The herald., 1895-02-19

should have had the right to pay them off
any time after ten years. How anyone
could raise an objection to making them
gold bonds l cannot see, as the bonds
were undoubtedly to be paid for in gold,
and should, consequently, have been re-
paid in the same. coin. There is one
point in the above bill which think can
be specially commended, and which
would be of signal service to the whole
country, namely, the retiring all paper cur
rency of a denomination less than $lO Peo-
pie in the East generally use very little sill
yer, and it was owing to their clamor that
the smaller silver certificates and bills were
issued. The action of this bill would have
caused large amount of silver now lying
idle in the treasury to be brought into
circulation, and would have gotten those
people, unaccustomed to it, now to both
use and like it as a subsidiary coin. 1t
would also have demonstrated to those
persons who are entirely welded to silver
and believe that it should be the currency
of the United States, the utter futility OF
our trying to live on silver basis. This
has been frequently exhibited to me when
attempting to pay persons who we're
theoretically silverites in that coin when
called for by checks in their hands. In
almost every case the silver was rejected
by them in favor of gold or paper. j
therefore think that this schooling would
be of great benefit to all parties; making
that silver still had large use, and max
ing those who are welded to silver
see that it was impracticable as an abso-
lutte basis of currency. Mexico is an OBJ
ject lesson which it sometimes seems TO
me these people entirely disregard. 4
prominent attorney said to me few
days ago that he did not see why the
United States Government should need to
take up its greenbacks that it should be
able to float any amount of such currency
it chose and without interest. / replied
to him that the Government was in the
position of a man whose credit has be-
come impaired by his expenses being
larger than his income that while suchsa
person might for time float a number of
demand bills, STILL his only safe course
eventually would be to so arrange his
pecuniary affairs by issuing bonds o.
mortgages, SO that he could not be called
upon at any time on demand for sums
that he might not be able to pay. lss
Experience has proved that the Govern
ment is poorly equipped for going intp
the banking business. A bank having IA
few hundred directors who vary greatly in
their financial ideas would be corpora
ton which could not expect any success,
and that is the condition in which the
Government finds itself today. Havinga
credit which should be second to none on
the globe, the officers of the Governments
have had their hands tied for the lack Of
necessary egsation, and the whole coun-
try is waiting in suspense on account of
the lack of decision exhibited. No private
corporation would allow itself to suffer for
this cause when it was SO well equipped
with actual resources. 1t seems 10 be the
general impression that no financial leg
islation may be looked for from the pres
ent Congress, and it is likely that the
President will call TIE incoming Congress
into immediate session, in order to con-
slider these matters. L think, however,
that if the matter could be tided over for
a few months that the receipts from the
income tax will so strengthen the Gov
ernment that the trouble will be Temporal.
rily, at least, past, and that longer time
may be allowed for thorough and care
full revision of the financial methods OF
the country. .