The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-02-14
MAKING PR GRESs.
THE BOND PROPOSITION ms
CUSSED.
by the Ways and Means Committee-A
subcommittee Appointed to Draft
Plan-Other Washington Items
of Interest.

nituee on ways and means consumed tho
Jay, one more of the 10 days within which
the treasury has an option to make tha
new ponds payable in gold, and made de-
clueu progress toward an agreement
upon plan to be reported to the house
S Siter pelhg closeted for two hours with
Secretary Carlisle the committees talLo5
over the situation, delegated the framing
OF an agreement to subcommittee of three
Democrats and two Republicans and late
IN the afternoon learned that its snh-
committee mad dropped partisan differ
ence and found common ground. The re-
| solution reported by the quintette at the
last meeting was one to authorize the sec
rotary OF the treasury to issue s., 100000
IN 5-per-cent bonds payable in gold with
| the provision that none of the proceeds
shall be used for current expenses and
| the further provision requested by Sec
rotary Carlisle repeating the law which
| requires the government to redeem ma
| tlonal bank notes and requiring banks
/ to redeem their notes in the first instance
Inquiry was made if there was a
minority report and Mr.. Reed said there
was none, although he believed a wiser
pan would be to provide for increasing
| the revenues.
Mr.. Bynum Oem., Ind) proposed his
resolution as a substitute.
Mr.. Wheeler Oem., Ala.) offered q
resolution reciting that Secretary Car
isle had admitted this issue of gold bonds
would compel all future issues 10 be made
payable in gold; that bimetallism had
been declared to be the policy of the gov
eminent; that this would mean abandon
ment of bimetallism and therefore de-
| claring that the committee considered il
expedient to adopt the presidents recon-
mendations.
Mr.. Bryan offered a resolution recon-
mending that the secretary of the treas
ury should pay all the obligations of the
government in either gold or silver.
whichever was more convenient to use.
After brief discussion the commit
tee adjourned until o'clock to morrow.
Secretary Carlisle came before the
| committee ut 10 O'clock. He presented
II typewritten copy of the contract which
had been called for. 1t was drawn in le-
gal form, covering two typewriter pages,
and bore the signatures of John G.. Car
Isle, secretary of the treasury; j. Pier
pont Morgan, for j. S. Morgan of Lon
don; August Belmont, for N. w. Roth
schild and was witnessed by Francis
Lynde Stetson of New York, formerly
president Cleveland's law partner The
principal features of the contract were
made known in the presidents message.
Upon one point the secretary particu-
larry enjoined the committee to maintain
secrecy and that was regarding the dates
for making the payments for the bonds.
He asked for secrecy, he said, at the re-
quest of the financiers who have agreed
to take the bonds and because they feared
that the bankers would corner the gold
of the world against them if the time it
would be needed was known and the
methods by which it was to be obtained.
Accordingly the committee adopted n res
81. II LII, &c, hose 30
veal the terms of the document so far as ii
concerned the payments.
Many questions were asked the secre-
tary which he answered, giving the
amounts in the treasury and other in
formation. When Mr.. Reed was asked
why the plan he recently proposed in the
house for substitute for the admins
tration bill was not a satisfactory meas
IRE the secretary proceeded 10 quote
II feature of the act of 1874, which had
not been before noticed in the financial
debates and which seemed to greatly in
validate Mr.. Reeds scheme. This clause
binds the treasury to the redemption of
national bank notes by treasury notes
when the holders formally request II.
Consequently the Withdrawals of the
greenback into the treasury, the secre-
tary argued, would not stop the drain
of gold upon it, but would merely add
another step to the process of obtaining
gold, as financiers could procure the ma
tional bank notes and secure treasury
notes for them.
In effect, therefore, the government
is bound to redeem bank notes in gold.
To obviate this difficulty the secretary
suggested that the committee adopt u
plan to compel national banks to main
tain an agency for the redemption OF
their notes and relieve the treasury OF
all burden in the premises. :.
There WIS disposition on the part OF
certain members to intimate in their
questions that the administration had
shown fayoritism in it's negotiations OF
"a private contract and the question was
directly asked whether the BONDS were nor
to be sold ut rate unnecessarily low con
sidering the prevalent prices in the mar
ket. A.,
Secretary Carlisle admitted that the
bankers practically had the government
Mt their mercy and he was Obliged TO nc
cept the best terms that could be mace
with them. That better terms could nave
heen secured he denies emphatically, re-
lating somewhat in detail the different
tinanciers with whom Assistant Secre-
tary Curtis had talked on his visit to
New York.
In answer to other questions he an
SWered the committee tnhI III MO vo
lief q plan could be devised to stop. the
outflow of gold and of his strong hope
that the forthcoming bond issue would
maintain the gold reserve at its highwater
mark for several months.
After the secretary had departed Mr..
Cochran Dem., N. " announced that
he could not support Chairman Wilson's
resolution because it was simply make
shift to meet present emergency and
offered no help to the treasury, in the
event of similar exigencies before the
next session of congress.
Thereupon Mr.. Tarsney Dem., MOI OF
fered resolution to empower the secre-
tary to issue 3 per cent gold bonds when
ever the need of the treasury might re-
quire them with the provisions that the
proceeds were not to be used to pay cur
rent expenses.
Then subcommittee was appointed
to draft plan with Mr.. Wilson CIV. Va.),
Turner Call and McNillin tTenn.l,
Democrats, and the Republicans chose
Reed (Me.) and Mr.. Hopkins Qlls.) to re-
present them and the committee took o
recess to enable the subcommittee to
meet.
| --O-
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