The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-16

The next most important subject reached
in the report is that in relation to the cur
afflicted with many kinds Nof deprecated
currency, the established basis is strictly
gold. and in any commercial engagement the
value is understood to be in gold unless
specified to the contrary. Indeed, there is
something almost pathetic in the manner in
which Cuba, though plundered and depleted
cred from gold basis. The testimony taken
and statements made on this subject has
gold basis for the Cubans have suffered so
much from SPANS various attempts to
force deprecated currency upon the people,
both in the form of silver and bank bills,
that they want no further experiment with
the currency. The Spanish silver money
current in the island is only taken at the
daily value. which is fixed partly by the
larger or smaller demand for wages and
necessities of the government to pay troops,
ing value of the Spanish money in the Euro
pean market. AS this Spanish silver is legal
tender in Spain for its face value it is able
to maintain a fictitious value for the pur-
pose of Shipment to Europe. At the present
moment, therefore, this dollar fuctuates in
value with the ftful changes in SPANS
credit and it is probable, should the
United States establish American currency
as sole legal tender for the Island of Cuba
that the Spanish silver dollars VIII all be
shipped to Spain. There was when your
commissioner was in Cuba in September,
margin of 80 per cent. on the silver dollars,
and the financial and business men of Ha-
vana do not think these dollars would go
TO a point where it would not pay to ship
the Spanish silver to Spain and utilize the
American dollar in Cuba. In this event it
will be necessary for the United States gov
eminent to ship as many silver dollars to
Cuba as possible; one proml Iif,fd oamkiing
with the subsidiary coins would be required
for small payments. At Santiago the imme-
diate disappearance of Spanish dollars and
minor coins has made small transactions ex-
tremely difficult. Some think that the pres
ent stock of Spanish silver, in the island
exceeds the necessities. but this is evidently
not the case in Santiago.
BANK NOTE CURRENCY.
besides the silver there is a bank note
circulation, but that has no actual bear
ing on the question of currency, as the
trade and business of the island has refused
to accept it, and the present quoted value
is less than 10 cents on the dollar. The
greater part of this emission, which was
war issue, was made by the Spanish gov
eminent at Madrid to the Banco Espanol
de la Isla de Cuba (not by that bank), and
your commissioner finds it is largely in the
hands of SPECTATORS and government con-
tractors The only public application is for
the payment in the custom house of the So
called 10 per cent. ad valorem duty assessed
on the official value of imported merchan-
disc in addition to the regular specific rate
of duty eXacted. The abolition of this duty
when the remaining Cuban ports come into
possession of the United States will be the
end of the bank bills. There still remains
a question as to whether the Spanish Bank
of Cuba was in any way responsible for
these bills, and the question will come up
for future adjustment. The bank will prob
ably deny responsibility and refer those who
hold this deprecated currency to the Span
ish government at Madrid. AS an interest
ing tact in this connection the credit of the
Spanish Bank in Cuba is of higher order
than the Spanish government, for the bank
has never failed to redeem its own paper
during nearly half a century of its exist
ence as the Bank of Spain of Havana and
subsequently under its present name. 1t
has at times suffered embarrassment but
ultimately it's bank bills have all been re-
deemed.
''The gold coins current in Cuba are the
Spanish and French coins the bulk Of
which consist Of twenty-five Spanish pesetos
pieces so-called 'Alfonsos, which have been
inflated by royal decree to 500, and the
French tWenty-franc piece, also called Ma
poeons,' which have also been given legal
value of $.24 and decreed since the end of
1893 as legal money. While the principal
banking concerns are unanimous to the
gold standard, there is a difference of Opin-
ion in relation TO the advisability of squeez-
ing the imitation out of these gold coins
while others recommend as the only logical
remedy to the situation the substitution of
American currency as sole legal tender. In
such an event other coins would have their
proper market value. Such action on the
part OF the United States government would
in no way interfere with present contracts,
which are invariably expressed as payable
in Spanish gold. The premium on Spanish
gold your commissioner was informed by
no less an authority than the president OF
the Spanish Chamber Of Commerce OF
Havana, was never agreed to by the busi-
ness people Having thus arbitrarily put
premium on Spanish gold. the same author
tiles later put a premium on French gold.
The whole thing is entirely artificial, and to