The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-12-07

Washington, d. c., December o.
President Mckinley to-day sent his an
nual message to Congress, congratulate
ing II upon re-assembling under felicl-
Aous condition, and calling for grateful
acknowledgment to benehcent Provl-
dence which has so signally blessed and
prospered this nation. Peace and good
will with all the nations of the earth
continue unbroken, he says. He also
expresses genuine satisfaction at the
growing spirit of fraternal regard and
the unification of all sections of our
country, upon the universal spirit OF pa
triotism and the lifting of great public
questions above party prejudice and sec
tional difference.
Contrary to the usual custom, which
has led to the treatment of foreign re-
3atonS in the beginning of the message,
President Mckinley devotes his atten-
lion first to the financial question, of
which he says:
zine extra session Of this Congress,
which closed during July last, enacted
important legislation, and while its full
effect has not yet been realized, what it
has already accomplished assures us on
Ats Thickness and wisdom. To test its
permapent value further time will he
SECURED, and the people satisfied with
Its opera tons and results thus far, are
An no mind to withhold from 1T a fair
Srial ii /
'gTariff legislation having been settled
ty the extra session of Congress, the
question next pressing for consideration
Is that Of the currency.
FINANCIAL LEGISLATION.
1.-THE work OF putting our finances
1pon sound basis, difficult as it may
seem, will appear easier when We recall
&he financial operations of the Govern
nent since 1866. On the 30th day OF
June of that year we had outstanding
demand Liabilities in the sum of $72S,-
SOS, 447.71. On the LIST of January
1879, these liza bill ties had been reduced
70 SAB. $3.50. 1855 OF our interest
Bearing obligations, the figures are even
more striking. On July l, 1856, the
principal of the interest bearing debt
Of the Government was 50. $50 33331 POS.
On tire LIST day of July. 1898. this sum
had been reduced to 1886, 037. 100, or
an aggregate reduction of S1,747 ,294,-
10S. The interest bearing debt of the
United tates ON the 1st day of Deem
Der, 1897, was SS47 ,365,620 The Gov
eminent money now outstanding de
cember 1st consists of S346 6S1 .0f6 of
United States notes, $107, 793,260 of
Treasury notes issued by authority Of
the law of 1890, 1884 963,504 Of silver
certificates, and SCI ,2S0,761 of standard
silver dollars.
With the great resources of the
Government and with the honorable OK
ample Of the past before us, we ought
not to hesitate upon a currency re-
vision which will make our demand OBJ
legations less onerous to the Govern
nlent and relieve our financial laws
from ambiguity and doubt.
'"Ihe brief review of what was ac-
complished from the close of the war
to 1893 makes unreasonable and ground
less 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
Iegislating as to make the return of the
conditions then prevailing impossible.
/. There are many plans proposed as a
remedy for the evil. Before we can find
the true remedy we must appreciate 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
government 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 best be shown
by advancing toward its fulfllment.
"The evil of the present system Is
found in the great cost to the govern
pent Of maintaining the parity of our
different forms Of money; that is, keep !,
ing all of them at par with gold. We
surely cannot be longer needless of the !
burden this imposes upon the people, !
even under fairly prosperous conditions,
while the past four years have demon
strated that it is not only an expensive
charge upon the government, but dan
gerous menace to the national credit
1T is manifest that we must devise ,
some plan to protect the government
against bond issues for repeated redemp-
tons. We must either curtail the OPP
portunity for speculation, made easy by
the multiplied redemptions of our de-
mand obligations, or increase the gold re-
serve for their redemption. We have
$900,000,000 of currency, which the gov
eminent by solemn enactment has I'M
dertaken to keep at par with gold. No
body is obliged to redeem in gold but
the government. The banks are not re-
CURED to redeem in gold. The gov
eminent is obliged to keep equal with
gold all its outstanding currency 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 gold
revenue is pledged to maintain gold re-
demption, which it has steadily and
faithfully done and which under the au-
thority now given will continue to do.
1.-The law which requires the gov
eminent, after having redeemed its
United States notes to pay them out
again as current funds, demands a con-
slant replenishment of the gold reserve.
This is especially so at times Of busi-
ness panic, and when the revenues are
insufficient to meet the expenses Of the
government. At such times the gov