Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-02-11

treasury notes in actual circulation as
$S45. 1879. while the silver and gold
certificates in circulation at the same
time amounted to s894,54S, 2S9. More
than 50 per cent of the paper money
of the United States in circulation was
made up of Warehouse receipts" not
legal tender in other transactions than
the payment Of public dues.
Besides these descriptions of paper
currency issued by the United States
government there was in circulation,
at the date of the issue of the United
States treasury statistical report for
1896. national bank notes to the
amount of S21516S122. These notes
are redeemable in lawful money" OF
the United States and by the law au-
thorizing their issue were not made
legal tender. but receivable at par in
payment of dues TO the United States,
except duties on imports. and for
payments by the United States except
interest on public debt or redemption
OF national currency, and are receiy-
able by any national bank at par for
debts owing to it,
Here we have five kinds Of paper
money in circulation, aggregating over
$685.. O0O.O exclusive of that in the
United States treasury, only SO per
cent of which is legal tender in the
business of the country and every dol
lar can. by special contract, be made
Don-receivable in the discharge OF
business or private obligations of any
kind. Certainly such "heterogenity
needs simplidcation So far, Mr..
Cage is right.
Now look at the remedy proposed by
Mr.. Gage. He would have silver taken
aItoeetlsr out of the monetary system,
all the government notes retired, and
the paper currency confined to bank
notes redeemable exclusively in gold.
on the first of the present year there
were greenbaclls outstanding, not
counting those in the treasury, $261,-
35--5S. The total amount of gold in
the treasury at the same time was
s135.924193. Assuming, as the treasury
has done without warrant in law, that
these greenbac5s are redeemable in
gold alone instead Of in COIN there
was not quite gold enough to pay As
cents on the dollar. At the same time
there were in circulation silver certifi-
Gates and "ccn" notes issued for the
purchase of SILVER. and both by the in
tent of the law redeemable in silver
dollars. S44O.S27.021: To meet these
obligations the treasury held on that
date silver dollars and silver bullion
of the coinage value of S495, S99,S1S.
Every pledge of the United States GOV
eminent made on the face of these
silver notes can therefore be made
good and a surplus left. If Mr.. Gage
should carry out his idea of selling the
silver in the treasury and redeeming
am the obligations in gold the silver
certificates and treasury notes would
have IS cents of gold on the dollar
at their back. while the greenbacks
have only As cents. This meets the
disparaging reference to the silver
currency as compared with the green
back assumed. wrongfully, to be based
on gold exclusively.
A well digested plan for the sim
pHfcation of our paper currency will
commend itself to general approval,
but that plan must not be based on
GOLD redemption to the exclusion of
silver. That will be a wise plan which
has for it's ultimate object the retire
ment of the government from the
banking business and the substitution
of an elastic and safe bank note cur
rency. based on real money and every
note payable in COIN not in gold
or in silver" but in coin" of either
metal as most desirable and conven-
lent and with the minis open to the
coinage Of both metals on equal terms.
We do not believe President Mckinley
will ever send TO Congress a message
recommending placing our financial
system on an exclusively gold basis.
Were he to do so, there is not the
least likelihood that Congress would
follow the suggestion.