St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-26

A Bit of History Brought Up by a
Washington RumOr

n Blu OF History brought Up by q
Washington Rumor.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 25. = Great
interest was excited in official cir
cles here today by the publication in
the Washington Post, under a New
York date, of a. circumstantial state
ment to the effect that the Russian
government has offered to lend the
United States any amount of gold
up to $4OO, 900, ,O0O-one-half of it's total
possessions of this specie-in order
to maintain its credit against as
saultS from the great money powers
of other European nations, and that,
learning of this tender, the Roths-
childs, through Messrs. Belmont and
Morgan, had made overtures to let
the United States have any amount
of gold needed. The statement, it is
learned, is accurate, so far as con-
Germs the fact that Russia rendered
the United States a part of it's store
of gold, but the natural inference
that this offer was a recent one, made
in consequence of the late Venezuelan
message and subsequent panic is not
warranted, for it may be asserted
positively and ON excellent authority
that the tender was in no manner
influenced by the complications now
existing between the United States
and Great Britain, as the result of the
negotiations over the Venezuelan
boundary question, and was, in fact,
made two years ago. The history of
the matter is brief and runs back
only to the beginning of the present
administration of President Cleve-
land. Soon after he came into Office
for THE second time, the president was
confronted with a rapidly shrinking
gold reserve in the United States
treasury and a heavy loss of revenue,
incident to radical changes in the
tariff. This situation resulted in the
United States being asked larger
rates than usual for any bonds 1T
might wish to float.
The Russian government for ten
years had been accumulating gold,
in many cases at great disadvantage
owing to the hostility of the money
lenders of Central and Western Eu-
rope, and much Of this gold was pur-
chased in the open market by secret
agents of the Russian government
The purpose was not only to provide
a proper reserve in the Russian war
chest, but also to provide against a
contemplated change in the Russian
monetary system, by raising the sill
YER rouble to a parity with gold. The
procedure in this case was similar to
that of Secretary Sherman, when he
accumulated the hundred million gold
reserve, as a preliminary to declar-
ing the treasury ready to redeem in
gold the greenbacks issued during
THE last war.
Taking cognizance Of the situation
of the United States government,
with which it always had been on
terms of the closest friendship, and
between which and itself there were
no conflicting interests likely to arise,
Secretary Gresham, through Prince
Cantacuzene, then Russian minister
to Washington, was notified that Rus
sia stood ready to part with half of
her store Of gold, If so much were
necessary, to the United States, in
order to protect her old-time friend in
the family of nations. This tender
was made about eight months after
President Cleveland assumed the
presidential office for his second term.
AT the time the offer was gratefully
acknowledged, but as the capitalists
of the other nations gained an inkling
of the fact that the tender had been
made, 1t was found that the terms
upon which gold could be procured in
the open market, as a consequence
of Russia's tender, were so favorable
as to render it unnecessary ITO tax
the friendship Of Russia. At pres
ent, so 1T is understood, the Rus
sian offer still holds good, and about
the only new phase of the situation
lis that this fact has been made known
freshly to the European gold brokers.