Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-05
SILVER AND GOLD
Mr.. Dingley on the Senate Substi-
tute Bond Bill.
A STATEMENT TO THE HOUSE
Evils That It Is Claimed Would
Follow Free Coinage.
M = " T ~ n, 9 Nv A N6 DIT u
M E XICO' MPLEI

In the House this afternoon Mr.. Dingiey,
chairman of the ways and means commit
tee, called UP the bond bill reported back
to the House by Mr. Dingley's committee
with recommendation that the House do
rot concur in the Senate substitute. Mr..
Dingley in calling up the bill said:
The House. after sending TO the Senate
measure to so increase the revenue
to- prevent a deficiency after it should be
fully in operation, asked the concurrence
of that body in the pending act, which
proposed first to authorize the reduction of
the rate of interest and the term of bonds
thereafter to be issued under The act of
1879 to maintain the greenback redemp-
ton fund; eecondly, to require that such
bonds should he made a popular loan, and
offe red first to the American people; and
thirdly, that the proceeds of all bonds SO
sold should be devoted exclusively to the
redemption of United States legal tender
notes, while temporary deficiencies of rev.
enue should be met only with short-term
certificates of Indebtedness
majority of the Senate, by refusing
to agree to either of these propositions Of
| the House, and at the same time by pro-
posing to leave in full force the act of 1875,
which authorizes the issue of thirty years
4 per cent bonds and ten years 5 per cent
bonds, and with the full knowledge that
loan of enc hundred millions would be
| made within Il few days if there should be
no legislation otherwise, has practically
consented to an issue of one hundred mill
lions of thirty years 4 per cent bonds,
when by concurring in the House bill the
| interest on these bonds (as we'll as others
TO he issued could have been reduced to
per cent per annum, and the time in
which they are to run could nave been
shortened to a minimum of five Years and
a maximum Of fifteen years. The saving
to the treasury in this loan alone estimat-
ing ) per cent loan at par Qor there is
a ! would
heen taken by our own people, and the 4
per cent loan at the average premium
that it will be sold for, would nave been
not less than eighty millions of dollars
Again the Senate has declined 10 agree
to the proposition of the House to require
| that all bonds hereafter disposed of shall
American people, and by such refusal has
made possible a repetition Of a sale If such
| bonds to foreign syndicates at an made
| quate price, without giving the American
people an opportunity to subscribe for
| them.
Ought Not to Recede.
| Neither ought the House to recede from
| its proposition that the proceeds of bonds
| sold under the act of 1870 shall be devoted
| exclusively to redemption purposes, and
that whenever revenue temporarily fails to
| meet current expenditures and it becomes
| necessary to borrow money to meet such
| temporary deficiencies, it shall be raised
| not by using redeemed greenbacks that
| would be at once returned for a second re-
demp.ion, but by issuing certificates of in
debtedness to be paid from revenues within
| three years.
With the knowledge that within the past
| two years and half the treasury has sold
| about 162 millions of and per cent bonds
| for 1S2 millions of gold, with which it has
redeemed 1S2 millions of greenbacks, and
| then has Immediately paid out 133 millions
| OF the redeemed greenbacks to be presented
| a second rp6PmDfinn n H.
| EcDs of deficiency of revenue, and with the
| further knowledge that this performance
| is still going on, the House still insists on
the legislation it has proposed to the Sen
ate looking first to an increase of revenue
! and at the same time to a separation of the
reserve for the redemption of United States
| notes from the cash in the treasury availa-
| bic to meet current eXpenses-a separation
| secured by devoting the proceeds of bonds
| sold under the act of 1875 exclusively to
| redemption purposes, and by providing that
| only revenue and temporary certificates of
| Indebtedness shall be available for current
| expenses.
| The propositions contained in the pend
| ing measure as 1t passed the House are so
| important a restoration of the treasury to
| the sound condition which existed from 1879
| to 1893 that the House ought to insist on
the action it has already taken.
The Senate substitute for the measure
| proposed by the House, not only entirely
| fails to meet the ends sought by the House
! act, but its enactment into law would
! greatly Increase the existing distrust and
| business depression, and result in disasters
| which would be far more intense than even
| the serious evils which the country has eX-
| perienced in the past three years-aH the
| more deeply felt because they followed SO
| long period or uninterrupted prosperity.
The Senate Substitute.
| The Senate substitute proposes first IRE
versing this ordeD to require the treasury
| to redeem greenbacks and other legal ten
der demand notes in standard silver dollars
or gold coin at the option of the Secretary
Exactly what the object of this provision
| may be is not certain. Under existing law
| the Secretary of the Treasury has the OBJ
| ton to redeem greenbacks and Treasury
notes IN either gold or silver full legal ten
uer COIN at his discretion, subject only to
the declaration of the act of 1880, that it
is 'the established policy of the United
| States to maintain the two metals on a
parity with each other upon the present
| legal ratio or such ratio as may be pro-
| vided by law"
AS the proposed provision reaffirms the
| existing law so far as the Secretary is
| given the option to redeem in either gold
| or silver, but omits the declarati ton that it
| is the policy of the United States to main
tain gold and silver full legal tender coin
at parity. 1T would probably be claimed
| Ii this provision should become law. that
| it 1epeals such declaration and by implica-
| ton not only takes away from the Secre-
tary any obligation to maintain such par
! be broken, and that in such a case II
would be the duty Of the Secretary to re-
| deem greenbacks and pay other govern
ment obligations in the less valuable coin
| Gold and Silver.
But whatever may be the object of the
majority of the Senate in adopting this
provision at this inopportune time, there is
| little doubt that those who have money to
! lend would construe it, if 1t should be con-
! CURED in by both houses, as an fntimation
| that the government does not intend to
| longer maintain the parity of gold and
silver coins.
| Capitalists would naturally infer in such
| a contingency that inasmuch as it could
possibly make no difference to the treas
| ury whether it paid in gold or silver SO long
as the government proposed to maintain
| equivalency of value purchasing power
| of the silver dollar and the gold dollar,
| there must be in the mind of the Congress
| which took the pains to enact a law in
| ferentialIy repeating the parity declaration
| of 1880 and emphasizing the option given
| the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem
| in either silver or god that there was an
| intention to force silver dollars on unwilI-
| ing holders of government obligations, and
\ at the same time to allow silver full legal
| tender coin to depreciate.