Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-16

! reissues after redemption and the govern
| meut is to be permanently charged with
| the duty of sustaining the value of all our
| currency, paper and coin alike. the con-
| cllsion cannot be avoided that the policy
of issuing bonds for the accomplishment Of
| these purposes must also BECOME perma-
| nent. and such additional powers must be
| conferred upon the; Secretary as will en-
able him to execute the laws relating to
| these subjects with the least possible dis
| turbance of the business affairs of the
| people and the least possible charge upon
| the treasury. I am thoroughly convinced
| that this policy ought not to be continued,
I but that the United States notes and treas
| ury notes should be retired from circula-
| ton at the earliest practicable day and
| that the government should be wholly re-
| lieved from the responsibility Of providing
a credit currency for the people.
| at would be difficult IL not impossible.
| to devise a more inconveHient, expensive
| or dangerous system than the one now in
| oper alton under the laws providing for the
| issue, redemption and reissue of legal ten
| der notes by the government.
The Retirement of Treasury Notes.
! There has never been a time since the
/ close of the war;" the Secretary says. when
the gradual retirement and cancellat ton of
| the United States notes would not have been
| beneficial to the country, nor has there ever
been a time when the issue OF additional
| notes of the same CHARACTER would not have
| been injurious to the country. If our legal
| tender Totes were retired there is abundant
| reason to believe that q very large amount
| of gold which has been excluded from the
| country by the excessive use of silver and
| paper in our circulation would promptly re-
turn to take ITS plaoa in our currency and
| constitute permanent part of our medium
! of exchange. A country having such ex-
| tensive trade relations with other nations
| which we now enjoy cannot be deprived of
| it's proper share of the worlds stock of
| money, and if it adopts and adheres to a
| sound and stable currency system at home
| it will get the best money the world has
| because no other kind is ever used in inter-
national transactions. AS long as the gov
! ernment leaves our people reasonably free
| to trad, abroad, and does not make any kind
| of paper. legal tender IN the payment of
| debts. 1t cannot materially or injuriously
contract the currencS1tbS the withdrawal of
| it's own notes. The retirement and cancel
| lation Of the legal tender notes would not
| nee essarily produce any con traction of the
| circulation, and II such a result. should fol-
| low, and continue for any considerable
| PERIOD it would be- a demonstration of the
| fact that the volume of currency previously
existing was not needed in the business of
| the people, for whenever the volume is re-
duCed below the actual requirements of
| trade the deficiency will be supplied either
from abroad in exchange for our products
| and securities. or by the banks at home, or
by both.
| THE United States notes and the treasury
| notes issued in pay .nent for silver bullion.
/ together amounting at the beginning to
| $5O2, 6l2,01S, have been used, and are still
| being used. to withdraw gold from the gov
| eminent whenever our own people or the
governments or peoples of other countries
| see proper to demand it for any purpose.
and, under the laws now existing. the Sec
rotary. of the Treasury has no means of
| complying with these demands except by
the issue and sale of interest-bearing bonds,
under the act of January II, 1875, or by the
| purchase of gold coin with bonds or notes of
the United States, under section 300 of the
Revised Statutes. Against these demands
q M Dr.
tense except al the sacrifice of the public
credit and the immediate depreciation of
the entire, volume Of our currency.
Results of False System.
Long adherence to a false system has
to great extent undermined our national
credit, so far as it is related to the main
tenance of sound currency, and it must
be reconstruc ted. not merely propped up by
frail and temporary supports.
No surplus revenue, however large.
could eXtricate us from our present diff
ficulties, or give assurance of safety in
| the future unless 1t should be required TO
be paid in gold under system which
would exempt the government from the
obligations to furnish the gold when de-
! manded to be used in making the pay
ments, and it is scarcely necessary to sug-
gest that such a system is impossible as
long as the United States notes and treas
ury notes are kept in circulation and are
redeemable in gold by the government
itself on presentation.
THE opinion seems to prevail to some
extent that the mere possession of sur
plus in the treasury. would prevent with
draWalS of gold, and thus render the issue
of bonds for the protection of the reserve
| unnecessary but this view of the subject
| is founded, in my Judgment, upon an entire
| duced the Withdrawals. Unless l am
wholly mistaken they have very little, If
any, relation to the amount of money held
| by the government, or to the amount of
! money the government has the ability to
| raise by taxation or otherwise, but they
relate primarily and almost exclusively to
| the character of money that it might be
able to supply and keep in circulation. In
other Words, 1t was apprehension as TO the
| kind of money that was to be used ard
| not as to the amount Of money on hand,
| that brought our securities back from
abroad for sale. caused foreign investors
| to withdraw their capital and foreign
creditors to collect their debts, and COM
| PEELED our own people to suspend or con-
tract their business lepsrations, and thus
diminish the incomes of employers and
greatly reduce or entirely stop the wages of
labor.
Large Withdrawals have been made dur
| ing the last three years simply because gold
was wanted and the desire to secure gold
was due to a Srowingrdfstrust of the other
kinds or currency In circulation, and not
at all to any apprehension that the gov
eminent would not be able to discharge all
its obligations in some kind of paper or
coin. When the receipts for customs con-
sisted very largely of gold, as was the case
prior to July l, 1892, before the results of
our defective currency system had been
fully developed. a surplus revenue enabled
the treasury to pay out gold without dis
turbing the reserve. and, besides. there
was at that time great demand for gold
by the presentation of notes for redemp-
ton, and there would, therefore, have been
no difficulty in maintaining the reserve,
even if there had been no surplus in the
treasury, but the conditions have Entirely
changed and an entirely different policy
is demanded TO meet the situation now eX-
listing. With or without surplus revenue
the government can procure gold only
by negotiating loans or by making plr-
ohases under the statute, and this state of
aHGIs, Wn.ch is the natural result of
causes still operative, is almost certain tQI
continue until the causes themselves arg
removed.
But One Safe Remedy.
| There Is but one safe and effectual