St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-28
GOLD MOVEMENTS.

The imbecile performances Of this
congress are nowhere better illustrated
by effects than in the continued move
ment Of gold back and forth, prior to
the subscription for the new loan that
is to be made in about two weeks. Gold
and legal tenders are both at an actual
premium of about three-fourths Of 1
per cent in New York city. This fact
alone tells the whole story The green
backs bear premium for one sole
reason; namely, because they can be
used to draw gold out Of the treasury.
For no other purpose is there any con-
ceivable preference in the public mind
for them as compared with any other
form Of money They cannot be used
at the banks to obtain gold, but are a
menace to the United States treasury
alone. In the meantime, with that
situation prevailing in the commercial
metropolis Of this country, gold is be-
ing both exported and imported at the
same moment in considerable amount.
Exports are to cover drafts made upon
the treasury by foreign subscribers to
the new loan, who intend to be prepared
to pay for any bonds that may be as
signed to them, using our own coin
from our own reserve when the
time comes. For this reason they send
orders to their agents on this side to
obtain greenbacks, and pull money out
of the treasury, with which their sub
scriptions may be met. On the other
hand are the domestic subscriptions,
including a number of banks and sup
posedly patriotic individuals, who have
declared that they will find the gold to
pay for their bonds without drawing
on the treasury. What they do is to
draw gold from London on bills; and
London, in its turn. makes an equiva-
lent draft, in the manner described, by
orders to agents on this side Of the
water, upon the treasury
Thus, sooner or later, the entire
amount of yellow metal necessary to
pay for the bond issue will be taken
from the treasury Of the United States.
This is the method. made necessary
by congressional inaction, of build
ing UP the gold reserve" 1t is the most
1diotic performance that was ever per-
mitted in any country under the sun.
All that Is necessary to stop it, all that
IS necessary to restore confidence, cause
the gold reserve to cease forever from
troubling the country, put an end to
al ict,,
rency question to drop out of the per-
turbed minds of this people, is to re-
tire the greenbacks. 1t could be done
with no more effort, ar no greater cost
to the people than the policy which if
IS now necessary to pursue. But a
body of representatives who are partly
lacking in common sense and still more
lacking in common patriotism refuse
this relief, and the country goes on
gaining gold and losing gold and piIing
up its Understanding debt to redeem
notes that go in and out Of the treasury
again as rapidly as they can be pre-
scented; calling forever for new redemp-
tons and new bond issues, and i'm
posing enormous cost upon the people
OF this country to no useful purpose,
to say nothing of the business losses
that arise from the disturbed condi-
ton of public affairs. For the present,
there is complete breakdown in our
system Of government as far as it's
finances are concerned. 1t will not
be remedied until we get a different
sort Of congress from that which is
now delivering spfead-eagle speeches at
the capital on foreign affairs, while do
mestic interests, which are of more
moment to us than what happens in
any other quarter Of the globe, are
shamefully neglected.