Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-10-20

nrv is so limited by law that he is not permit ted to resort to any of the means usually adopt ed by financial institutions in cases Of emer- geney.
 Gold can be procured only by sales of bonds or by voluntary exchanges of gold coin for oth- CT forms of currency by the banks and it is scarcely necessary to say that those voluntary exchanges are most difficult to make at the very times when gold is most needed. When bonds are sold in our own market experience has shown that large part of the gold 10 pay for them is taken from the treasury reserve ln the first instance or withdrawn in short time after the bonds have been paid for and del1y- cred. A regular banking institution can eaSl- ly provide a proper reserve and can easily re- pIen1sh 1t when reduced, because Il can stop discounts or call In It's outstanding loans. 1T necessary, or borrow for short periods; but the treasury department can do none of these things. It was not established or organized for any such purposes. and is untitted for the discharge of such duties. It ought not to be required to provide and hold reserve for the redemption of circulating notes, or, If 1t is re- quIred to d0 so, the notes ougnt to De retlred and cancelled when redeemed. or, in other WoFdS, the debt when paid ought to be extln- guished The government of the United States ought not to be engaged in the busi- ness of issuing notes to circulate as moneY it is not proper function of that government. and the sooner this truth IS realized by the people. the better It will be f3r the country. Of course, as long as the govern ment continues to issue circulating notes a reserve must be kept, and the notes must be
  Ing have said must be construed as an fntima= ton even that the reserve ought to be aban- doned or impaired while the present system IS maintained. My contention is that the notes ought not to be kept outstanding, but should be retired and eaneeled as speedily as sound and safe currency can be provided to take their places. There can be no financial repoSe in this country as long as these notes continue q part of our currency. because the fact that they exist compels the government to provide large gold reserve, which, 1n the very nature or things can not be U6TIQa- nentlv maintained by any fixed amount. and whenever it begins to diminish, distrust and apprehension arise in the public mind. values are unsettled. business is disturbed, and more or less loss is entailed upon the people. The losses already sustained on this account are almost beyond computation, and there is no good reason to believe that the country can escape further injury ill the future If the policy of the government IS unchanged in this respect The fact that the SoundnesS of our currency depends, or is supposed to depend. upon the maintenance of certain fixed reserve in the treasury, keeps the business of the country in an almost constant state Of agitation and alarm, and is from every point of view detrimental to the interests of the people
 will not take the time this evening to dis cuss the various plans that have been sug- gested for the retirement and cancellation of the old United States notes and the treasury notes. my only purpose now Deing to assist In directing public attention to the subject and to express the decided opinion that this ele- ment of weakness must be eliminated from our system before we can have any positive assurance Of permanent safety. After the ex- perience Of the last three years, it seems al- most inc edible that proposition to retire these notes should encounter serious opposi- tfon, though there fs of course room for wide differences Of opinion as to the manner in which 1t shall be accomplished, and as to the character of the currency that shall be substituted for them. It is sometimes said that although these notes constitute q part of the public debt, they bear no interest and are therefore the cheapest form Of currency that can be pro- yfded for the use of the people, but very brief statement of the facts will be sufficient to show how erroneous this conclusion is and that the United States note is the most expen- siYe form of currency that the people can have. In order to procure and maintain a fund TOT the prompt demptton of the notes on presentation. 1t has been necessary to issue interest-bearing bonds to the amount of S257 . 9l5.4o0 Of these bonds. which were issued at various dates. S65, ,O00O00 bore interest at the rate of 4I per cent; S92 905.400 bear interest at the rate of per cent. and S100 100000 bear in- terest at the rate of per cent. The paid and unpaid bonded indebtedness incurred &C., count of the United States notes was as fol- lows, on the first day of the present month: BohaS --...+.' .a257 ,9l5 400 ........... 73O00 000
 Total ................ ........s... $sso 9l5, 100
 But. in addition to this. the 3866S 900 of the United States notes are still outstaadinp and must be paid some time so that the total in debtedness. paid and unpaid on account of this so-called cheap form of currency, was actually as follows, on the first day Of the pres ent month.
 Bonds .......-................... s2s7 e15 40o interest,"; -.--.. ..+..-.............. ,000.0Q0 Outstanding notes s...1.............. 3i6 6Sf ,o00
 Total scr. .5g6. 100
 Now, if the whole volume of outstanding notes had been funded at per cent on the first day of January 1879 the date of resur1n tion, the total indebtedness on that account paid and unpaid, would have been as follows. on the first day Of the present month:
 Ioouus S54 ,bSl O00 interest ......... .................. 2S2,27 00o
 Total. ..,.......... .s57s, ,957. 900
 This is s9a 639. 400 less than the liability which the government has actually been com pelled to incur in order to keep this form of currency outstanding and maintain it's value and no one can say that very large additional indebtedness will not have to be contracted in the future for the same purpose.
 The responsibility is upon the people and heir representatives in congress to determine whether the public debt shall be increased from time to time in order to redeem and reis- sue tnls ] per which. to say the least, is of uouDtIul eonstltut1onaltty, and is more con- Yenlent Tor use than other forms Of currency The executive authorities must obey the Iaps as they stand, whether they be good or bad but all the powers conferred upon them hv the statutes will be faithfully and fearlesslv exercised whenever necessary for the preserTa- uon or the public credit and the maintenance or sound and stable currency for the use of the people in the transaction of their business II our financial and currency system is such that these results can not be aeeompIfshed without increasing the public debt let the sys- tenn be changed, but it is scarcely fair to irn pose unpleasant duties upon us and then crltislze us for dtscharging them in the onIv way they can be discharged.
 There IS more than one way In which an ade- quate and safe currency can be secured for the use of the people without perverting the DOW CTS or the government, or subjecting its credit to the vlcissitudes of either legitimate trade or reckless speculation, and I most sineereIv hope the subject will receive the careful con. sideration of all who feel an interest in the adoption of a sound policy and that plan may be formulated which will meet the approval of congress- Tn the meantime, the government will con tinue to redeem it's obligations promntlv m presentation, according to the requirements of the existing laws and public policy, Thosa who want gold will get it, and those who want silver will get 1t. The parity of the two metais VIII De maintained. and the whole volume of currency, paper and coin alike. win he Lant equal to the highest standard recognized bv the commercial nations of the world -
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 Moiiy's Church Benefit.
 Parson-Well, Molly, did you like my sermon this morning?
 M0l1v-0b u;c