Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1896-02-13
NO ~

the loan that would save nearly
S17, ,0C0, 900 to the people. The
bonds were sold for gold, and al
though by the terms of the law
made payable in coin, no one
could reasonably doubt the pur-
pose of the government to pay
the bonds in gold or it's equivo-
lent; and it vas the action of the
last Democratic Congress refus-
ing to authorize the issue of
such bonds, that made the con-
tract with thesyndicate a neces~
sity to preserve the credit of the
nation at home and abroad.
A new loan has been neces-
Stated, not for the payment of
the expenses of the government,
fer the TreG sury has yet ample
means for that, but to maintain
the 500, 100000 gold reserve
that has been accepted, not only
by this nation, but by the world
as a measure of gold in reserve
necessary to maintain the huns
dreds Of millions of paper the
government has in circulation re-
deemable IN gold on demand.
The treasury is not bankrupt to-
day and has no need for a loan to
meet the expenses of the gov
.ernmenJ, but it must maintain
its gold reserve or distrust would
become widespread abroad as to
| of hn
securities would be returned to
US by hundreds of millions, re-
|suIting in panic and general bus
mess revulsion.
We now have a Republican
Congress, and to that Congress
President Cleveland appealed to
maintain the credit of the nation
by authorizing the issue of bonds
that would command the highest
credit in the markets of the
world AS all the obligations of
this government have been paid
in gold, even in war times when
gold commanded an immense
premium, and as they are GERS
tain to be paid in gold no matter
what party should come into
power, he urged the enactment
of bill authorizing the issue of
3 per cent. bonds payable in the
money accepted by the civilized
world. The Republican Con-
gress was just as faithless as the
late Democratic Congress. 1t
passed bond bill at per cent.
payable in coin instead of gold,
and the Senate intensified the
burlesque of national credit by
substituting and passing a free
silver bill. Had the present
Congress passed a 3 per cent.
gold bond bill, the bonds would
have been taken at par or at q
premium on Wednesday last,
and would have commanded bids
from every money centre,of Eu-
rope as well as at home. The
premium on a 4 per cent. bond
necessary to make the interest
on it but 3 per cent, must be
$40. 32f on every hundred In
other words the bonds sold this
week to make a per cent loan
should have sold at $119. 1929.
Not being payable in gold they
have sold at Sill. making di~
rect loss to the people of the
country of IS, 100000. For this
loss the resent Republican
Congress was answerable just
as the Democratic Congress was
answerable for the millions lost
by the people when the last
-loanWas disposed of.
The one fact that political
leaders and partisan organs stu
diously conceal from the public
in the sale Of bonds made to the
American syndicate last year, is
that under the ter rs of the con-
tract the syndicate was required
to maintain the gold reserve for
months after they received the
bonds, and they did it with fs
deity. To-day we have sold
500, 900, 600 of bonds which with
the premium will realize SILL
900, 900 of gold in the Treasury,
but nine>tenths of it is taken at
home, and the gold must come
either from the United States
treasury or from the gold reS
serve of the banks, and the
banks will replenish their gold
reserve from the Treasury when
ever they need it. Thus while
the gold reserve will be made
whole at once, there is nothing
to hinder the withdrawal of gold
by millions from day to day,
leaving the government no bet
ter off than before so far as the
gold reserve is concerned.
The fact that five times the
amount of the loan called for
was bid may accomplish good re-
suits in establishing the credit of
the government, and that may
for a time hinder the withdrawal
of gold from the treasury, but
the government has no assurance
whatever that the hundred mil
lions of gold to be paid fer these
Ibonds will remain in the treasury
la month. There is no way by
which the government can hinder
| its withdrawal. 1t is the same
.'endless chain' telling the story
lof our miserable financial sys-
tenn, for which President Cleye-
land IS IN no way responsible,
and which must be entirely re-
ImOQoiAd on al S0upd basis bafOro