The San Francisco call., 1895-10-13
CRITICISM OF CURRENCY.
Free Coinage of Silver Does
Not Meet Unanimous
Approval.
AS TO DECREASING THE DEBT.
Notes That Bear No Interest Not
the Cheapest Form of Cir
culatlng Medium.

BOSTON, MASS, Oct. 1.-THE Massa-
chusetts Reform Club held one of the
most largely attended and enthusiastic
banquets in its history at the Hotel
Vendome this evening. More than 200
members and invited guests were present.
Hon. George S. Hall, the president, pre-
sided. Seated on either side of him at the
table were: Hon. John G. Carlisle, who
was the special guest of the evening,
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Ham
lin. Collector Warren, ex-Mayor Patthews
of Boston, Hon. NJ. P. Kennard. former
sub-treasurer, Hon. Joseph O'Neill, present
sub-treasurer, Samuel N. Aldrich, presi-
dent of the State Bank, Hon. Causten
Browne and Postmaster Coveney. Among
others present were: Hon. John E. Russell,
Hon. Morfeld Storey, Charles B. Jackson,
Josiah Quincy, Dana Estes, Charles Eliot
Norton, Samuel Bowles and many other
representatives of the business and pro-
fessional life of the commonwealth.
In his opening remarks President Hale
alluded to the non-partisan character of
the club, and read letters of regret from
Senator Hoar, Henry Lee, John Dewitt
Warner of New York and many others.
Secretary Carlisle, on rising to speak,
was received with hearty cheers, the en-
tire assemblage rising. He spoke for
nearly an hour and was heard with the
most earnest attention, many of his strik-
ing points being greeted with spontaneous
applause. His allusion to the crowning
necessity for the retirement and cancella-
ton of government demand notes as the
essential preliminary to the establishment
of sound currency was heartily approved,
and his assertion that the credit of the
Government would be preserved by the
present administration in the only man
ner possible-by the purchase of gold coin
through the issue of bonds, as long as it
has the power to do so-was received with
great applause and cheers.
Secretary Carlisle in thanking the Re-
form Club for selecting sound currency for
sremarks, and omplime nting Bostonlans
who, irrespective of politics, had in the
most critical period of business deposited
81 600,0 600 in the treasury, declared that
the appreheusions that our currency might
be debased by the inability of the Govern
ment to continue the policy of redeeming
its obligations in gold has already pro-
duced one of the greatest financial dis
turbances that ever occurred in our history,
and resulted in the loss OF thousands of
millions of dollars to our people. There
were doubtless other causes contributing
to this result, but this was the most potent
one in this country, and without it we
would not have suffered more than other
parts OF the world from the general de-
preston. What would have been the con-
sequence if these apprehensions had proved
correct, if the Government had, in fact,
been unable or unwilling to maintain
the equal exchangeable value of all forms
of currency in the hands of the people, no
man can tell, but that the time would
have been most disastrous nearly every
well-informed man now comedies.
Fortunately one of the causes which
contributed largely to produce feeling of
distrust and apprehension, and which
very greatly intesifed that feeling at all
the stages of our long financial struggle,
had substantially ceased to exert any in
fluence over the minds of the people here
or abroad.
81 mean," he continued, ''the persistent
and aggressive agitation in favor of the
free coinage of legal tender silver, which
| for a long time seriously threatened to rev.
olutionize our monetary system and re-
| duce our entire volume of currency to
about half its present value. 1 do not
| mean to assert that there was ever time
when there was real danger that this
would be done, but there were times when
the sentiment in its favor was strong and
so aggressive in its character that there
were at least reasonable grounds for the
fear that it might be accomplished, and
especially reasonable grounds for such
fear upon the part of investors abroad, who
could not be expected to fully understand
the actual situation here; but the free
coinage movement has lost its momentum
and is no longer formidable or aggressive.
1t is on the defensive now, and when a