Omaha daily bee., 1895-10-13
FEAR A GREAT DISTURBER
Apprehension of the Stability of the Cur
rency Caused a Loss Of Millions.
CARLISLE TALKS TO BUSINESS MEN
Free Coinage Sentiment ON the Wnnc
and One source of Danger Is
Thereby from the
Financial PrOblem.

" NhN v ilbiChN hbt Nv BiNSNAN tih'a''S
tration was listened to with the greatest in
terest. The secretary was welcomed by the
dinner committee of the club and escorted
to the hotel, where a reception was rendered
him by the officers of the club. An hour
was spent in general introductions and hand
shaking and shortly after Z O'Clock the peo-
pie filed into the large banquet room. The
guest OF the evening sat on the right of the
president of the club, George s, Hale. who
presided. At the same table were Collector
Winslow Warren, C. Austin Browne, Post
master Coveny, Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury C. S. Hamlin, Hon. j. e. Russell.
Prof. Charles Eliot Norton, Commander
Green. U. S. ~, General Francis A. Walker
and Prof. N. S. Shaler Of Harvard. At the
conclusion of the banquet President Hale
raped for order.
1--WE are democrats with Grover Cleve-
land" he said, land republicans with Teddy
Roosevelt. Sometimes we are republicans
with Edmunds, sometimes with Sherman,
and even with Greenhalge. We take our
property wherever We find 1t. But we some
times reject bad material" Mr.. Hale read
letters of regret from Carl Schurz, john
Dewitt Warner Of New York, Senator Hoar,
Governor Greenhalge. Lyman j. Gage OF
Chicago, Chief Justice Field and many
others.
CHEERED HI SPEAKER.
The principal guest of the evening was
/ luEH lulIOluCtu. It was ClN WIN
three cheers, led by C. Austin Browne. Sec
rotary Carlisle began by asserting that the
business men Of Boston needed no instruc-
tons upon the subject of Sound currency
He said they deserved the thanks of the
whole country for having laid aside their
party politics in their honest efforts during
the past two or three years to uphold the
administration at Washington and help sus-
tain the credit and honor Of the government
and prevent the depreciation of its cur
rency. He spoke of the action of Boston
bankers, who, at a critical period in the
business affairs of the country, Utmost emp
tied their vaults of gold by depositing $4,000
900 in the treasury to replenish the vanish
ing reserve, and how, at a later date, when
the enemies of the public credit were de-
n~ouncing the administration for its conduct
of our financial affairs, the Boston Chamber
of Commerce assembled at a special meeting
and %nanimously called upon the senators
and representatives from Massachusetts, to
lay aside all questions of party advantage
and assist in the work of restoring public
confidence"
He said this action had been fully appre-
clated at Washington and not wholly unex-
pected. Continuing he said: THE mere
apprehension that our currency might be
debased by the inability of the government
to continue the policy Of redeeming its OBJ
legations in gold has already produced one
of the greatest financial disturbances that
ever occurred in our history and resulted in
the loss Of thousands Of millions of dollars
to our people. There were doubtless other
causes contributing to this result. but this
was the most potent in this country, and
without 1t we should not have suffered more
than other parts Of the world from the gen
eral depression. What would have been the
consequence if these apprehensions had
proved correct and the government had in
| fact been unable or unwilling to maintain an
equal e~xchangeable value Of all forms of the
currency in the hands of the people, no man
can tell.
ONE CAUSE OF DISTURBANCE.
Fortunately one of the causes which con-
tributed largely to produce a feeling Of dis
trust and apprehension, and which very
greatly intensified that feeling at all the
stages of our long financial struggle, has sub
stantially ceased to exert any influence over
the minds of the people here or abroad. /
mean the persistent and aggressive agita-
ton in favor of the free coinage Of legal
tender silver, which for a long time seri-
ously threatened to revolutionize our
monetary system and reduce our
entire volume of currency to about
half its present value. | do not
mean to assert that there was ever a time
when there was real danger that this would
be done, but there were times when the SEN
timent in its favor was so strong and so ag-
gressive in it's character that there were at
least reasonable grounds for the fear that it
might be accomplished and especially reason
able grounds for such a fear upon the part
u llN'SlOl u NV NV 6N
movement has lost its momentum and is no
longer formidable or aggressive. 1t is on the
defensive now, and when a revolutionary
movement is compelled to halt and defend
itself, the end is not far off.
at would not be correct to say that the con-
test is over, because the sentiment in favor
of the free coinage of silver is still quite strong
in some parts of the country, but it is not
strong enough to exert a controlling in1u-
ence in the councils Of either of the great po-
| 1t,a,l nnrtfAr and militant chic a. Aa n n
complish nothing in the form of legislation or
in the determination of administrative policy.
No well informed man now believes that our
standard of value will be changed or that the
financial policy which has been steadily pur-
sued by the present administration will be
abandoned" The secretary then reverted to
his oftrepeated arguments In favor Of a gold
standard as against the free coinage of silver.
ONE OTHER SOURCE OF DANGER.
He declared, however, that the abandon
ment or defeat of the free silver movement
must not be expected to long be sufficient
to insure permanent financial peace. He
went at length into the questions of the gov
errment's obligation under the $346, 900, 900 of
outstanding notes subject to redemption upon
presentation. One of the most important
subjects the people have now to consiIer is
whether they can afford to adhere longer
to a system which periodically augments the
public debt, for the purpose Of securing
gold by issuing bonds, to be exchanged for
notes which, when redeemed, are not re-
tired and cancelled, but are reissued and put
in circulation to be over and over again
presented for redemption.
80 far as the merits of this single ques-
ton are affected" he said, 1T is immaterial
whether our standard of value is to be gold
or silver, because the coin for
purposes, whether 1t be gold coin Or silver
coin, must be provided by the government
and 1t can be procured only by the sale Of
bonds.
whether we continue to maintain the
gold standard of value or debase our currency
to the silver standard. the obligation of the
government to redeem its notes in coin upon
presentation will remain, and consequently
the question whether the notes when re-
deemed shall be retired and cancelled or re-
issued is one which cannot be avoided or
settled by a change in our coinage laws. 1t
must be settled by legislation in another d.
rection and the advocates Of free coinage of
silver at the ratio of 16 to l or at any other
ratio are as much interested in its solution
as the opponents Of that policy"
The secretary declared 1t to be his opinion
that the notes left outstanding ought to be
retired as speedily as a sound and safe cur
rency can be secured to take their places,
He said he would not take the time to dis
cuss the various plans for the retirement
Of the old United States notes, but he assured
his hearers that until such time as congress
should enact the necessary legislation Ia
| eliminate this plament from, tho natGon'u