The herald., 1896-06-06
TIE F|FTY.FOUR1H CONGRESS
Continued from rirst paee

| to repeal 80 much of the resumption act
| as authorizes the secretary of the treas
| ury to borrow coin to maintain the re-
| demption fund; yet this is the legal ef-
| feet of the language employed.
THE attempt to cloud this repeal by
! reference to further authority of con-
| gress is meaningless verbiage, for every
one knows, without a declaration to this
| erect, that congress may re-enact law
which has been repealed and the repeal
is proposed just as congress Is ready
to adjourn for six months, and with the
knowledge that tho senate as at>eresent
constituted, would never authorize an
issue of bonds to maintain the rede1hp-
tion 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 deliber-
ate purpose of the promoters of this bill
to plunge the government into repudia-
tion and depreciate the greenbacks
"One excuse which has been given for
the passage of the senate bill is that the
secretary of the treasury has sold bonds
to syndicates instead of offering them
first as popular loans. While we SYM
pathize with this criticism, yet this af-
fords substantial ground for amending
the act of 1876 SO as to require bonds is
sued under it to be first offered to the
American people 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 the
redeemed United States legal tender
notes for current expenses thus
placing them in a position for second
redemption This affords grounds for
such legislation as will make 1t practi-
cally impossible to continue this prac-
tice, but not satisfactory ground for
taking from the secretary all power to
borrow for the purpose of maintaining
the redemption 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 issue
of temporary certificates of indebted
ness, thus practically endorsing the sec
Setary's course, inasmuch as in the alb
Sehce 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 notes.
Our criticism of the secretary is not
that he used the redeemed United States
legal tender notes to meet the deficiency
in the absence of authority to borrow for
the distinct object, for no other recourse
has been open to him unless the gov
ernment was to stop, but the administra-
ton and secretary have refused to rec
ognize the fact that the revenue has
been and still is insufficient to meet the
and have discouraged all
steps to provide sufficient revenue,
thereby practically insisting on a con-
tinuation of the conditions which made
it necessary to indirectly use for current
expenses the proceeds of bonds sold for
purposes.
Practically. therefore, the senate bill
takes away from the secretary the power
to borrow either gold or silver to MAIN |
tain the coin redemption fund in the face
IF the fact that the government owns |
only s2S7, 100000 of silver dollars, and a
title over $100, 1000, 900 of gold that can be !
Used for redemption purposes, which /
fund would disappear in a very brief |
period if it should be understood the |
power to borrow in an exigency had been /
lbrogated. The inevitable result of such |
4 reckless course would be reputation |
~ the government depreciation of the |
and such panic in the country |
Is was never before experienced"