Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-02-07
GOLD WITHDRAWALS.
How to Check the Tremendous Draft on
tho National Treasury.

GOLD WITHDRAWALS
How to Check the Tremendous Draft on
tho National Treasury.
The ''endless chain is pumping gold
ont of the treasury at rate which
gives concern to the administration
and delight to the silver crowd. The
withdrawal on Friday, January 25,
amounted to Sc, CSC, 600, which was more
than ever before in one day.
The Withdrawals for that week were
BIZ, 5sO,OOO; for the present month, to
the end Of last week, S2s, 2O3, 574, and
for December, S31 .263, O91. Since De-
cember 1. or in ffty-seven days, the
treasury has had to pay out $50, 466. sos
of gold coin in redemption of green
backs and Sherman notes, or more than
was realized from the last bond sale OF
$50, OOO. 900.
On December 10, shortly after the
last issue of bonds was paid for. the
amount of the gold reserve, or net gold.
was 500, s21, 42o. It is now reduced to
$50, 7s2, s58. This Is not SO low as it was
on August 20, when it was $52, 400, 1877.
but it is about 50, OOO, 900 less than it
was when the last lot of bonds was put
upon the market.
It is not surprising, therefore, that a
new issue is looked for and that various
rumors in connection with it have been
put afOat. From the state of the treas
ury when the issues of February and
November were made the inference is
that, in the opinion of the administers
ton, it is not safe to allow a reserve to
be reduced as low as $50, 200, 900. From
this, and from what the president said
in his annual message last month, it is
reasonable to expect that another lot
soon.
The paragraph of the message re-
ferred to is very emphatic, and it is
worth quoting in this crisis of treasury
affairs It is as follows:
Il cannot for the moment believe that any Of
our citizens are deliberately willing that their
government should default in its pecuniary
obligations or that its financial operations
should be reduced to q silver basis. At any
rate. should not feel that my duty was done
II omitted any effort could make to avert o
Is made for the final redemption or the putting
aside Of the currency obligation now used to
re peatedIy and constantly draw from the gov
eminent its gold, and as long as no better au-
thority for bond issues is allowed than OF
present exists, such authority will be utilized
whenever and Us often as 1t becomes necessary
to maintain sufficient gold reserve, and In
abundant time to save the credit Of our coun-
try and make good the financial declarations
Of our government"
But it is getting to be a serious ques-
ticn how many of these bond issues
will be necessary to accomplish the
purpose stated in the above passage. 1t
became necessary to borrow some $685.
100000 last February, and as much
more in less than ten months, and now,
in less than two months, the last lot of
gold borrowed is more than exhausted,
and the end is not in sight.
There is just one way, and only one,
to maintain gold payments and yet put
a stop to the working of the endless
chain" That way is to authorize the
secretary of the treasury to retire the
legal tenders as fast as he redeems
them, and give him the means of doing
so. The president is reported to have
said SO lately; and he is right beyond
all question. If the legal tenders must
be returned to circulation as fast and
as often as they are redeemed there is
no telling how many times it will be
necessary to borrow gold only to see it
drawn out again.
No act of congress authorizing some
other kind of bond will make any diff
ference. 1t is not a question of the
kind of bond, but of protecting the
treasury against the danger of having
the legal tenders presented again and
again for redemption, and that can
only be answered by making the re-
demption final.
But we are told that the republicans
in congress will not permit that to be
done so long as they have the power
to kill anything they please in the SEN
ate. Then there is nothing to do but
issue more bonds or suspend gold pay
ment.
There is talk to the effect that the
president is willing to make consider
able concessions to the silver men If they
will assist in passing bill for the re-
tirement of legal tenders. But to make
concessions to the silverites would only
be going from bad to worse. It is too
much silver that ails US now. 1t is in
that, and that only, that the danger
lies of a sudden drop to the silver basis
the very thing which the president
rightly regards as a calamity. Any
concession to the silverites would re-
suit in still more rapid withdrawal of
gold from the treasury and an early
suspension of gold payments.-Chicago