The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-02-13
ROTHSCH|LD and MORGAN
Men Who Will Lend Uncle Sam
Foreign Gold
TERMS OF PAYMENT SECRET
The Financiers Feared Bankers Would
Corner the Coin
Secretary Carlisle Discusses the Loan With
the House Committee on Ways w
and neans

Washington, Feb. 12.-The House Com
mittee on Ways and Means consumed the
day-one more of the ten days within
which the Treasury has an opportunity to
make the new bonds payable in gold-and
made decided progress toward an agree
ment on plan to be reported to.sthe
House. After being closeted for two hours
with Secretary Carlisle, the committee
talked over the situation, delegated the
framing of an agreement to sub-com-
mttee of three Democrats and two Re-
publicans and late in the afternoon
learned that its subcommittee had
dropped partisan differences and found
common ground.
The resolution reported by the quintette
at the last meering was one authorizing
the Secretary of the Treasury to issue
1853, 900 900 in per cent bonds, payable in
gold, with the proviso that none of the
proceeds shall be used for current ex-
penses and further provision regarding
Secretary Carlisle; repeating the law
which requires the Government to redeem
national bank notes and requiring banks
to redeem their notes in the first instance.
Inquiry was made if there was minority
report, and Mr.. Reed said there was none.
Mr.. Bryan, Democrat of Nebraska, Of
fered a resolution recommending that the
Secretary of the Treasury should pay all
obligations of the Government in either
gold or silver whichever it was most con-
venient to use.
Secretary Carlisle went before the COM
mittee shortly after 1 O'Clock. He pre-
sented "a copy of the contract which had
been called for. 1t was drawn in legal
form and bore the signatures of John G.
Carlisle, Secretary of the Treasury J.
Pierrepont Morgan for J. s. Morgan of
London; August Belmont, for N. M.
Rothschild, and was witnessed by Francis
Lynde Stetson of New York, formerly
President Cleveland's law partner. The
principal features OF the contract were
made known in the Presidents message.
Upon one point the Secretary particularly
enjoined the committee to maintain Sc
crecy, and that was regarding the dates
for making the payments for the bon'
He asked for secrecy, he said, ct the re-
quest of the financiers who have agreed to
take the bonds because they feared the
bankers would corner the gold of the world
against them if the time it would be
needed was known and the methods by
which it was to be obtained. According
ly the committee adopted resolution
pledging its mem bers not to reveal the
terms of the document so far as it con-
cerned the payment. Many questions
were asked the Secretary, which he an
swered in order.
In answer to other questions, he as
sured the committee of his belief that
plan could be devised to stop the outflow
of gold, and of his strong hope that the
forthcoming bond issue would maintain
the gold reserve at its high-water mark
for several months.
After the Secretary had departed Mr..
Cochran announced that he could not
support Chairman Wilson'S resolution,
because it was simply a makeshift to
meet a present emergency and offered no
help to the treasury in the event of SINH
lar exigencies before the next session of
Congress.
Thereupon Mr.. Tarsney offered reso-
luton to empower the Secretary to issue
2 per cent gold bonds whenever the needs
of the treasury might require them, with
the proviso that the proceeds were not
to be used to pay current expenses.
Then a subcommittee was appointed to
draft plan with Messrs. Wilson, Tur-
ner and McMilin, Democrats, and the
Republicans chose Messrs. Reed and
Hopkins to represent them, and the
committee took a recess to enable the
subcom mittee to meet.