The herald., 1898-03-11

l
from ambiguity and doubt.
It occurred to me when l read the mes
sage from which ! quote the foregoing
statements that 1t is misleading. First,
the president says on the 3Oth day OF June
our demand liabilities were $72S, ,S6S Al. Al
and that our Understanding debt was
g, ss2. .3Sl .20s, making our aggregate frdebt-
edness $S.06l 199. Al. when. as reported by
the bureau .of statistics, the public debt
June 80, 1866. was 81. .7IS, 236, 1889, an over
statement by the president Of $2S7. $685. :
4sl.72
| Second, the president says there was a
reduction in the demand liabilities on the
1st of January, 1879, of S4s1S. .95L5S and a
reduction of our interest-bearing obiiga-
ions on the 1st of July. 1898. OF ST. TAI 294 los.
That would be a seeming reduction of the
public debt OF 81 032. 273.O5s.53. when. accord
| ing to the reports of the bureau of sta
tistics. the reduction of the public debt
from June 30. 1856. to July l. 1893 was
81. .227. .250. .56. showing a seeming over
| statement by the president of $SO5.022.-
57197 in the reduction OF the public debt.
| OF course. the statement of the president
| In this last item is rather indefinite and is
entitled to a liberal allowance for the very
liberal discrepancy.
Third, he says the government money
now outstanding consists Of:
United States notes ............. $346 ,6Sl 0l6
Treasury notes of 1890 ............ 107 1893 $50
Silver certificates ............... 1884 1868 504
Standard silver dollars .......... 81 2SO, ,761
A total of .......................S9 $780, us ,561
Which the president says 'the govern
ment by solemn enactment has undertaken
to keep at par with gold.''
have been unable to find in our United
States statutes that the government ever
undertook to keep any of the above money
at par with gold.
Section 3693 states:
Sec. 1893 states: The faith of the
United States is solemnly pledged to
the payment in coin or its equivalent
of all the obligations of the United
States not bearing interest. known as
United States notes, and all interest
bearing obligations of the United
States, except in cases where the law
authorizing the issue of any such obli-
cations has expressly provided that the
same may be paid in lawful money or
other currency than gold and silver.
This section, 1t seems to me, lays down
the rule by which all executive officers of
the government should be graded in their
official acts. That Is. when the act of con-
gress gives them discretionary powers
such discretion should be used in the inter-
est of the government. and not in the inter-
est of its creditors. That is, when the law
provides that obligations may be paid
in lawful money or other currency than
gold and silver Then, unless it is to the
interest of the government, such obliga-
tions must be paid in other currency than
gold and silver.
On the 1st of January. 1898. SIS, ,0O0,o COO of
government bonds were redeemed with
United States notes. So Mr. Teller was in
formed in the United States senate while
discussing the Teller resolution.
Mr.. Page, in order to protect the gold
reserve, did obey the law In redeeminS,
bonds with United States notes, which the
president says must be kept at par with
gold. Why not obey the law and redeem
the treasury notes of 1890 with standard
silver dollars? This can soon be done with
out disturbing our finances by receiving
the notes for customs dues and internal
| revenue dues and then destroying them and
paying out standard silver dollars coined
from silver bullion purchased by the gov
ernment and covered in the treasury by the
outstanding United States notes. Ger
tainly no objection can be raised by those
who believe that standard silver dollars
shall in turn be redeemed with gold.
We need no additional legislation to ge
rid of the treasury notes, so why not take
| In that "Sndless chain that is such men,
ace to the gold reserve? Put the mints te
work coming standard silver dollars and
clean up that transaction of financial pol
| icy that tests the skill of the most astute
political economist to fathom the motives
| that gave birth to its complications
NOW. as to silver certificates and stand
ard silver dollars, which are cited by the
president as government money outstand-
| ing. He places them in the same category
as United States notes and treasury notes
| of 1S9O-that is money the government mus
Keep at par with gold'' by adopting and
continuing the practice of giving the op.
tion to the creditor which will have cost
| the consumers over $500, 100000. We nigh,
pause moment to ask who constitutes
government?
What is the government? What is its pol.
icy? Who makes the laws to control its
action?
II the constitution and statutory laws
are the expression of the policy of the
government, then we know where we are
II the conception of the president of "com-
mercial honesty and national honor" is to
govern the executive department, instead
of constitutional law, then, in all serious
ness, we might ask, where are we? And
what have the people to say In the matter?
There is no law by which the silver dol
lars or silver certificates can be redeemed
with gold. Silver dollars, being standard
money, are not redeemable Silver certifi-
Gates are redeemable with standard silver
dollars, which are held in the treasury for
that purpose alone. So are the $3S 1882. .16e
OF outstanding gold certificates redeemable
with sold coin. Coin, both gold and silver
is held in the treasury to redeem all those
certificates, and kept there for that special
purpose. Coin. both gold and silver, is NOT
government money, in that sense that the
government is responsible for their
bullion value, but belongs to the
holders of the certificates, and is
held in trust by the government to accom-
modate the owners, who would rather
have the certificates as a matter of con-
venience.
II the executive and judiciary depart
ments are to become the lawmakers of our
land, why keep up the expense of the
legislative branch of the government?