The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-18
CONSEQUENCES OF THE LOAN.


The popular loan was great sue
cess. SO great that people have not
heard much else for fortnight past;
in fact. it is rather hard to tell which
is ringing in ones ears most, the
strains of Paradise Alley" or that
cry, 'The loan is a great success" The
people have been dazzled by it, but
at last they are beginning to look at
all sides of the case.
Nothing has done so much to draw
attention to the real character of the
of the bullion broker, Zimmerman, in
drawing gold directly from the sub
treasury in New York, presenting
greenbacks therefor and paying the
same gold back for bonds. We COM
mented on the case a few days ago.
Other papers have taken it up, giving
their views of the incident. The New
York Journal says:
The action of the bullion broker,
Zimmerman. cannot be too severely
condemned. 1t is neither patriotic nor
creditable, although it is not illegal.
Mr.. Zimmerman has a right to Specu-
ment just as Shylock had legal right
to speculate on the misfortune of the
Venetian merchants. We have the
right to condemn any such un-Amerl-
can conduct. But, meantime. 1t must
not be forgotten that the failure OIL
congress to pass proper financial meas
ureS puts the treasury gold balance at
the mercy of spectators The blame
which attaches to congress does not re
lieYe the spectators. Both are judged
by their own conduct. The one takes
advantage of the neglect of the other
to make raid on the treasury. Both
are wrong, and both are about equally
incapable of approaching the disgust
of men who love the country.
Just where the "un-American con-
duct of the affair comes in, we can
not see. If your Uncle Samuel will
insist on having all his notes payable
in gold, neither he nor any one else
has amy right to complain when his
notes are presented for payment. This
prating about presenting greenbacks
to the treasury and getting the gold
for them being "un-American conduct"
is rather nauseating. 1t reminds one
of DIR. Johnson's famous definition of
patriotism being "the last refuge of a
scoundrel."
The Washington Post takes an en-
tirely different view of the incident
from what the Journal does, and
much more sensible one,
The Zimmerman incident, which 50
aroused the ire of b-Treasurer Jordan
in New York on Monday, need not have
es111.ro,-i cad OT Ol1t,,a erad that Ions and
excellent official. 1t was nothing more
or less than the logical fruit Of the
financial plan upon which the admin
istration is now proceeding. thinner
man had perfect right, under the
law, to take his greenbacks to the
Sub-treasury and demand gold in ex-
change for them. Equally, he had a
perfect right to present that same gold
in payment for bonds to which he or
his client had subscribed. Such is
the privilege of any citizen under ex-
listing law. = = The simple truth
of the matter is that we can see not
the slightest warrant for expecting
that this sale of bonds will result in
adding perceptibly to The treasury's
stock Of gold. There has been a great
hurrah and jubtlation over it, but the
plain, ugly and inevitable fact is that
the gold to meet each successive in
stallment issue of bonds can be taken
out of the treasury for that purpose,
and that the government may easily
get to the end of the deal without hav-
ing increased its gold reserve at all.
There is no getting away from the
plain. ugly and inevitable fact
that the gold to meet each successive
installment issue of bonds can be ia
ken out of the treasury for that pur-
pose The Herald has pointed this
fact out repeatedly. Bond loans to cure
our financial ills are but sorry make
shift.