The Holly chieftain., 1897-12-10
TIE CURRENCY PROBLEM.


TO withhold from Il o fair trial
TIE CuRRESCY PROBLEM.
Tarir legislation having been settled by the
| cHtra session OF congress. The question next
] pressing for consideration is that Of the cuT-
| reHry- The work. Of putting our finances upon q
! ound basis dinicuit a, It may seem, will appear
] easier when wC recall the financial operation OF
/ the goycrnmcu. since l-6b On the Both dag Of
| June Of that year we had outstanding demand
| liabilities In the sum Of s72s sG- 5iTfL On the
| l5t Of January. 1879. these liabilities had been
reduced 70 .ii3 So igjs. or our iHterest-bear-
| ing obligations the ngureS are even more
| striking on July |, no, the principal Of the
! iutrre l. bearing debt ut the government was
G. 3a3 3Il ,2s On the ist dag OF July. ls93. this
| sum had been reduced ia ;5s5 UI7. lUO. an az
| rFcgatc reduction Of 4 1924 lOA The inter-
| cst-bcariuP debt OF the United States on the
| lst day Of December lsU, was sSi7 SSj 651
! The government money now outstanding Dc-
| cculbcr u consists OF 1916. .6sl ,Oi6 OF United
| States notes. J7.7D3 - OF treasury notes is
sued by authority Of the law Of 1880 s35i gA3 5Di
OF silver certificates, aud G6l $50 76l OF standard
| silver dollars
! With the great resources OF the government,
nnG the honorable example OF the past before
Us We ought not to hesitate 10 enter upon Il
| currency revision which Will make our demand
! obligations less onerOus 10 the government and
| relieve our financial laws from ambiguity and
/ doubt Inc brlCl review OF "n1t was accom-
| pliShet from the close Of the war TO 1923 makes
| unrraS0nhblc and grOnndless any dstrust either
! OF our financial ability or soundncss. while the
| situation from 1898 to 1897 must admonish con-
grcss OF the immediate necessity OF SO legislat-
| ing as to make the return OF the conditions
then prevailing impossible.
There are many plans proposed Us q remedy
| for the evil Before we can find the true
remedy We must apprehend the real evil 1t 4,
not that our currency Of every kind is not good.
| for every dollar OF 1t is good; good because the
| governments pledge Is out TO kecplt so, and
that pledge will not be broken. However, the
| guaranty Of our purpose to keep the pledge
will bo best shown by advancing toward its
fulhllment The evil OF the present system IS
found In the great cost OF the government OF
maintaining the parity OF our different form,
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 pco-
pie, even under fairly prosperous conditions
while the past four years have demonstrated
that it is not only an expensive charge upon the
government, but dangerous menace to the
national credit
It Is manifest that we must devise some plan
to protect the government against bond issues
for repeated rcdenptons We must either
curtail the opportunity for speculation, made
easy by the multiplied redemptions Of our de-
mlnd obligations, or increase the gold reserve
for their redemption. We have $1,000 900 OF
currency which the government by solemn en-
actmcnt 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
rcncy and coin obligations while It's 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 II most needs IL The
government without any fixed revenue Is
pledged to maintain gold redemption which 1t
has steadily and faithfully done and which
under the authority now given II 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-
plcuiShrlcnt OF the gold reserve. This is cspG-
cially so In times OF business panic and when
the revenues are insufficient to meet the cx-
penses OF the government AT such times the
government has no other way to supply It's de-
ncit and maintain redemption but through the
increase OF its bonded debt Thus in the I'D
mnistration OF my predecessor, s26s 3I5.-
400 OF ~, 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 tina,
the greater part OF the proceeds OF these bonds
were used 10 supply deflclent revenues, con-
siderable portion was required to maintain the
gold reserve
With our revenues equal to our expenses,
there would be no deneit requiring the issu-
ance of bonds. But II the gold reserve falls
below sl0O OOD. 90 how will II be rcplenishcd
cept by selling more bonlsy Isthere any other
way practicable under existing law; The Sc
rious 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
mn Md. md dsu nj fbp e,.,ie q
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. / ear
restly recommend soon Us the receipts
OF the government are quite sufficient to pay
NIL 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 1t from
the government he should not receive back
from the government u United States note
without paying gold in exchange for IT. The
reason for this is made all the more apparent
when the government issues an intcrest-bearing
note to provide gold for the redemption OF
United States notes-a non-intercst bearing
debt Surely It should not pay them out again
except on demand and for gold II they are put
out in any other way they may return again TO
be followed by another bond issue to redeem
them-another interest bearing debt to redeem
O non-intcrest bearing debt
Providing Gold for Business.
In my view II is OF the utmost Importance
that the government should be relieved from
the business OF providing all the gold required
for exchange and export This responsibility
is alone borne by the government without any
of the usual and necessary banking powers to
help itself The banks do not feel the strain
Of the gold redemption The whole strain
rests upon the government and the size Of the
gold reserve In the treasury has come to be,
with or without reason. the signal Of danger
or Of security. This ought TO be stopped. II
We are 10 have an ern Of prosperity In the
country with suffcient receipts for the ex-
penses Of the government we may feel no I'M
mediate embarrassment from our present cur