The times., 1897-07-05
CURRENCY CONTRACTION.
The Opportunity In the Tariff
iBilI.


be permitted to pass the Senate without
provision for checking the accumulation
of currency in the Treasury? If a ma
Jonty OF Senators were III favor OF
gold standard 1 could understand such
action or inacrion A gold standard re-
ouireS contraction of currency volume
and a corresponding reduction OF prices,
otherwise. except by perpetual bondlsSuc
! IL cannot be maintained. A Senator,
therefore, who believes III standard of
gold can consistently and should logically
seek curtailment Of the volume or Inoney
in circulation But only small lumber
| Of Senators profess TO be gold mono
| metallisus. a majority profess to he
| III favor OF free silver coinage, and yet
1t seems, judging from the record OF de-
| bate, that these silver Senators are about
| to accept silently or with feeble protest
| the most studcndous scheme or money
| contraction which since 1873 has been
| proposed as an approach toward a gold
| standard
| see it constantly asserted by Republican
| and Democratic Senators alike that THIS
tariff bill viii not produce surplus or
| revenue, and many even prophesy that 1t
will result in deficiency, but l have
! never seen any figures upon when thts
! opinion Is based Those that are given
are all the other way, and point not
| merely to surplus, but To surplus or
| most significant rOportions-Su1flcient 10
| swallow up by sequestration In the treas
urv the entire volume Of our United States
| LEGAL tender currency. Consider first the
! fact that the present surplus is two hun
dred and thirty seven millions, While In
! March last it was only two hundred aud
/ twenty-five millions. showing an increase
| III three months under the present tanrr
! OF fifteen millions. Take next the fig
! Ures of MIR. DingIey, showing an annual
! Increase of revenue Of one hundred and
| thirteen millions under the House tarin
bill.
Take then the figures of the experts
| upon which the House committees esti-
mates We're predicted, and also the latest
| expert OF the Senate Finance Committee
! showing an increase of one hundred mil
lions. ana against all this observe that
you have nothing but the opinion Of MIR
! Adrich and Mr. Allison without support
! of any detailed statement and expressed
in such loose, general way as to screen
them from any responsibility for its ac-
| curacy l assert that no intelligent man,
let ,lloac a Senator of the United States,
| can carefully consider the calculations
/ and estimates which have been made
| public and upon which the Finance Com
! mittee profess to have made their rec
| OIlmenCat atiGn, and entertain reasonable
! doubt tiat on the first day Of March 1901
tbefore which no repeal Of the proposed
legislation is possblel, all OF our green
/ backs aud nearly all Of our Treasury
notes wiz be safely eutombed i'll the
Treasury, and as eflectuauy retired from
circulation as by d law requiring their
I cancellation.
Tais l. hot only the effect, but in my
! judgment the design OF this taIiffbHI. Two
| classes of contributors 10 the Mckinley
| lauPaIgu fund We're to he re wa rdrd-One,
the manufacturers by monopoly III the sale
| OF their products and the other tie money
loane:s, by such contraction of tie money
volume as would enable them 10 confiScate
! the property OF debtnIs. As to the inst
class, it is fair to CCntoGe that the people,
sa ylnG nothing as TO tie methods employed
| TO influence them, declared IN favor Of a
| protective policy. Therefore, let I!otec-
| tive etaIffbeenacted. Butthere wasuo vote
| for a contraction Of the currency, except,
perhaps, the few cast for Palmer and Buck
! ncr. Had such an issue Leen openly made
! Mr.. Mckinley would not have received
a respectable I.inOrity OF votes. Here and
| there some gold organ demands recognition
foI the support which secured TO tie PTeSi-
deut his election 10y positive direct action
! towards the money contraction essential
to the establishment Of gold standard.
But these ClamOrers, IL sincere, have no
! pOlit ical SaGatity The shrewd managers
OF the gold standard scheme know better
than to ask for impossible direct action
They want the greenbacks r. tired but they
have no SqueaIlish sentimentality as 20
the method CT retirement If ii can be
done under the disguise Of tariff legis-
lation that Will be satisfactory and they
will hold Nj. Mckinley equally discharged
Of his obligations as If lie had been able
II procure direct affirmative Congressional
action.
So we have this tariff bill, nomnaly for
protection and revenue, but conceal,ng in its
schedules a scheme for currency contrac-
tiun vastly nCTe important than any Of its
ptofesscd purposes. | wish to utter a note
OF warning to silver Senators Upon this
feature OF the tariff bill to which ! am
diiecting attention you cannot escape re-
sponShility No fault finding as respects
details; no general criticism OF the pro-
tec;ivc policy will he accepted as q dis
charge OF your duty 10y those who look and
have right to look to you to prevent
an aggravatiOn of the money famine which
VIII follow the passage of this blll in its
present form. II will not do to say let the
people have another object lesson and the
more severe the hPttcr-the more the ysuffer
the more likely they will he To vote tho
Democratic ticket IN the present situa-
ton no such selfish suggestion can be
tolerated
| shrnkage in the next two years Of
15n to 200 millions in our money volume
VIII cause such a fan in our present low
prices as to sweep the W hole class of
property y-owniug debtors into hopeless bank
ruptcy These struggling debtors con
stitutc the most energetic and enteTprising q
class of citizens and it Is as foolish as
II is outrageOusly unjust to permit their
property to be oonfiscated The remedy
is very simple There is certainly no diff
ficulty IN fixing the amount OF a Treas
ury balance and practically maintaining
it by the purchase Of bonds with any con.
siderable excess. and the issuance of
Treasury notes under proper regulations
as to redeInptipG to meet any accidental
deficit What objection can any silver
Senator have TO the purchase Of bonds?
We complained very bitterly of Mr. Cleve-
land because he issued them. Why should
we hesitate to reverse his nolcy?
Experience has shown that the pur.
| chaSes can be made under proper Treasury
regulations safely and economically, but
s,oF,.