New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-01-12
WHY so ANGRY?
militant Il

III j not worth NllI' ~ 'ittiiN' 'i'-''' Wv
Presidents letter about issuing bonds. obv-
ously the President WAS angry. and could not
well be expected 10 speak with great precision
Allowance may be made The more bocatS" ne
had some reason To be- angry though II h" hai
allotted blame with strict judicial temper. hr
would have been more angry with himself than
with any body else. Nothing that could d" SAID
by any newspaper or by all newspapers would
90 far his own conduct 10 create an IN
favorable opinion II ia" Presidents bond opera
ton last winter. II Ms almost inc'nc"iNAby
strange that he spent months n preventing any
useful legislation 10y insisting on the wildcat
bank scheme and then shut out all possibility
OF such legislation by message demanding gold
bonds AT a time when he had in fact practically
completed an arrangement to issue coin bonds
II such performances excite curiosity. the Pres
ident must blame himself
But this ancient performance is not more
singular than those ~ the last month about
which the President makes the following aSser-
tons
No banker or hnancicr nor any other human
being has been invited t. visit Washington for
the purpose Of an arrangement IN any WAY or
manner for the disposition % bonds o. meet
the present or future needs ~ the gold reserve.
for the disposition II such bonds - any synil-
cate or through The agency OF any syndicate.
No assurance Of such disposal ot bonds
has been directly or indirectly given = any per
son
Those charged with tho responsibility of main
tanning gold reserve haV" anNlou=ly
conferred with each other. and. as occasion per
mitted with h)se having knowledge - financial
affairs and present monetary conditions as -
the best and most favorable means II selling
the bonds for gold.
II the President had been fairly cool he would
have seen that these statements We're II the
mutually destructive sort. He and the Secretary
Of the Treasury could not possibly have con
"ferred with those having knowledge Of fnan
"cial affairs and present monetary conditions"
without directly or indirectly giving somebody
the idea that loan was about TO be proposed
II the truth We're told, the persons with whom
the President conferred were made aware that
a loan would not he offered TO public subscription
EXCEPT with conditions which would render us
popular success extremely improbable. In view
OF all this II is little ont Of place for the Pres
dcnt 10 saw with more temper than elegance:
"If Mr. Morgan or any one else. reasoning from
his own standpoint, brought himself 10 the
'bclief that the Government would at length be
constrained 10 sell bonds 10 n syndicate, sup
pose he would have perfect right, II h. chose,
"to take such steps as seemed to him prudent
"to put himself in a position To negotiate" The
Government had been constrained. In the
Presidents opinion. year ago 1t Is not a
month since the President fired off panic mes
sage to Congress bcsecching II 10 do something
in the holiday week to avert disaster and closed
with curious phrase plainly implying that an
other attempt to issue bonds must soon be made:
ask at the hands Of Congress such prompt
aid an II alone has power to give to prevent, In
a time OF fear and apprehension, any sacrifice
Of the peoples interest ard the public funds.
or the Impairment OF our public credit In an
effort by executive action to relieve the dangers
OF the present emergency.
Really, when the President gets angry he fails
to remember a good many things which 1t would
be prudent to keep In mind. Mr.. Morgan reached
Washington the afternoon this message was
issued, it was stated, and somehow came to
know It's tenor. He has no reputation as 4
hypnOtst but somehow he acquired the in
formation that the bonds TO be issued were to
rim twenty nine years. He did not fall TO invite
certain bankers. who are well known ms close.
personal friends Of the President He had more
than one prolonged interview with Mr.. Stetson,
whose legal relations with the President have
also DPPU COIlIu'Hlihl, an" WIN '''N VIZ NV
syndicate contract n year ago IL Is not by any
means the strangcst thing in the world that Mr..
Morgan drought himself to the belief that he
was authorized to ascertain what he could do.
But the most astonishing feature Of the case Is
that the President gets so red hot In denial that
he has done this year exactly what lie nnques-
tionably did last year. In his annual message
IN December he socmnly declared regarding
the syndicate operation Of last year: IL have
"neycr had the slightest misgiving concerning
.'thc wisdom or proprcty If this arrangement
"and am quite willing to answer for my full
"share Of responsibility for It's promotion" But
now the President H. p1sslonatcly anxious TO
have no one believe that he could by any DOS