Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1897-12-11
FOR CURRENCY REVISION
When Grccnbac!>s Are Redeemed
They Should BE Rcissued Only
for Gold.

Tariff legislation having been settled by
the extra session Of congress the question
next pressing for consideration is that Of
the currency. The work of putting our
finances upon a sound basis difficult as it
ay seem will appear easier Whan We
recall the financial operations of the gov
ernment since 1866.
On the Goth day of June Of that year
we had outstanding demand liabilities N
the sum of S72S. S6S. .4f.4i. On the first Of
July, 1887, these liabilities had been re-
bearing obligations the figures are even
more striking. On July 1, 1856 the prin
cipal of the interest-bearins debt of the
government was s., 22332 3331 Dos On the first
duced to $3.50 G31 1t0 or an aggregate reduc-
ton of 81, "a. 294,10S The interest-bearins
debt of the United States on the first day
of December, 1897, was $S4l ,365. .62O. The gov
ernment money now outstanding CDecem-
br u consists of S346.GSl. sis of United
States notes; SIT. 1920 of treasury
notes, issued by authority of the law of
1885, 1854 .963 5o4 Of silver certificates, and
sci. $50, 16l of standard silver dollars.
With the great resources of the gov
ernment and with the time-honored ex-
ample of the past before us. We ought not
hesitate to enter upon q 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 until
1893 makes unreasonable and groundlesS
any distruSt of either our financial ablllty
or soundness, while the situation from 1893
to 1854 must admon:sh congress of the inn
mediate necessity of so legislatng as to
make the return OF the conultlOnS then
prevailing impossible.
There are many plans proposed as
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 govern
ment's 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 to the government OF
maintaining the parity of our different
forms of money-that is keeping all of
them at par with gold. We surely can
not be longer needless of the burden this
imposes upon the people even under fair
ly 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.
1t is manifest that We must devise some
plan to protect the government against
bond issues for repeated redemptions. We
must either curtail the opportunity for
speculation, made easy by the multiplied
redemptions of our demand obligations,
or increase the gold reserve for their re-
demption
Must Have Gold.
We have 5000 900 900 of currency which
the government. by solemn enactment.
has undertaken to keep a par with sold:
the government. The banks are not re-
quired to redeem in gold. The govern
ment is obliged to keep equal with gold
all its outstanding currency and coin OBJ
legations, while its receipts are not re-
quired 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 il. The government, without
any fixed gold 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.
The law which requires the government
after having redeemed its no1es. to pay
them out again as current funds, demands
a constant replenishment of the gold re-
serve. This is especially SO in times of
business panic and when the revenues
are insufficient to meet the expenses Of
the government. At such times the gov
ernment has no other way to supply its
deficit and maintain redemption but
through the increase of It's D)ndc1 debt.
as occurred during the administration Of
my predecessor, when $2f2 313, 400 of Az per
cent. bonds We're 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 was used to supply de
ficient revenues, a considerable portion
was required to maintain the gold re-
serve.
With our revenues equal to our expens-
es, there would be no deficit requiring the
issuance of bonds. But if the gold
serve falls below 500 900. how will it
be reDlenished except by selling money
bonds? Is there any other way practic-
able under existing laws?
The serious question then is, shall we
continue the policy that has been pursued
in the Dast-that is-when the gold re-
serve reaches a point of danger, issue
more bonds and supply the needed gold,
or shall we provide other means to pre-
reserve? If no further legislation is had
and the policy Of selling bonds is to pc
continued, then congress should give the
secretary of the treasury authority TO sell
ponds al long or short periods bearing
less rate of interest than is now author
lied by law. / earnestly recommend, as
soon as the receipts of the government
are quite sufficient to pay all the eXpenS.
es of the government, that when any OF
the United States notes are presented Tor
redemption in gold and are rcd eemrd n
gold, such notes shall be kept and set
apart and only paid out in exchange for
gold.
This is an obvious duty If the holder
of United States notes prefers gold ana
gets it from the government, he should
a United States note without paying go!d
IN exchange for it. The reason TOR TINS
is made all the more apparent when the
government issues an interest-bear!ng
debt to provide gold for the redemption
of United States notes-a non-interest
them out again except on. demand and
for gold If they are put out in any other
way they may return again to be follow
ed by another bond issue to redeem them