Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1897-12-09
All Sections Are Unified.

vision on ancient lines Questions Of foreign
policy, OF revenue, the soundness Of the cur
rency the inviolability Of national obligations
the improvement of the public service, appeal
to the individual conscience Of every earnest
citizen to whatever party he belongs or in
whatever section of the country he may reside.
IndOrses Special Session Legislation.
The extra session of this congress which
closed during July last, enacted important
legislation and while its full effect has not yet
been realized, whatit has already accomplished
assures us OF its timeliness and wisdom. To
test its permanent value further time will be
required and the people, satisfied with its
operation and results thus far are in no mind
TO withhold from 1t fair trial
THE CURRENCY PROBLEM.
Tariff legislation having been settled By the
extra session OF congress, the question next
pressing for consideration is that Of the cur
rency, The work of putting our finances upon
sound basis, difficult as itmay SEEM will appear
easier when we recall the financial operation Of
the government since 1866 On the 3Oth day of
June of that year we had outstanding demand
liabilities in the sum of 1928 S6S, 54L4l On the
LIST of January, 1879, these liabilities had been
reduced to S443 $3.50, 495 3d. OF our interest-bear-
ing obligations the figures are even more
striking. On July 1, 1866, the principal OF the
interest bearing debt of the government was
s., 1872 1891, POS On the LIST day Of July 1893 this
sum had been reduced to 1885 O37, 100 or an ag-
gregate reduction Of S1,747.204 1903 The inter-
est-bearing debt of the United States on the
iSt day of December, 1897, was J8l7, 365, $40.
The government money now outstanding ODE
Cember y consists of S346, 1881, 0l6 of United
States notes, a1O7 793, $50 Of treasury notes is
sued by authority of the law Of 1890, 1884, 5O4
of silver certificates, and a6l $50 76l of standard
silver dollars.
With the great resources Of the government
and the honorable example of the past before
us we ought not to hesitate to enter upon
currency revision which will make our demand
obligations less onerous to the government and
relieve our financial laws from ambiguity and
doubt The brief review of what was accom-
plished from the close Of the war to 1893 makes
unreasonable and groundless any distrust either
OF our financial ability or soundness while the
situation from 1893 to 1897 must admonish con-
.gress of the immediate necessity of so legislat-
ing as to make the return of the conditions
then prevailing impossible,
There are many plans proposed as remedy
for the evil Before we can find the true
remedy we must apprehend the real evil 1t is
not that our currency Of every kind is not good,
for every dollar Of it is good good because the
governments pledge is out to keep it so, and
that pledge will not be broken. However, the
guaranty of our purpose to keep the pledge
will be best shown by advancing toward its
fultillment, The evil of the present system is
found in the great cost Of the government of
maintaining the parity of our different forms
of money, that is keeping all Of them at par
with gold We surely cannot be longer heed
less of the burden this imposes upon the peo-
pie even under fairly prosperous conditions
while the past four years have demonstrated
that 1t is not only an expensive charge upon the
government, but dangerous menace to the
national credit
II Is manifest that we must devise some plan
to protect the government against bond issues
for repeated redemptions We must either
scurtail the opportunity for speculation, made
easy by the multiplied redemptionS Of our de-
mand obligations, or increase the gold reserve
for their redemption. We have 800 0000 900 of
currency which the government by solemn en-
actment has undertaken to keep at par with
gold. Nobody Is obliged to redeem in gold but
the government The banks are not required
to redeem In gold The government is obliged
TO keep equal with gold all its outstanding cur
rency and coin obligations while its receipts
are not required to be paid in gold. They are
paid in every kind Of money but gold, and the
only means by which the government can with
certainty get gold Is by borrowing. 1t can get
it in no other way when it most needs it. The
government without any fixed revenue Is
pledged to maintain gold redemption, which it
has steadily and faithfully done and which
under the authority now given it will continue
to do.
Redemption of Government Notes.
The law which requires the government after
having redeemed its notes to pay them out
again as current funds demands constant re-
plenishrent OF the gold reserve. This is espe-
Clally so in times Of business panic and when
the revenues are insufficient to meet the ex-
penses Of the government AT such times the
government has no other way to supply its de-
felt and maintain redemption but through the
increase Of its bonded debt. Thus in the ad-
ministration OF my predecessor, 1882 3l5,-
400 of AZ per cent bonds were issued and sold
and the proceeds used to pay the expenses of
the government in excess of the revenues and
sustain the gold reserve. While it is true that
the greater part of the proceeds of these bonds
were used to supply deficient revenues, con-
siderable portion was required to maintain the
gold reserve.
With our revenues equal to our expenses,
there would be no deficit requiring the issu-
;ance Of bonds. But il the gold reserve falls
below 200 900 0)0 how will it be replenished ex-
cept by selling more bonds? Is there any other
way practicable under existing law? The Sc
-rlous question then is shall we continue the
policy that has been pursued in the past; that
is when the gold reserve reaches the point Of
danger, issue more bonds and supply the needed
gold, or shall we provide other means to pre-
vent these recurring drains upon the gold re-
server II no further legislation is had, and the
policy Of selling bonds is to be continued, then
congress should give the secretary OF the treas
ury authority to sell bonds at long or short pc
riods, bearing less rate OF interest |
than is now authorized by law. 1 ear
-nestly recommend as soon as the receipts |
of the government are quite sufficient to nav |
all the expenses of the government that when |
any OF the United States notes are presented |
for redemption in gold and are redeemed in |
gold, such notes shall be kept and set apart,
and only paid out in exchange for gold. This |
is an obvious duty. II the holder OF the United |
States note prefers the gold and gets it from
the government he should not receive back
'from the government a United States note