Oakes weekly Republican. (Oakes, Dickey County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1898, 1895-02-01
i SPECIAL MESSAGE,
PRESIDENT TOUCHES UP CONGRESS
ON FINANCIAL MATTERS.

w WASHlNGToN. Jan. 2S.-Thc president
has sent to congress Il special message on
the financial question. Aside from SON e
minor recommendations us to details. it
is rs follows:
To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives:-In my last annual message
commended to the serious considcr;,-
ton of congress the condition of our
national finances. and in connection
with the subject, indorsed the plan os
currency legislation which at that time
seemed to furnish protection against inn
pending danger. This plan has not
been approved by the congress In the
meantime the situation has so changed
and the emergency now appears 81
threatening, that deem it my duty to
ask ut the hands of the Legislative branc!.
OF the government such
Prompt and Effective Action.
as will restore confidence in our tinan-
cial Soundness and avert business tliStl:;-
ter and universal distress among our
people.
There Is Lack of Confidence.
The real trouble which confrontS Us
consists i'll Il lack Of confidence wide
spread and constantly increasing i'll the
continuing ability or disposition of the
government to pay its obligations i'll
gold This lack of confidence grows to
some extent out of the palpable and APP
parent embarrassment attending the
efforts of the government under exist
ing laws to procure gold. and to !, greater
extent out of the inpoSsibility of eitheg
keeping ii in the treasury Or cancrlin.
Obligations by its expenditure after ii s.
obtained. The only way left open To
the government for procuring gold j..
by the issue and sale of bonds. Tit,
only bonds that can be so issued wrr
authorized nearly p years ago, and ay
not Well calculated to meet our present
needs.
Among other disadvantages they ai"'
made payable i'll coin, instead of Sptc,-
1ic;lly in gold, which III existing condi,
tons detraclS largely and in an incir:,.
ing ratio from their drsirability as in
vestmeiltS. 1t is by no means certai''
that bonds of this description can mur'}
longer be disposed of at a price credit
able to the financial character of cU.
government. The most
dangerous and Irritating Feature
OF the situation, however, remains to by
mentioned. 1t is found i'll the means
by which the treasury is despoiled OF the
gold thus obtained without cancelling Il
single government obligation. and solely
for the benefit of those who find profit
i'll shipping it abroad, or Whose
fears induce them to hoard it IL
home. We have outstanding abou'
$500, ,000,0 900 Of currency notes Of thv
government for which gold may he de
mandcd; and culiously enough the law
requires that when presented and i'll
fact redeemed and paid in gold. they
shall be reissued. Thus the same notes
may do duty many times i'll drawing
gold from the treasury; nor c;n thH
process be arrested us long as private
parties who profit or otherwise see al
advantage i'll repeating the operation.
More than $500, 100000 i'll these notes
have already been redeemed iii
gold, and Notwithstanding such redemT-
ton, they are still outstanding.
Not IL Question of Revenue.
Tt will hardly do to say that simple
increase of revenue will cure our troa-
bles. The apprehension now existing
and constantly increasing as to ON.
financial ability does not rest upon 81
calculation of our revenue. The tin!e
has passed whcn the eyes of investor,
abroad and our people at home wer,.
fixed upon the revenues of the govern
lnent. Changed conditions have a.
tracted their attention to the gold OF tl..,
government. There need be 40 fe:;t
that we cannot pay our current G.
penses, with such money as we have
There is now i'll the treasury comfort
able surplus Of more than $j3, 900, ,OON
but it is not in gold and therefore do
not meet our difficulty. l cannot sr;
that differences of opinion concein:lis
the extent to which silver ought to b.,
coined OF used III on currency shoyll,.
interfere with the councils of thos'
whose duty it is to rectfy evils now
apparent i'll our financial situation
Some of Our Obligations.
Besides the treasury notes, which cor
tainly should be paid in gold. amount
ing to nearly $500, 900, 900. there will
fall due III 1904 100000, 900 of bonds
issued during the last year for which we
have received gold, and in 1907 nearly
5000, 100000 of per cent bonds issue;
in 1877. Shall the payment of these OBJ
legations i'll gold be repudiated: If they
are to be paid i'll such Il manner as the
preservation of cur national honor and
national solvency demands, we should
not destroy Or even impelil our ability
to supply ourselves with gold for that
purpose. While l am not unfrientlly to
silver, and while I desire to see it rec
ogliZed to such all extent rs is consist
ent with financial safety and the presel-
walton Of national honor and credit, I
am not willing to see gold entirely BAN
isled from our currency and finances.
To avert such a consequence believe
thorough and radical remedial legiSla
tion should be promptly passed. There
fore beg the congress to give the subjec;
immediate attention.
| Clcvelards Reeommen n.latiOns.
In my opinion, the secretary Of the
treasury should be authorized to issue
bonds Of the government for the purpose
of procuring and maintaining Il silili-
cient gold reserve and redemption and
cancellation of the United States legal
tender notes, and the treasury notes is
sued for the purchase OF silver under tive
law of July l.!th, 1890. We should b.
relieved from the humiliating process c
issuing bonds to procure gold to be I'M
mediately and repeatedly drawn out OH
these obligations for purposes not re-
lated to the benefit of our government
OF people. The principal and interest
Of these bonds should be payable on
their face i'll gold, because they should
be sold only for gold or it's representative,
and because there would now probably
be difficulty i'll favorably disposing of
bonds not containing this stipulation.
Duties Payable In Gold.
As Il constant means for the mninten-