The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-31
HOW INTEREST ON BONDS Is
PAID.

The Washington correspondent of
the Chicago Record thinks that con-
gressmen know very little about the
matters they discuss, especially finan-
cial matters.
How little tn members of the SEN
ate and house of representatives know
about the practical bearings of the
questions they are discussing was il
Illustrated today when a telegram was
received at the treasury department
asking whether persons who were paid
interest on bonds were allowed to elect
what kind of money they should re-
ceive.'' says he. From five to 40 SINH
lar inquiries come in the mail every
day. 1t is also a stock question that
has to be answered several hundred
times every month whether the inter
est or principal of the public debt has
ever been paid in silver or greenbacks,
or whether gold alone is used. 1 have
received four such inquiries within the
last three days. 1t is the practice of
the government to make all disburse-
ments, for ordinary expenses, for the
interest on the public debt and for the
redmeption of bonds that have ma
tured, by checks drawn upon the sub
treasures at New York, Chicago and
elsewhere. Persons holding registered
bonds receive these checks by mail.
Persons having coupon bonds cut off
the coupons and deposit them as so
much cash in banks where they keep
their accounts. The checks when re-
ceived are deposited in the same man
ner. The banks send them to the clear
ing house. which sends them to the
sub-treasury for deposit, and to settle
other accounts, so that it is entirely a
matter OF bookkeeping, and the actual
cash is not handled one time in a thou
sand. At very rare intervals some one
will come into one of the sub-treas-
uries with a government check or a
coupon and ask for the cash. The pay
ing teller invariably inquiries How will
you have it?' If they say gold they get
gold; if they say greenbacks they get
greenbacks. but they usually express
no choice, and the cashier hands them
the money that is most convenient If
all the persons receiving interest checks
should bring them to the sub treas
uries the same thing would occur. They
would be given whatever money they
asked for as long as it held out, and
if the cashier got short of gold certifi-
Gates, or gold coin, or greenbacks. or
any other particular kind, he would
tell them so and give them something
else"
That doesn't show that members of
the senate and the house of represent
atives know little or nothing about the
practical bearing of the questions they
are discussing, unless these kilograms
addressed to the treasury department
come from members of the senate and
the house.
This is merely an attempt to make
out that congressman do not know
what they are talking about and hence
are unit to deal with important ques-
tons, and particularly the financial |
question. If people can be given this
of course they will be very
apt to say the financial question should |
be let alone. 1t must be a very ignor-
ant person in public life who does not |
know that the government issues |
checks to holders of bonds for the in !
terest on them instead of paying the /
money. But the question back of all |
this is, shall the government have /
the right to pay the checks for the /
bonds and the interest on them in sill /