Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-06-02
FINANCIERING OF SILvERITEs.
A Dangerous scheme for Raising
Revenue to carry
the War.

When the silver ma jority of the SEN
ate finance committee decides to strike
out the bond provision from the rev
enue bill it is important to know what
they propose to substitute therefor. 1t
is a very excellent idea that this genera
tion shall pay for the present war. We
can consequently view with complacen
cy the rejection of the proposition to
borrow Uoney on long time.
But let it be remembered that some
money must be borrowed for some
length of time if the treasury is not to
be depleted of its cash and gold re-
serves. The war revenue measures pro
posed will require time to come into
effective operation. They cannot pos
sibly be put into full effect until well
after the beginning of the next fiscal
year, and we are at the moment in the
very thick of the war. The great eX-
penditures contracted in connection
with the enlargement of the navy and
the addition of an auxiliary feet and
in connection with the increased arma-
ment, ammunition, stores and move
ment Of troops have as yet hardly begun
to be met in actual payments out of
the treasury; and there now enters the
government service a volunteer army
of $4,000 to $4,000 men, who must be
fed, clothed, equipped, transported
about and paid from this time forth to
the end of the war. If the government
should settle all the bills already ac-
cumulated against it on war account
the treasury cash balance of less than
$500, 900 would sink at once to $780,
100000 or lower, leaving only $70,0C0,-
600 aside from the minimum gold re-
serve for a working cash balance, part
of which is composed of unavailable
fractional coin. And such large work
ing balance would be none too large for
times of peace. In the midst of war,
with extraordinary current claims ac-
cumulating against the government on
all sides, it would be a balance quickly
disposed of in the absence of a new
stream of revenue pouring into the
treasury.
Thus the government must be pro-
vided with immediate sources of war
money if the minimum gold reserve of
100000 900 is not to be drawn upon to
meet current outgoes. And new taxes
cannot be made fully available for
months to come. If, therefore, the gold
reserve is to be maintained unimpaired,
the government must make temporary
borrowings of money if it does not bor-
row on long time or on bonds. The
inritv nf tba
mttee would negative longtime inter
est-bearing loans. But if they would
agree to short-time borrowings little
fault could be found with them. What
they urge, however, is the issue of non
interest-bearing treasury notes. This
is not a shorttime loan, but a perpet-
ual one. No date is fixed for the ma
turity and payment of the notes. They
are to be a circulating currency and
would differ in no respect from the
greenbacks save the legal tender quail
ty, which is not, as we understand the
matter, to be attached to the notes.
The scheme is simply one of infa-
ton, and against it the sound money
force in congress should set its face
immovably. We cannot charge the sill
yer majority with trying to wreck the
gold standard by forcing the govern
ment to expend the gold reserve in
maintaining the army and navy. But
its substitute scheme of increasing the
volume of the governments demand
liabilities is hardly less threatening,
and should not be agreed to. Give the
secretary of the treasury authority to
sssy!e one-year three or three and one
half per cent. eXchequer notes to piece
out the revenues pending the taking eff
feet of ample war taxes. That is the
best policy, and no less than that should
be insisted upon as a substitute for the
bond provision.-Springield (Mass.)
Republican (Dem.).