San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-02-14
MINORITY REPORT
OF WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
ON BOND BILL.
Reasons for Dissent set Forth and
Arrangement of the Payment of
Bonds in Gold Generally Made.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-THE fol-
lowing minority report was sub.
mitted by the minority OF the
Ways and Means committee:
Owing to the limited time for
preparing 1t, the undersigned dis.
senting members of the committee
were precluded from presenting
their views with that elaboration
which the importa nee OF the sub
ject would otherwise justify, but
they beg to state briefly the most
important reason which led them
to disapprove Of the measure re-
commended by the majority of the
committee:
U-The issue of the bonds of
any kind is only needed to replen-
ish the gold reserve, and the gold
reserve only needs replenishing be-
cause the Secretary of the Treasury
redeems United States and treas
ury notes in the kind Of
coin selected by the coin
holder. The note holder has
no legal right to select the
coin in which the obligation shall
be redeemed, but has been permit.
ted to exercise that right by
policy inaugurated by the treasury
department at or soon after the
date of the resumption of the
specie payments. The opinion Of
the Secretary Of the Treasury, Mr..
Carlisle, recently given is clear
upon this point. No one conten DIS
that the executive department Of
the government can bind the gov
eminent or pledge its faith and
credit by the adoption OF such a
policy. To 80 hold would be to as
sert that the executive can make
and repeal laws without the con-
currence of the Senate and House
of Representatives. Believing that
the Secretary OF the Treasury has
now by law the right to redeem
legal tender notes by the payment
Of either gold or silver coin,
which ever is most convenient
for the government, and
believing that the exercise of
this discretion by the Secretary OF
the Treasury is absolutely neces-
sary to protect the government
from organized and unorganized
raids upon the coin reserve, we are
not willing to endorse directly, or
by implication, the administrations
policy which has precipitated the
present financial conditions. Meth
er are we willing, by authorizing
bonds for the purchase Of gold. to
pledge the government to policy
which discriminates against silver
as standard money and recog-
nIzes gold as the only money Of
ultimate redemption. So long as
the note-holder is allowed to
choose the coin in which he is to
be paid, so long will it be futile to
attempt to maintain gold reserve.
We have no hesitation in declaring
it to be our conviction that there is
no remedy, permanent in character
or promising in result, except inn
mediate exercise by Secretary Of
the Treasury OF the right to redeem
Its notes and treasury notes in
standard silver coin, whenever it
Is more convenient for the govern
ment to do so and we further be-
lieve that the greatest danger
which can possibly attend such
course is infinitely less than the
evils which are certain to follow an
adherence to the present policy.
Second-If we were willing to
authorize the issue of bonds at
this time to purchase gold we
would still be opposed to bonds
payable specifically in gold, be-
cause an issue OF such bonds
would either pledge the govern
ment to the redemption Of all obi
cations in gold or make a dis
elimination against coin obliga-
tions now outstanding. There is no
question that the issue OF gold
bonds now would at once be fol-
lowed by a demand for an act
making existing bonds payable in
gold, and it would be urged that
1t would be disastrous to depart
from the policy of gold
bonds when once inaugurated,
just as it is now urged that
it would be disastrous for
the government to resume
discretion which has been tempo
rarily surrendered to the bond
holder. 1t is impossible to over
estimate the evil influence which
would be eXerted by the issue of
gold bonds by the government, be-
cause such action would naturally
and necessarily encourage, if not
actually compel, the issue of gold
bonds by all public and private
corporations and the making of
gold bonds by all public and