations of the first |
class; nor could our government claim |
the performance of its obligation, so far |
as such obligation has been imposed upon |
it. to provide for the use of the people |
the best and safest money. If, as many
of its friends claim, silver ought to oc-
cupy larger place in our currency and |
the currency of the world through great |
cooperation and agreement,
tits obvious the United States will not be
in position to gain hearing in favor of
such an arrangement so long as we are
willing % continue our attempt to accom-
plish the result single-handed.
BOARDING THEIR MILLIONS.
The knowledge in business. circles
among our people that our government
cannot make its fiat equivalent to intrin-
SIC value, nor keep inferior money on a
parity with superior money by its own in
dependent efforts, has resulted in such a