The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-17
SILVER GIVEN A FAIR SHOW.
CARLISLE DENIES DISSEMINATION
AGAINST IT..

Certificates Greatly Exceeds the
Payments in GoId-SiIver Always
Accepted in Payment of Debts Due
the Government.
Washington March Representative
Patterson of Tennessee made public to-day
the following letter, which he received
this morning from Secretary Carlisle:
Treasury Department. office Of the Sec
rotary. Washington, ID. G., March IL. 1856
Hon Josiah Patterson. House OF Repre-
sentatives.
Nv dear sir: Your favor Of the 18th was
duly received and ought TO have been an
wered at once, but the pressure OF official
business has compelled me to delay re-
Spouse until now. You state that in a
speech delivered by Hon. Charles r. Crisp
in the House Of Representatives on the
l4th day of February. that gentleman said.
s'He (meaning the Secretary of the Treas
ury) refuses to give silver for gold because
ne must hold the silver to pay silver certi-
hcates and Sherman notes issued under
the act of 1890 and when a Sherman note
is issued under the act of 1880. is presented
he redeems it in gold and not in silver.
What mockery is this; what sort of friend
ly treatment is accorded silver by this
law and the practice that obtains at the
treasury of the United statesg' And YOU
ask me to state how you Cd have dealt
with the silver currency since your my
incumbency of the office Of Secretary of
the Treasury and whether you % have,
in dealing with the subject, discredited
silver?"
In answer TO your question ! can only
say that in all the operations of the treas
ury department during my adminiSt ratiOn
of its affairs the legal tender gold and
silver coins of the United States have been
treated precisely alike, except that greater
efforts have been made to keep silver coins
in circulation than have been made to
keep gold coins in circulation.
The amount paid out by the department
in silver coins and silver certificates
greatly. exceeds the amount paid out in
gold coins and gold certificates, and in no
instance has the least discrimination been
made against silver or it's paper represen-
tatiVes. In no instance has silver or silver
certificates been refused in payment of a
debt or demand due the government, and
in no instance has the government refused
10 pay silver coins or silver certificates in
the discharge of its obligations when the
holders of the obligations demand or re-
quested such payment. When the United
States notes or treasury notes are pre-
scented for redemption, gold is paid If It
is demanded. and If silver Is demanded
silver is paid. Thus the coins of the two
metals are treated exactly alike in max
ing payments by the government. as well
as in the discharge Of debts due TO the
government. Ii has always been the
policy of the treasury department to en-
courage the use of silver to the largest
possible extent and I'm order to accomplish
this standard silver dollars will be sent by
express at the expense of the government
to any one who will deposit an equivalent
amount in silver certificates or in treasury
notes of 1890 with the United
States treasurer or any assis-
tant treasurer, or with a national bank
depository, and subsidiary silver coins will
be sent by express at the expense of the
government to any one who will deposit
with such officers or banks, any kind of
United States currency or national bank
notes, but gold is not sent to anybody free
In August, 1S93 there was a great and
unusual demand in nearly every part of
the country for currency of small denomi-
nations, and in its attempts TO supply this
demand the treasury department paid ont.
in defraying the expenses of the govern
ment and in exchange of other forms of
currency all the silver that could be law
fully used for these purposes, so that for
a short period it was compelled TO sus-
pend payment in standard silver dollars
except in the redemption of silver certi-
ficates, and upon deposits of silver certih-
Gates and treasury notes of 1890. The law
authorizing the issue of silver certificates
upon deposits of silver provides that the
coin deposited for or representing the GER
tihcates shall be retained in the treasury
for the payment of same on demand" 1t
is therefore plain that whenever the
amount of silver dollars in the treasury
does not exceed the amount of silver GER
tlhcates outstanding the Secretary of the
treasury cannot, without violation of
the law, pay out such silver, except for
the redemption of certificates. At such
times ne has no more right to exchange
silver dollars for gold than he has to pay
them out in any other manner.
But there is also another fund in the
treasury which is required by law TO
be held for a different purpose. 1t con-
sists of the bullion and the standard
silver dollars eoined from the bullion pur--
chased under the act of July IA, 1890. That
act provides for the purchase of silver
bullion at the market price and the is
sue of treasury notes in payment for it,
and 1t also declares that mo greater or
less amount of such notes shall be out
standing at any time than the cost of the
silver bullion and the standard silver dol
lars coined from the amount held in the
treasury purchased by such notes.
Under this provision the secretary is re-
duired to keep in the treasury at all times
an amount of silver bullion, at its cost
price, and in standard dollars coined from
the purchased bullion exactly equal to
the amount of treasury notes oltsfand-
ing, and he cannot therefore lawfully
use such standard silver dollars except
treasury notes.
My letter to the United States Senate
upon which Mr.. Crisp's statement seems
to have been based, was written on Aug
II. 1888, and at that time there was no
free silver in the treasury that is there
were no standard silver dollars in the
treasury, except such as the law required
TO be held for the redemption of silver
certificates and the treasury notes of 1890
and these redemptions were made at ali
times during that month and every other
month when these forms of currency was
presented. During the month of August
1888, treasury notes to the amount OF 81 :
273, 267 were redeemed in silver, and can
celled, and since the first day of August
1893, the total amount of such notes re-
deemed in silver and cancelled is SIS, 5S3. 722
Prior to my administration of the affairs
of the department none of these notes had
been redeemed in silver or cancelled
Since the beginning of this administra-
ton nearly Sl1O.0000O0 has been procured
in exchange for other forms of currency.
OF this amount. sS,9l5.Sl2 has been pro-
cured in exchange for silver coin. and
$40. $3.50 in exchange for silver certif-
Gates. The department has never refused
TO exchange silver for gold, when it had
silver that could be lawfully
used for that purpose, and if
1t had so refused, / am wholly unable to
see how it could be considered discrimi-
nation against silver. Is a refusal to pay
out gold in exchange for silver a discrimf-
nation against gold? If not, it of course
follows that refusal to pay out silver for
gold is not discrimination against silver
In response to your verbal inquiry con-
corning the coinage Of standard silver dol
lars during the present administration.
you are advised that it amounts to the
sum of Sc, 662, 900, up to the 18th day of this