Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1895-12-11

Reri0d. n WIN b seen by referenee to II
| eeoafes In congress at the timc laws vus
passed authorizing s.he issue of these notes.
! that their advocates declared they were in
tended for only Temporal y use and to meet the
emergency of war. In almost, If not ali, the
| laws relating 70 them, some provision was
made contempla ting their voluntary or COM
| puisory retirement. A large quantity of them,
| however. were kept on foot and mingled with
| the currency or the country, so that at the
close of the year 1874 they amounted to $751;.
g99,97& Immediately after that date and in
January, 1873, Law was passed providing for
the resumption of specie payment by
which the Secretary of the Treasury
was required, whenever additional circu-
| lation was Issued to National banks
to retire United States notes in equal amount
TO " per cent OF such additional National bank
| circulation until such notes were reduced to
500 100000. This Law further provides that on
| and after the last day of January, 1879 the
United States notes then outstanding, should
be redeemed in coin, and in order to provide
and prepare for such redemption the secretary
| OF the treasury was authorized not only to use
| any surplus revenues of the government, but to
! issue bonds OF the United States and dispose Of
them for coin and to use the proceeds for the
! purposes contemplated by the statute.
| In May, 1S7S, and before the date thus ap-
pointed for the redemption and retirement OF
these notes, another statute was passed for
bidding their furthee cancellation and retire
ment. Some OF them had, however, been pre-
viously redeemed anA cancelled upon the issue
| OF additional national bank circulation as per-
| mltted by the law of 1875. so that the amount
outstanding at the time of the passage of the
| act forbidding their further retirement was
SaO,osl.O16. The law of 1878 did not stop at dis
| tinct prohibition but contained in addition
me Ionowing provision, And when any
OF said notes may be redeemed or
| be received into the treasury under
! any law, from any source whatever and
shalI belong to the United States, they, hall not
| be retired. cancelled, or destroyed. but they
shall be re-issued and paid out again and ke pt
| in circulation" This was the conditi on Of af-
fairs an the 1st day Of January, 1879, which had
oeen liked upon four years before the date
for entering upon the redemption and retire
ment or all these notes, and for which such
abundant means had been provided The gov
ernment was put in the anomalous situation of
owing to thu holders of its notes. debts payable
i In gold on demand which could nett her be re-
| tired by receiving such notes in discharge of
obligations due the government not cancelled by
actual payment in gold. 1t was forced to re-
deem without redemption and to pay without
acQuittance
There has been issued and sold S95, SOC, 900 of
the bonds author. zed by the resumption act of
1875, the proceeds of which, together with other
| gold In the treasury, cteate1 gold fund deemed
sufficient to meet the demands which might be
made upon it for the redemption of the out
standing United State, notes. This fund, to-
| gether with such other gold as might be from
time totime in the treasury available for the
! same purpose has been since called our gold
reserve and 500 O)O,o00 has been regarded as an
| adequate amount to accomplish its object.
This fund amounted on the 1st day of January
1873, to STA. ,136 and though thereafter con-
stantly huctuatiug, it did not fall below that
: sum In July, 1892 In April, 1893, for ths first
time since its establishment this reserve
amounted to less than S1O0, 600 con tanning
| at th at date only $97 oil ,S31.
The Bond Contract.
The message reviews at great length the low
erlng OF the gold reserve, the shipment of gold,
the issuing of bonds, the entering into the bond
contract with capitalists, and his messages 10
Congress for relief. Continuing, the President
| says:
The Congress having declined to grant the
necessary authority to secure this saving the
| contract unmodified was carried out, resulting
IN IN gold reserve amounting to s107,s7l $50 on
the Sth day of July, 1885, The performance of
this contract not only restored the reserve but
| check ed for time the Withdrawals of gold and
brought on period of restored confidence and
such peace and quiet in business circles as
were of the greatest possible value to every in
| terest that affects our people. have never had
| the slightest misgiving concerning the wisdom
| or propriety of this arrangement, and am quite
willing to answer for my full share of response.
| blllty for its promotion.
| believe 1t averted disaster the imminence
| OF which is fortunately not at this time geuer.
| ally unders TODD by our people Though the
| contra It mentioned stayed for time the tide
OF gold withdrawal, its good results could not
| be permanent. Recent Withdrawals have re-
duced the reserve from S107, ,5I1, ,2iO on the eth
day OF July, 1895, to S79,3SS,9.6. How long it
! will remain large enough to render its increase
unnecessary is only matter of conjecture
though quite large Withdrawals for shipment
| In the Immediate future are predicted in well
informed quarters About S16,OOO,OOO has
been withdrawn during the month of November
The foregoing statement of events and condi-
tions develop the fact that after increasing our
interest bearing bonded indebtedness more
than $162 .OOO,0 600 to save gold reserve, we
| are nearly where we started, having now in
such reserve $.9,333,9e0, against $65 l3s377 in
February 1894, when the first bonds were issued
! Though the amount of gold drawn from ths
| treasury appears to be very largo, as gathered
| from the facts and figures herein present il
| actually was much larger. considerable sums
having been acquired by the treasury within
the several periods stated without the issue of
bonds.
On the 18th of January 1885, it was reported
/ by the secretary of the treasury that more than
S1I2,OOO,OO0 of gold had been withdrawn for
boarding shipment during tho year pre-
ceeding. He now reports that from January l.
| 1873, to July Il, 1890, period of more than 10
years, only little over $2S,0O0.0O0 was with
| drawn and that between July H. 1890 the date
OF the passage of the law for an increased pur-
chase of silver, and the first day of December
| 1895, or within less than five and a half years
there was withdrawn nearly $375 100000,
making the total of more than 100000
drawn from the treasury in gold since January
lst., 1879, the date fixed in 1875 for the retire
ment of the United States notes.
| Nearly $S27,9O0, 600 of the gold thus withdrawn
nave been paid out on these United States
notes, and yet every one of the $l6O01,O 900 is
still uncancelled and ready to do service in fu-
| ture gold dep!etioas. More than SIS, ,OO) .O0 in
gold has since their creation in 1870 been paid
out from the treasury upon the notes given on
the purchase of silver by the governments:
and yet the whole amounting to s155 900 900
except little more than $1,000, 600 which have
been retired by exchanges for silver at the re
| quest of the holders, remain outstanding and
prepared to join their older and mora AZ.
perienccd allies In future raids upon the treas
| ury's gold reserve.
On July !, ls92, morS than a year and n half
| before ths first bonds were issued to replenish
the gold reserve, there was a net balance in the
treasury exclusive of such reserve of less
| than SiS.0OO,O00, but the gold reserve
amounted to more than Sill, 100000, which wa,
the quoting feature of the situation. 1t was
| when the stock of god began rapidly tn faIl
that fright supervened an d our securities beId
1 abroad were returned for sale and debts owed
abroad were pressed for payment. In the mean
| time extensive shipments of gold and 9th or nm.
! favorable indications caused restlessness and
| fright among our people at home.
IL Q act OF July IL 1890, in still bolder effort
increased tn, amount of liver the Government
| was compelled to purchase and forced it tr
become the buyer annually of ss ooo oo<1
ounces. or practically the entire pro
duct OF cur mines Under both laws
| silver rapidly and steadily declined in yalue.
The prophecy and the expressed hope and ex-
| petation OF those in the congress who led in
che passage OF the last mentioned act that IL