The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-01-10

forced the treasury to encroach upon the
! redemption fund to meet current ohliga'
tions. If this policy is adopted to compel
| the people of the United States to surren'
! der the best paper currency they have ever
| vet enjoyed. it will fail. If the revenue Is
wanted tx, meet current expenditures, ii
will be furnished either by taxation or by
| borrowing, or by both, but to create def
ciencies in order to compel the cancella
ton of United States notes by the issue of
| bonds will not, in the language of the
president ''meet with legislative approx
| al"
Mr.. Cleveland in his message complains
that when notes are presented for redemp'
ton and are redeemed the law requires
| that they shall belong to the United States,
they shall not be retired, Cancelled or de-
stroyed, but they shall be reissued and
paid out again and kept In circulation.
The right to reissue is necessary Incl
dent to circulating note The United
States does what every bank does By this
provision it furnishes note for circula
tion better than any other yet devised by
mortal man.
He also says:
1.-THE government was put in the anoma-
lous situation of owing to the holders OF
Its notes debts payable in gold on demand
which could neither be retired by receiv-
ing such notes in discharge of obligations
due the government nor Cancelled by actu-
al payment in gold 1t was forced to re-
deem without redemption and to pay with
out acquittance.
1t seems to me that when the govern
ment redeems it's note the former holder
of the note has no right to say whether IL
Ill 10 or hn Loot
is without meaning. If the United
States redeems its note, the holder has
nothing more to say, and when the United
States pays out a note it always takes a
receipt, which is an acquittance.
The president says that in April, 1893,
for the first time since it's establishment,
this reserve amounted to less than 800.
900, 900, containing at that date only S97
oil, $50. This significant statement made
as to the earliest days of his administra.
ton should have excited in the mind of
the president an inquiry into the cause of
the reduction of the reserve. The real re-
serve for redemption purpose was the pro-
ceeds of 500, 500, 900 bonds and no more.
In addition to this reserve it is necessary
to have on hand to meet current expendi-
lures the sum of from $40, 900, 900 to $40,-
900, 900. At certain periods large balance
is accum ulated to pay the interest of the
public debt and other large disbursements
for the army and navy. Any excess should
be at once applied to the reduction of the
principal of the public debt. This line of
public policy was continued from the 1st
of January, 1879, to the 4th of March,
1898, including the first administration Of
Mr.. Cleveland. During this period many
times more gold was deposited in the
treasury than was paid out. Large amounts
of gold were deposited in the treasury for
gold certificates. The public debt was
largely diminished. Not a shadow of a
doubt had been cast upon the ability of
the government to redeem it's notes or to
maintain its reserves. The minimum new
or fell below 800, 900, 600.
The Resumption Law.
Nor would the reserve have fallen below
that minimum during and after 1898 but
for the known policy of the president to
hFeduce duties on imported goods. followed
soon by the enactment of the tariff law
NOW In force, resulting in large reduc-
Nion of revenue and in deficiencies that
could only be paid out of the resumption
fund
1t is but fair to state that the reSump-
ton act of 1875 did not segregate the re-
sumption fund from the general balance,
nor did it provide that notes redeemed
should be held in place for the coin paid
out. The secretary of the treasury in his
annual report to congress on the 9th of
December pointed out these defects in the
resumption law. He said:
"The secretary expresses the utmost con-
fidence that without new legislation the
entire amount of United States notes now
authorized and outstanding can be easily
maintained at par in coin, even If the pres
emit favorable financial condition should
change, but in order to accomplish this
the coin reserve must be kept unimpaired.
except by such payments as may be made
from it, in redemption notes. Notes re-
deemed should be temporarily held in
place of the coin paid out especially if it
appears that the call for coin is greater in
amount than the coin coming in due
course into the treasury or the minis.
"It Is suggested that congress might de-
fine and set apart the coin reserve as
special fund for redemption purposes.
The general available balance is now treat
ed as such fund, but as this balance
may, at the discretion of the secretary of
the treasury, be unduly drawn upon for
the purpose of payment of bonds it would
appear advisable that congress prescribe
the maximum and minimum of the fund"
Congress neglected to enact into law the
measures proposed, but neither the con-
gress nor the secretary of the treasury an
ticipated that the time would come when
this fund would be applied to pay current
deficiencies in the revenue amounting in
2h years to sl62, 900, 900.
The President and Mr.. Carlisle Corrected.
Both the president and the secretary
say that no provision was made for the
happening Of such deficiencies, and say
their only resort was the general fund Of
the treasury composed of the resumption
fund and the general balance in the treas
ury But II Is due to truth to say that In
February 1898, short time before the
close of the Fifty second congress, when
Mr. Carlisle was member of the commit
tee on finance of the senate and it was
known that he was to be secretary of the
treasury and when the probabilities or a
deficiency became apparent, that commit
tee upon my suggestion, with the appro'
baton of Mr. Carlisle, reported an amend
ment to the appropriation bill as follows
ITO enable tho secretary of the treasury to
provide for and to maintain the redemp.
tion of United States notes according to
the provisions of the act approved Jan. IA,
1876, entitled an Act to provide for the re-
sumption of specie payments 500, 600,
and Mt Tho discretion of the secretary he Is