The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-12-04

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acainst 65,z3s,377 in February, 1888,
fEh6n the first bonds were issued. Inc
amount drawn from the treasury APP
pears very large. We gathered from
the facts and figures herein presented
tf,at II actually was much larger, con,
sjdera BILE sums having been acquired
Iby the treasury within the several Pc
r,iods stated without the issue OF oohos'
THEY KEEP ON DRAWING.
On the 2sth of January, 1895. 1t was
reported by the secretary OF the Tres res
nv that more than s1s2,000,000 OF gold
had been withdrawn for boarding OF
shipment during the year preceding.
He now reports that, from JAN 1, 1919,
to July IA, 1890, "a period OF more tnan II
years, only little over sze,ooo'yov wa
withdrawn, and that between July ~,
1890 the date of the passage OF the
law for an increased purchase or silver
and the LIST of December, 1885, or WITH
In less than five and one-nah years
there was withdrawn nearly $SIo.ooo'-
900, making total OF more than s1oy,,,
900 900 drawn from the treasury In gO I1
since Jan. 1, 1879. the date fixed In 1919
for the retirement of the United states
notes.
. Nearly 1927 100000 of the gold thus
withdrawn has been paid out on THESE
limited States notes, and yet every one
of the S346, 900 is still uncanceiieu,
and ready to do service in future goid
depletions. More than S76,000,000 gold
has, since their creation In 1851, peen
paid out from the treasury upon notes
given on the purchase of silver by the
government; and yet the whole
amounting to s153, 100000, except a hit
tile more than $16,000.000 which nave
been retired by exchanges for silver at
the request of the holders, remains
outstanding and prepared to join their
older and more expedient alhes in ru-
49, - o.
serve In other words, the government
has paid in gold more than nine-tenths
of its United States notes and still owes
them all. 1t has paid in gold about
one-half of its notes given for silver
purchases, without extingudshing py
such payment one dollar of those notes.
When, added to all this, we are re-
minded that to carry on this astound-
ing financial scheme the government
has incurred a bonded Indebtedness OF
95,500000 in establishing a gold re-
serve, and of 1852. 400 in efforts TO
maintain it that the annual interest
charge on such bonded indebtedness s
more than s11, ZOO, 900; that a contin-
nance in our present course may result
in further bond issues; and that we
have suffered or are threatened with all
this for the sake of supplying gold Tor
foreign shipments or facilitating It's
, boarding a home-a situation is exnlD-
tied which certainly ought to arrest at
tent ION and provoke immediate legasia-
tive relief.
1 am convinced that the only thor
ough and practical remedy for our
troubles is found in the retirement ana
cancellatio of our United States notes
commonly called greenbacks and the
outstanding treasury notes issued py
the government in payment OF silver
purchases under the act of $780,
THE REMEDY PROPOSED.
believe this could be quite readily
! accomplished by the exchange OF these
notes for United States bonds OF small
as well as large denominations bearing
| a low rate of interest. They should be
long-term bonds thus increasing their
| desira bility as investments ana De-
| cause their payment could be well post
J poned to a period far removed from
1 present financial burdens and perplexi-
\ Ties when. with increased prosperity
1 and resources, they could be more cas-
Y ily met. To insure the cancellation OF
| these notes and also provide way by
1 which gold may be added to our cur
| rency in leu of them. a feature in the
! plan should be authority given to the
secretary of the treasury to dispose oil
] these, bonds abroad for gold, If neces-
| sary to complete the contemplated re-
| demption and cancellation, permitting
I him TO use the proceeds. of such bonds
/ TO take up and cancel any OF the notes
I that may be in the treasury or tna'
may be received by the government or
any account. The increase OF oul
bonded debt involved in this plar
would be amply compensated by re
J newed activity and enterprise in al
1business circles. The restored cont
dence at home the reinstated faith IL
our monetary strength and the stimu
lation of every interest and industr,
would follow the cancellation of TN
gold demand obligations now aff1ictint
us. In any event, the bonds proposed
would stand for the extinguishment o
a troublesome indebtedness, while IL
.tthe path we now follow there turks tn
Hnenace of amending bonds with indebt
N edness still undischarged and aggrav
lated in every feature. The require
iments of the sinking fund out OF on
surplus revenues. the currency with
drawn by the retirement of the Unite'
| states notes, and the treasury notes
amounting to probably less than s4s6.
600, 900, might be supplied by such gol'
as would be used for their retiremen
or by an increase in the circulation o
our national bank. Though the aggre
gate capital of these now in existenc
'tiamounts to more than 1864, 100000. thei
outstanding circulation, based on bon
security, amounts to only about $3.50,
notes amounting to ninety per cent. o
II the bonds deposited to secure their cir
culation, but in no event beyond tn
II amount of their capital stock, and the
4 are obliged to pay one per cent tax o.
their circulation they issue.
~ / think they should be allowed I
Il issue circulation equal to the pa
,tyalue of the bonds they deposit to sc
\ cure IL and that the tax on their circu
:. lation should be reduced TO one-fourth c
y one per cent. which would undoubtedl
meet all the expense the government
lincurs on their account. In additio
they should he allowed to substitute Q
, deposit in lieu OF the bonds now rt
uuired as security for their circulatio
II those which would be issued for tn
purpose of retiring the United State
notes and treasury notes.
Il A BxsIs FOR CIRCULATION.
~ The banks already existing. IL the
desired to avail themselves of the prt
visions of law thus modified, coul
| issue circulation in addition to that a
i raadv outstanding, amounting to S47S