Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-01-25
THE NEW "ooIN" BOND ISSUE.
Efforts of the FREQ silverites to Cripple
Our National Credit.

Efforts of the FREQ Rilverites to Cripple
Our National Credit.
The foreign advices indicate tito be ex-
tremely improbable that any consider
able portion of the new four per cent.
"coin" bonds issued will be absorbed
in Europe. 1t is still less likely that
O subsequent issue would find favor
with foreign investors If the bonds
were made payable in "coin," which
means that future administration
would have the option of deciding
whether it would redeem the bonds
in gold or half-worth silver dollars,
after having borrowed gold. 1t is al
most certain such bonds could not be
sold at par, and exceedingly probable
they could not be disposed of abroad
except at great discount, while no
sane man doubts that q market could be
found for all the three per cent. bonds
we might want to sell if they were
made payable in as good money as our
government wants to secure.
The terms of the bill which passed
the house by majority of only 33 are
not calculated to attract foreign invest
ors; and yet it is believed that even this
mild measure could not pass the SEN
ate without having tackled to it n rider
for the coinage of "free silver" calcu-
lated and intended to defeat the gov
ernment in borrowing gold for the
maintenance of the treasury reserve.
- The contract for the 100000, 900 now
to be issued is not to be executed by
future legislation, unless that congress
legislates for rdirectrepudiation; but the
present issue of four per cent. 30-year
bonds will be made payable in "coin,"
and therefore open to all the objections
that attach to evasiveness of language,
especially when large proportion of
the lawmakers are avowedly in favor
of constituting such language to per-
nit payment in half-worth silver. If
the word gold" had been substituted
for "coin" these bonds would readily
sell for one-third more money. a
three per cent. bond, payable principal
and interest in gold, would readily sell
now for gold at premium. But the
congressional national credit wrecliers
care nothing for the interests of the
government. They do not want to up
hold but to pull down to the 50-cent
dollar level
1t is an important feature of the
present contract that the bonds shall
be taken by the banks of the United
States, and not have to be offered in
quantity to markets across the Allan
tic. Some of the bonds may be offered
There later, but it is our home banks
that have undertaken to build up the
credit of the government. Many of the
bonds will be taken by national banks
and used as the basis for additional
circulation, thus preventing decrease
in the total volume of the currency.
Others will be taken by savings banks,
and still others by individuals, some
= of whom will have to pay for them in
currency, but the gold will have been
furnished to the government out of the
bank boards. In addition to this there
is reason to believe that the leading
banks have agreed under certain condi-
tions to exercise a more or less COM
plete control of the movement of gold
between this and other countries by
raising or lowering the rates paid for
the use of money, as is done in Great
Britain, France, Germany and Russia
So it may be considered certain that
the parity will be preserved until after
the people of the United States have
had the opportunity to say at the next
election whether or not they are in
favor of having the present currency
standard maintained or slumped to
half-value money.-Chicago Tribune.