The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-02-27
WHAT 49,, OMfLI HE'D.

The London Times, commenting upon
our recent bond sale, makes the following
remarks:
"Thc United States loan has been too
great a success for there is danger tnat
it may encourage Americans 10 thllk
there was not, after all, any need Of
alarm for the position of the Treasury
three VcelIs ago. and there - no mecca
sity 70 reform the currency.
1.-THE success Of the loan ought not 10
blind anyone 10 the fact that the loan
was a necessary eXpedient to gain time
to carry out reforms, and was not the re-
form itself IT is no permanent remedy
for the malady from which the Treasury
suffers We hope that the few months
security now assured viii be used by the
Executive and Congress to place the cur
rencY system of the United States on
sound basis. For this purpose the with
drawal of large part If not the whole.
Of the outstanding greenbacks is an es-
sential preliminary"
These are very just and very timely re-
marks Mr.. Cleveland's great act in Sc
curing the aid of the great financial po-
tentates of Europe and America in be-
half Of the Governments imperilled credit
has produced such a stupendous effect
that men forget the peril in which we
stood when that prodigious feat was per-
formed. and they are prone to look upon
II as an ordinary, everyday affair, entitled
to 10 more than passing notice. But it
was a very different thing from this.
When Mr.. Cleveland succeeded in bring
ing these great fnanciers into the rams
action the credit Of this Government.
and. therefore, the stability of every
business man in the Union, was In the
very greatest peril Between the first day
Of December. 1894, and the 18th day OF
February, 1895. the immense sum of
$50. 1856 3O2 of gold were drawn out OF the
Treasury of the United States. leaving
it the paltry sum of $i2,612, 1920. The
Government was, therefore, faced, on
February 14th, with the certainty OF
being compelled, In a few days, to sus-
pend gold payments unless an immediate
supply Of gold could be secured, gold
would have been at once at a premium,
and we should have slipped over TO
silver basis with the standard of value
changed from dollar to nifty cents.
But these statements alone do not fully
disclose the peril we were in. OF the
$50 TSs. 500 that were drawn out Of the
| Treasury In December, January and Feb
ruary, oniy 36,S52.3S9 were exported,
| showing that our own people had hoard
ed about SiS,OOO0OO of it, and the United
States Treasury was informed by one
New York bank that on January 50th it
| had more than $50 requests for gold IN
exchange for notes over it's counters.
Further. all negotiable notes used in New
York had come to have included in them
a provision that they were to be paid II;
| gold
| The state of the case is strongly Illus
| trated in another way. On December 3,
| 1884, the day Congress met, the old Gov
eminent coupon per cent. bonds were
| quoted at 1l6. AS soon as the spirit that
animates Congress began to be developed
| these bonds began TO decline, until they
| had dropped on January 4th to 49, and,
| by February list they had declined to
! III 5-S, less in Governmest credit of 4 5-S
points, produced by two months session
| Of a wild Congress. But by February 18th.
| the day before the President signed his
| contract with the Morgan Rotnschild syn
d!cate, only 10 was offered for these
bonds But they began to rally the very
| day that Il was announced that the con-
tract was signed. and they have gone
back now TO 49,
The country was, therefore, in the ex-
tremity OF peril when the President con-
cluded this arrangement. and. as We said
a few days back. he would have pur-
chased the relief II got cheaply II he had
given the whole Ss2.oOo,O0 Of bonds for
1t.
That the syndicate has made . good