The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-15
The Popular Loan Bill.

Inc Popular Loan Bill.
II the government were in need OF
money the popular loan bill which Rep
resentative Cummings has introduced
into the House would be entitled to i'm
mediate and favorable consideration. It
is better for several reasons that the
bonds of the government should be held
at home rather than abroad, one reason
being that the interest would be paid to
our own people, and, hence, would lessen
the demand for gold to pay interest on
bonds held abroad, but what the govern
ment wants at present is not more mon
ey but gold. and the popular loan bill
would not give it gold, because it is pro-
vided in the bill that coin shall be accept
ed for them and as silver is easier to get
than gold they would yield the govern
ment only silver. We do not see. there
fore that the popular loan bill is what is
needed at present.
The republicans are contending that the
financial troubles of the government
would disappear at once il the revenues
were increased and the tariff were raised
sufficiently to greatly reduce the volume
OF imports. We have no doubt that If we
should raise our tariff so high that i'm
ports would be reduced sufficiently to
enable US to pay all our obligations abroad
in exports of products the demands on the.
treasury for gold would practically cease.
but if we should raise our tariff high
enough to reduce our imports third,
or even one-quarter, would we realize a
revenue sufficient for our needs? The
republicans seem to forget that the gold
reserve of the treasury began to decline
while Gen Harrison was President, and
long before the McKinley tariff law was
repealed. That fact would seem to in
dictate that the remedy for our financial
troubles which they now propose would
not answer
There is another phase of the matter
that demands consideration. 1t is that
if we undertook to shut out imports so
as to make our exports meet all our OBJ
legations to foreign countries, those coun-
tries might, and probably would, retail
late by discriminating against our pro-
ducts. In that event our exports would
come no nearer paying what we owe to
other countries than they do now, and
a great portion Of our surplus products
would be without a market. Already the
Argentine Republic. Russia and India
are supplying the European market with
wheat to a much greater extent than ever
before, thus lessening the demand for our
wheat, and Australia is becoming a
strong competitor for the control of the
European meat market. If, therefore,
we should shut out imports by means of
a tariff wall we should not only cut down
our revenues, but deprive ourselves of
a market for great deal Of our pro-
ducts. Hence the republican plan would
not lessen our financial difficulties. On
the contrary. it would increase them.
The administration says that the treas
ury is not in need of money. and that the
revenues will soon equal the expendi-
ercise of reasonable economy. What is
needed is legislation that would prevent
gold from being drawn out of the treas
ury. 1t is being drawn out not only for
export, but also to be boarded, and it is
being boarded not because there is
small deficit in the revenues, but because
Of the fear that the government will not
be able to maintain gold payments. 1t
seems to us that the way to allay that
fear is to retire the greenbacks and
treasury notes.-the instruments by which
the gold reserve is depleted.