The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-20

of America.
NEW YORK, Nov. 19.-The 127th an
nual banquet of the chamber of COM
merce of the state of New York was
held at Delmonicos this evening. The
yearly dinner of this organization is
among the most important events of
the metropolis and that of tonight was
no exception. The chamber always
musters notable speakers and dis
tinguished men around its board. Ut
terances that have moved the policy
of the government have been made ON
these occasions and it was at the end
of the chambers dinner that Secretary
of the Treasury Window was stricken
with sudden death a few years ago.
Covers were set for 275 tonight.
The decorations were striking. Back
of President Orr's chair was the seal
of the chamber surmounted by silk
and golden braided coat of arms of
the United States, draped in American
flags and flanked by the seals of the
state and city of New York. 1t was
somewhat after 8 O'Clock when Presi-
dent Orr, welding the gavel of the
chamber, raped for order. and in
brief speech, in which he referred to
the Armenian atrocities introduced
Secretary Carlisle who spoke on Our
Currency System" He said in part:
Fundamental Vice.
| Mr.. President and Gentlemen: l
have but little to say this evening and
will take but little time to say it
Two years ago at your annual ban
quet I said that the disposition and
ability of the government to maintain
/ it's own credit at the highest standard
and to preserve the integrity of all the
forms of currency in circulation among
the people, could not be reasonably
doubted and ought not to be the SUBJ
ject of further controversy. But the
task is both difficult and expensive.
Since that declaration was made here.
interest bearing bonds 10 the amount
/ of $1G2, 315, 400 have been issued to pro-
! cure gold for the redemption of the
United States notes.
The notes still remain the same as at
the beginning. The notes are redeem
ed, but they are unpaid. Our. legal
standard of value is as sound as any
country in the world, and if we had
such a currency system as to guaran-
tee it's permanent maintenance, no gov
eminent would command a larger
credit or realize greater benefits from it
than ours, but the great investors of
the world appreciate the difficulties
under which we are laboring and until
these difficulties are removed, we can
not reasonably hope to see perfect
confidence restored at home or abroad.
Legal Tender.
,+o1
cy system is the legal tender notes re-
deemable in coin by the government
and reissued under the law. There are
other defects but this threatens the
stability Of the whole volume of our
currency. So long as these notes are
outstanding the slightest diminution
of the coin reserve at once eXcites a
feeling of apprehension and distrust,
affects the value of all securities. cur
tails investments and more or less sys-
tematically embarrasses all business
affairs of the people. In attempting to
provide circulating medium consist
ing of its own notes redeemable in coin
on presentation and reasonable after
redemption. the government of the
United States is engaged in a business
for which it is wholly untitled and
which was never for moment con-
tempiated by its founders. 1t has a
dences of the debt, but it was never
contemplated that it should convert
itself into bank of issue and furnish
legal tender paper currency for the
use. of the people. The treasure de-
partment ought to be simply a pub
lie agency for the management of The
fiscal affairs of the government-as a
government not as bank
But Little tic Say.
No changes in our currency system
will afford relief unless it provides for
the retirement of legal tenders.
The circulation of legal tenders has
a tendency to drive out of use and out
of the country the very coin in which
the government is compelled to re-
deem them, and it has expelled mil
lions of dollars from our borders. AL
though the government and our people
are compelled to receive them. thew
will not discharge International obIi-
cations, and gold must &, out to set
tie all final balances against u.s. No
other government in the world is re-
quired to supply gold from it's treasury
to discharge the private obligations
of its citizens.
While the pecuniary loss to which
the people have been subjected by
the issue and continued circulation Of
ie5ai leiluei paper mas Deen almost lT.-
calculable. this has not been the chief
Injury inflicted upon the country. The
theories that the government can ere
ate money by placing it's stamp
upon paper or other materi-
ais; that a legislative enact
ment can make fifty cents equal
IN value to one hundred cents that ar
tificially inflated prices paid in a de-
preciated currency are better for the
r1-ica
sound currency, and various vagaries
now floating like bubbles in the politi-
cal atmosphere are all attributable to
the long continued use of legal ten
der paper. The proposition that a
promise of the government to pay
money is money, is just as absurd as
the proposition that a promise to de-
liver a horse is a horse, and yet there
are eminent men, high in public coun-
cils. hfii6a5cS