The San Francisco call., 1895-11-18
TO RETIRE GREENBACKS,
President Cleveland in Favor of
Their DiScontinuance as
Money.
Will Urge Congress to Reform the
Currency Methods of This
Government.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Nov. lit is
learned from gentleman who is close
friend of a member of the Cabinet that
President Cleveland, in his annual mes
sage to Congress, will recommend the re-
tirement of green backs. This recommen-
dation will be the chief feature of the
message, so far as domestic affairs are con-
cerned. The President has had number
of conferences with Secretary Carlisle at
Woodley concerning this part OF the mes
sage, and it comes from excellent sources
that the financial part of the message has
been mapped out and agreed upon.
The President will return to the attack
upon Congress for a reform of our cur
rency methods. He will say that the Ex-
ecutive has done all within his constitu-
tional power to protect the National credit
under the clumsy system now in vogue,
and will point out what the dangers of
this system are. He will take the ground
that the difficulty is not in any sense one
of revenue, but of the attempt to main
tain gold reserve and hundreds of mil
lions of notes redeemable in gold upon de-
mand at the same time.
The President will call the attention of
Congress to the fact that no other Govern
ment in the world attempts to keep its
commerce and banking, this distinction
being left to the United States alone. He
will repeat his former descriptions of the
manner in which the use of these demand
notes over and over again-the Secretary
OF the Treasury being by law required to
pay them out as fast as they are received
forms the s'endless chain" of gold deple-
ton about which so much was heard a
week ago.
The form OF remedy agreed upon between
the President and Secretary Carlisle, and
to be set forth in the message, is very
simple. 1t consists of recommendation
that the statute of 1878 requiring the Sec
retary of the Treasury to reissue United
States notes as soon as they are paid into
the treasury be repealed, and that he be
given authority to retire them from circu-
lation. Also that the Secretary be author
lied to exchange for the greenbacks at any
time new issue of Government bonds of
long term, to run at a low rate of interest.
1t is the belief of the President and the
Secretary that the entire outstanding issue
of greer backs would be quickly presented
at the treasury counters by the banks of
the country in exchange for these bonds,
and that the bonds would soon be de-
posted as the basis of an increased clrcula-
ton Of National bank notes.
This recommendation is made upon the
theory that National bank circulation is
sufficiently elastic to meet the require
ments of commerce, providing all unrea-
sonable obstacles to such circulation are
removed by Congress. One of the great
obstacles at the present time is the lack of
bonds of proper character for deposit. In
1890 the National bank circulation ran
down to $123, ZOO, 900. but has now recov-
cred to about 100000. Leading bank
ers have testified that, with an issue of
all of the greenbacks could be supplanted
by National bank notes-certainly large
enough proportion of them to meet all the
currency wants of the country.
The President will not prepare measure
for submission to Congress with an idea of
securing its adoption. Neither President
Cleveland nor Secretary Carlisle has the
smallest idea that Congress will act favor.
ably upon this suggestion. They have no
hope of any legislation. At the same time
they deem it their duty to put the facts
before Congress and the country, that the
people may have no difficulty in placing
the responsibility for inaction where it
properly belongs.
1t has been definitely decided that there
will be no issue of bonds until after the
meeting of Congress unless, of course,
some sudden outrush of gold should make
earlier action absolutely necessary.