The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-06-06
REPORTS TO THE HOUSE.
DINGLEY ON THE EFFECTS OF THE
BUTLER BILL.
The Evident Result of the Course
Proposed as Viewed By the Cen
tIen,an From the House Ways
and Means Committee.

WASHINGTON. June 5.-Chairman
Dingley of the house ways and means
committee today made a report to the
house on the senate resolution to pro-
hibit the issue of bonds without au-
thority from congress The statement
is signed by the eleven Republican
members and two Democrats, Turner
of Georgia and Cobb of Missouri, who
concur in the recommendation without
endorsing the argument. The report
says:
ut 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 author
ity of congress is meaningless VERDI
age, for everyone knows, without
declaration to this effect. that congress
NAV re-enact a law which has been re-
pealed, and the repeal is proposed just
as congress is ready to adjourn for
six months, and with the knowledge
that the senate, as at present constt-
tuted. would never authorize an issue
fund. To propose this when there is
and has been for three years a large
deficiency of revenue, inevitably raises
the inquiry whether it is not the DELHI
crate purpose of the promoters of this
bill to plunge the government into re-
pudiation and
DEPRECIATE THE GREENBACKS.
zone excuse which has been given
60, &I,o nf
that the secretary of the treasury has
sold bonds to syndicates instead of Of
fering them first as popular loans.
While we sympathiZe with this criti-
cism, yet this affords substantial
ground for amending the act of 1875
so as to require bonds issued under it
to be first offered to the American peo-
pie 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 revenue by using the redeemed Uni
ted States legal tender notes for cur
rent expenses and thus placing them
in position for a second redemption.
This affords grounds for such legisla-
ton as will make it practically impos-
sible to continue this practice, but not
satisfactory ground for taking from
the secretary
ALL POWER TO BORROW
for the purpose of maintaining the re-
demption fund"
After referring to the house bills for
popular loan for revenue, the report
| continues:
Instead of concurring in these two
bills. the senate refused to provide the
needed revenue or to authorize the is
sue of temporary certificates of indebt-
edness, thus practically endorsing the
secretary's course, fnasmuch 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 rotes.
Our criticism of the secretary is not
that he used the redeemed legal tender
notes to meet the deficiency in the alb
senca of revenue and authority to Dor
row for the distinct object, for no
| other recourse has been open to him
! unless the government was to stop,
| but the administration and secretary
! have
REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE THE
FACT
| that the revenue has been and still is
I
| insufficient to meet the expenditures
and have discouraged all steps to pro-
vide sufficient revenue, thereby prac-
! tically insisting on a continuation Of
the conditions which made it necessary
| to indirectly use for current expenses
the proceeds of bonds sold for redemp-
ton purposes.
Practically, therefore, the senate
bill takes away from the secretary the
! oft oOl or silver
| to maintain the coin redemption fund,
in the face of the fact that the gov
eminent owns only 2S7,000,000 of silver
dollars and little over $1,OO0000 OF
gold that can be used for redemption
purposes, which fund would disappear
in very brief period if it should be
understood that the power to borrow
in an exigency had been abrogated
The inevitable result of such reck-
less course would be reputation by the
government, depreciation of the cur
rency and such a panic in the country