The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-01-11
CONGRESS WARNED
SHOULD OPPOSE CLEvELAND'S
RECOMMENDATION.
CONGRESS, and Not Carlisle. Has tiae Power
to Emit Bills of Credit, or in Other
Words, to Issue BOntls-GenexaIR Reform
Notes.
People Will Protest.

TeOvDlt " EOtcsts
Congress should be very determined
in It's opposition to at least one OF the
Presidents recommen> lations. We re-
fer t.. the one recommending increased
discretionary power for the Secretary
of tt 6 Treasury to issue new bonds or
indefinitely continue old ones at his
owl, sweet will. That is power which
the trainers of the Constitution wisely
lodged with Congress. Congress
shall have the power to emit bills of
credit" is the reading of the Constitu-
ton. and bonds are merely one form
of bills Of credit, and none of them
should at any time be issued except
upon express orders to that effect.
More than that, it would be a danger
Gus experiment to enact any law which
would permit the slightest infringe
ment Of the constitutional inhibition
imposed against their issue by any
other than congressional authority.
Jnasmuch as it seems that bv some not
very easily understood Interpretation
of the present laws, the Secretary Of
the Treasury has assumed, to some
extent at least, the power constitutions
ally vested in Congress, that body
should at once by express statute, or
in some way, take away this assumed
power. This should be done on gen
eral principles, as Il matter of common
prudence, even were there no other
reason for doing it.
But there is another reason at the
present time why the Secretary should
no. exercise this unconstitutional
pc Yer and very potent one. The
favor of more bonds comes from men
an influences who intend by that
met hod to replace ut least II portion of
tn, corporate and individual Obliga
tions. now held by foreigners, with
government bonds, which are much
safer and al oSethcr more desirable in
vestmcrt. The process by which this
IS t., be accomplished is very sim ple
If or.cc the issue of government bonds
is assured.
Fnst, the bonds will be sold for
the treasury. This can only be OBJ
taincH abroad, as gold is so scarce in
this country now that less than one
bali o! one per cent of the import du-
ties as the New York Custom House
are beng paid in gold.
Second, after the bonds are sold and
the geld is III the treasury, the foreign
holders of various corporate and lIidi-
vidual securities will begin to put
them on the New York market, thus
forcing the corporations which issucd
k1,,,,, ,,.i,,1.1, fh.x-
only Do with gold.
Third, these American corporations,
in or(.er to protect their securities, will
begin rushing to the federal treasury
for gold with which to cover their
shortage, presenting in exchange for
it silver certificates, treasury notes,
interest con- ons, and various other
treasury obligations, and in Il short
time they will run the reserve dosn
again, just as they did last July scd
August by the same means.
When this point is reached the for
Signers will hold the gold and govern
eminent bonds, instead of the corpora
tian bonds anil gold which they DOW
hold.
To be sure. these foreign schemers
are very modest i'll their first demands,
they only ask that 500, 900 of the
government bonds be issued, to start
with, and do not even intimate that
they will ever nsk for more, but if Che
present state OF the treasury justities
an Issue of that kind, why will not a
similar condition six months later JUS
tify another such issue? And another
ono still later? Who can give any pos
tive assurance that these recurring
ISSUES. once begun, will cease until
every dollar of the seven or eight bill
ions Of corporate and private obliga
tionf now held abrGad are replaced b,
government bonds:
In view of the vast interests which
are possibly involved and the trcmen
dous pressure which y therefore likel,
TO be brought to bear on The Secretar.
of the Treasury to exercise his discre
ton. can Congress with safety to TIL,
people ahrogate its constitutional RICH
to emit bills OF credit IN favor of TIL
Secretary of the Treas!s, Farmers
Tribune.