The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-07
THE NEW LOAN.

The House of Representatives has passed
bill authorizing the administration to
issue bonds at 3 per cent to maintain the
gold reserve. That bill is now before the
Senate and the committee in charge OF 1t
gave notice last week it would be reported
! to the Senate to-day. In the face OF these
facts Secretary Carlisle has arranged to
borrow at once 500, 100000 at 4 per cent.
There is nothing in the condition OF the
treasury that compels this hasty action,
and it can be construed only as notice
that Cleveland will not approve the bond
bill even if it should be passed, and in
tends to go his own way no matter what
Congress may do.
The bill passed by the House is an
emergency bill pure and simple. 1t was
| carried through IN a session held during
the holidays for the sole purpose OF avoid
ing another 4 per cent loan. The action
of the President in calling for such q loan
is, therefore, practically a notification OF
the intent of the bill while it IS yet in the
hands of the upper branch of Congress.
If such an action is not a direct violation
of the prerogative of Congress it is very
near il, and if Cleveland is not called upon
to answer for it it will be only because the
Republican leaders regard it as patriotic
duty at this time not to embarrass the
financial affairs of the country by taking
action that would further discredit the
administration.
The intent of the bond bill having been
thus forestalled, there is no longer any
reason why the Senate should be in haste
about passing it. The emergency is over
and the bill can now be discussed on its
merits. In that discussion the range of
debate should be broad enough to cover
the whole subject of Cleveland's loans
1t is a grave offense that the public debt of
the Nation should have been so greatly in
! creased in a time of profound peace. There
may have been nothing in these various
| loans worse than incompetercy and mis-
management, but the secret syndicate deal
OF last year raises suspicious of something
worse. Even the new loan, although it
ostensibly takes the form of popular sub
scrption, has been put forward under Cir
cumstances that justify an immediate de-
mand on the part of Congress for an
explanation why it was made in such haste
and for so large an amount.
The whole course OF the Cleveland ad-
ministration in making loans has been not
only unprecedented in our history, but
unnatural to our form of government. He
is not the sole one to blame for the neces-
sity of borrowing money, since a free-trade
Congress left him without a revenue
sufficient for the needs of the Government
but he is the person mainly responsible
for the extraordinary methods by which
he has undertaken TO meet the deficit. He
may not Intentionally have worked more
for the interest of Wall street than for the
welfare of the country, but certainly that
has been the result of what he has done.
All his dealings in this regard have been
distinctly discreditable to the Government
as well as disastrous to the people, and it
is high time he was called to account and
made to understand how near he has come
to those misdemeanors that would subject
him to impeachment.