The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-06-06
TEXT OF. THE HOUSE COMMITTEE
REPORT ON THE BUTLER
BILL.
EXCUSES NOT SUFFICIENT.
NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO WAR
RANT THE EXTREME STEP
CONTEMPLATED.
DELIBERATE PURPOSE APPARENT.
Result of Such LegisIation Would
Be to Depreciate Currency and
Cause a Panic.

WASHINGTON, June 5.-Chairman Dingley
Of the house ways and means committee, to-
day presented the report to the house on the
bonds without authority from congress. The
statement is signed by the eleven Republic
ans, and two Democrats, Turner. of Georgia,
and Cobb, Of Missouri, will concur in the
recommendations without indorsing the argu-
ment. The report says: "It is not proposed
by the senate bill to repeal so much OF the
resumption act as authorizes the secretary Of
the treasury to borrow coin to maintain the
redemption fund; yet this is the legal effect of
the language employed. The attempt to cloud
this repeal by reference to further authority
Of congress Is meaningless yerbiage, for every
one knows, without declaration to this eff
feet that congress may re-enact a law which
has been repealed, and the repeal is proposed
just as congress is ready to adjourn for six
months, and with the knowledge that the SEN
ate as at present constituted would never au-
thorize an issue of bonds to maintain the re-
demption fund.
ITO propose this where there is and has
been for three years large deficiency of
revenue, inevitably raises the inquiry whether
it is not the deliberate purpose of the pro-
moters of this bill to plunge the government
into reputation and depreciate the green
backs. One excuse which has been offered
for the passage of the senate bill is that the
secretary Of the treasury has sold bonds to
syndicates instead of offering them first as
popular loans. While we sympathize with
this criticism, this affords substantial ground
only for amending the act of 1875, so as to
require bonds issued under 1t to be first Of
fered to the American people and not ground
for the absolute repeal of all authority to
borrow in an exigency.
Another excuse is that the secretary of the
treasury has indirectly issued and sold bonds
to meet the deficiency of revenues by using
the redeemed United States legal tender notes
for current expenses and thus placing them
in position for second redemption. This
affords ground for such legislation as will
make 1t practically impossible to continue
this practice, but not ground for taking from
the secretary all power to borrow for the
purpose of maintaining the redemption fund"
After referring to the house bills for
popular loan and for revenue, the report con-
tinues: "Instead of concurring in these two
bills, the senate refused to provide the need
ed revenue or to authorize the issue of tenn
porary certificates of Indebtedness, thus prac-
tfcally 1ndorS1ng the Secretary'S course, mas
much as in the absence Of both revenue and
authority to borrow to meet the deficiency,
the only resource open to the secretary is the
use of the redeemed United States legal
tender notes.
"Our criticism of the secretary Is not that
he has used the redeemed notes to meet the
deficiency in the absence of revenue and
authority to borrow for the distinct object,
for no other resource has been open to him
unless the government was to stop, but that
the administration and secretary have re-
fused to recognize the fact that the revenue
has been and is still insufficient to meet the
expenditures, and have discouraged all at
practically insisting on continuation Of the
conditions which made 1t necessary to indi-
rectly use for current expenses the proceeds
of bonds sold for redemption purposes.
practically, therefore, the senate bill takes
away from the secretary the power to bor-
row either gold or silver to maintain the
coin redemption fund in the face of the fact
that the government owns only s2S7, 600 of
silver and little over 100000, 900 of gold
that can be used for redemption purposes,
which fund would disappear in very brief
period If 1t should be understood that the
power to borrow in an exigency had been
abrogated. The inevitable result of such
reckless course would be reputation by the
government, depreciation of the currency,
and such panic in the country as was
never before experienced"