Evening star., 1896-10-06
or Of The Evening Star:

To the Editor OF Inc Evening QUIT
A claim has been made in certain quar-
ters and is quoted in your valuable paper
of September %. that the outflow OF gold
in the past three years was due to some
mysterious phase of the currency question,
and not to the tariff. The whole state
ment is somewhat involved, but the alleged
proof of it does not appear to be tenable;
that proof is said to lie in the present i'm
portation of gold.
We have learned from several sources
that our general exports have lately ex-
ceeded the imports; and certainly II out
going steamers are "doing good business
in eastward freight" we may expect gold
from Europe to pay a favorable balance.
That is one good tariff explanation for the
present Importation of gold, while Its con-
verse abundantly explains the previous
drain of the precious metal. A few Of your
readers may need to be reminded besides,
that gold may be taken in or paid out for
other reasons than those Of ordinary trade;
as one instance, at the beginning of this
year the British jirgo resolved to fight us
about Venezuela; timid European holders
of our securities at once launched them on
the market and their demand for gold
brought about special drain; but now the
times have changed. There Is, first, reason
for believing that England is not going to
with Immediately, and, second,
there is the best reason for anticipating
improved times in this country very soon;
therefore European money holders have re-
sumed Gas your Finance and Trade col
umn has lately shown the purchase of
American securities, paying for them in
gold, as usual; that is another explanation
for the present importation of gold, but 1t
has nothing to do with the currency ques-
ton per Sc. The two explanations given
seem sufficient to indicate that the present
movement in gold does not depend on cur
rency while of them is consistent with
tariff experience.
1t Is further claimed that difference of
$iO.OG0.0O in favor of the present year" Is
due to the contraction of the currency
which has followed the bond sales and the
accumulation Of legal tender notes in the
treasury" Apart from the risky claim that
Contraction is favorable" and the i'm
piled possibility that by indefinite contrac-
ton we might get indefinite gold without
excessive premiUm-it is known that there
have been several sales of bonds, and the
others were not followed by gain of in
| terest-free gold; moreover, several months
had elapsed between the last sale OF bonds
and the present influx, so that this can
hardly be credited even to the whole of said
sales. The accumulation of legal tender
notes in the treasury" is important from a
| tariff point of view. With a tariff for de-
| ficiency," whatever money happens to be in
| a half-depleted treasury must be paid out
| In answer to certain demands, so that GER
| tain notes bring about the "endless chain. -
| which we have heard so much of, but only
in the past three years. That Is not the
| case, however, with a tariff which keeps
| the treasury so full that gold Is not de-
| manded in excess for imports or for hoard
| Ing; therefore discrimination can be made
| in the money paid out, so that accumula.
| ton of endless chain notes could be carried
| on, if necessary, until Congress settled thai
detail.
The wall that there is deficit for Sep
| tember is a natural consequence of the
| Wilson-Gorman tariff" bill, and the degres
of the deficit Is the only change In that de-
plorable measure. Custom receipts
| have fallen" but, conceding this to be true
| in the face Of statements from othel
| sources that the eastward ocean freigh
| now exceeds the westward, why SHOULD
they not while business is dull and peopl,
may be less able even than they were las
uries. But again, might this not be tenn
porarily due to waiting for the result Of tn
| election?
The suggestion in the annual message
last Dec ember, that the void in the circula
ton caused by the retirement of the green
backs, could be filled by the importation O
gold," is interesting; but people of lttl
faith will not believe that the miracle (fron
the point Of view of last December) Of tn
present inflow of gold was prophesied Il
those words.
| We have yearned for prosperity in tn
past four years, and experience shows tina
1t can be obtained by a return to the polio
which gave us a surplus for as many year
as we chose. 1t may be moderate or TEN
porarily large according to the needs of tn
country. Withdrawal of certain notes O
completion Of national defenses would b
trifles to US, and after those trif1es W
debt instead of adding to 1t, as becam
s necessary under the present policy MnK