Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-01-06
What Senators and Representatives
Say of the Bond Sale.
FHE SYNDICATE HAY GET THEM
Some Hope for the Success of a
Popular Loan.
A POSSIBLE CONTINGENCY

the sentiment of lis resolution prohibit
ing the sale of bonds by private contract.
he will not further press that resolution in
the Senate. Tomorrow, when the Senate
meets, he Will ask that 1t be allowed TO lie
ever. The expressions of men i'm Congress
who are in closest sympathy with the ad-
| ministration indicate that there Is very
| little expectation on the part of the ad-
| minstr tion that popular loan will result
from the advertisement for lids for a hun
dred millions of bonds. The offer of bonds
| is made in this way in consideration of
the criticism which the contract system
has excited. and on account of the hostile
| attitude of Congress toward that system.
| 1t is believed that the announcement is
made now so as to avoid as far as possible
the appearance of having been driven by a
resolution of Congress to adopt the policy
OF opening the bonds to the public. There
| Is little doubt that the contract with the
Morgan people would have been signed and
| the bonds have been delivered to them III
| the outcry had not been raised in Con-
| gress The Elsins resolution was probably
| Influential in changing the plans of the de-
partment
Syndicate Expected TO Get the Bonds.
1t is regarded as by no means improbable,
however, that the syndicate will get the
| bonds just he same. This is evidently what
| is expected by those who uphold the con-
| tract policy. They expect to see it demon
strated that the contract system is the best
| and, in fact, the only system which will meet
| the present emergency. The conditions have
been prepared for just such a demonstra-
| zion. The syndicate has been given long
| notice and is thoroughly Informed as to the
| conditions of bid which will be most ac-
ceptable to the department. They have been
gathering gold, and ii is expected that they
| will put in bid for the whole amount of
| bondsu rder the conditions of the contract
1 tod 20. a1.rs.a ~hae
| bids will come in various amounts and at
various rates. Any or all can be rejected.
! Some of the friends of the administrat ton
go so far as to predict that there will be no
| offers which can be accepted and that the
| syndicate will have to be dealt with after
ward. They evidently look for vindication
| in this way of the course of the administra-
| tion to the last bond issue.
Popular Loan May BE Successful.
Those who have been insisting upon
popular loan predict that the administra-
ton and the syndicate will be disappointed
| in this, and that sthe Secretary of the
Treasury will find more gold at his disposal
| than he has asked for and at lower in
terest. They say that unless the Secretary
has made up his mind that the syndicate Is
to have the bonds, whether or no. the popu-
lar loan will be successful. Senator FL
kins says that he expects all the bonds TO
| be taken up promptly by private indi-
viduals. The leading republicans of the
| House, without discussing the good faith
| of the offer, generally express satisfaction
at the offer heng made in this way.
Mr.. Dingley said that he thought IL n
good thing that the administration had
adopted this method, and he thought that
the effect of this advertisement for bonds
| ought to be to secure the prompt passage
of the House bills through the Senate. Ho
did not have any doubt about the offer be-
ing promptly responded to by bids from our
! own people. He was pleased that the ad-
ministration had been driven to abandon
| the contract system, and SAID that lts
| abandonment was a practical acknowleds-
ment of the mistake of the former sale
Representatives Patterson and Cobb. who
are intimate friends and most earnest sup
porters of the President, both expressed
the opinion that the popular loan would be
| a failure and that the bonds would finally
have to be sold at private sale. Mr. Cobb
said that he was very much pleased with
| the course of the President, but that he
| believed that the President was right in the
| opinion that a private sale was most ad-
vantageous 1t was right, however, to offer
the bonds in this way, and the result, he
thought, would be a vindication OF the
course of the administration in the former
transaction. The people who want a pop
ular loan, he said. would now have 70
fish or cut bait. They were offered the
chance to make good their criticisms.
Mr.. Patterson said he did not think a
popular loan was practicable under the
circumstances The Presidents course was
wise. however. inasmuch as it would relieve
the administration from criticism. Ulti-
mately, the syndicate would get the bonds.
May BE a Raid on the Treasury.
A contingency is suggested which may
| change the situation and compel private
| sale Of bonds on short notice before the ex-
| piration of the time within which BIDS
| may be submitted.
There may be, it is suggested raid
started on the gold reserve at once. Every
| one who wants to buy bonds may go there
"A gold
syndicate themselves, wanting to demon
strate the dangers of advertising for q
popular loan, may make the ras1.
The success or failure of the popular loan
will, it is believed, depend upon how favor
ably the bankers look upon it. If there
should be a raid within a short time, such
as to drain all about all of the gold
from the treasury before the 9Th of Feb
ruary, when the bids for bonds are to be
, opened. the treasury would have to resort
to the most effective and speedy means
possible to repair the damage. This is
practically the danger which the admins
tration has pointed out as an objection to
a popular loan. 1t is situation which
might be brought about If parties in COM
bination who hold the bulk of the outstan1-
ing greenbacks should desire 1t.
Senator's Indfsposed TO TnIk.
Senators did not seem disposed to talk
about the bond cali issued by Secretary
Carlisle. Democratic Senators generally
were non-committaL Senator's Harris and
Vest, both members of the finance commit
tee, said that they had not read the call
and had nothing to say. Senator German
said the. call was all right, and was the
same as the first two bond issues by this
administration.
There were not many republican Sena-
tors about the Capitol today and most of
them Were retcent as TO the call. Senator
Morrill,, chairman of the finance committee,
said that there was nothing to say about
the CALL that it spoke for itself
Senator Teller sad he was gratified that
the President had decided upon a popular
loan, and he had no doubt the people would
respond in way to justify the course de-
cided upon, Mr.. Teller did not believe that
the entire sum of Si00,0O0,0o0 asked for
would be necessary. For himself he did
not consider that any bonds Were demand
ed, and he thought that even from the
Presidents point of view a smaller sum
than S100,o0o,0oo would be sufficient.
a Surprise i'm the House.
The bond call gave an entire surprise to
the House. for IT had no; been expected TO