Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-03-17
HOW WE GOT THE MONEY.
That S5O,OOO,OOO Comes from Demo.
CRITIC Administration.

1
| CRITIC Administration.
In opening the speechmaking cit was
not debate) on the emergency bill APP
propriating $4,000, 900 and something
more, Mr.. Cannon said: ''We have got
the money in the treasury to meet this
appropriation if it is expended, and,
therefore, there is not presented with
this proposition one to borrow money
or to increase taxation, to which almost
any other nation on earth would have
been obliged to resort" This rather
boastful deliverance, the dispatches in
| form us, was greeted with tremendous
applause"
Mr.. Cannon was careful not to ex-
plain how it happens that we have a
full treasury, and in the patriotic fer
vor of the hour no one directed atten-
ton to that matter. The truth, brief
| ly stated, is that the money is in the
| treasury because a democratic presi-
| dent, in obedience to law and his sense
of duty, issued bonds ''in time of
peace" thereby mourning the censure
of such statesmen as Mr.. Cannon.
Under the Mckinley law the cash bal
ance fell to $84,0oO,OOO, by the end of
ooldeAA 4OSf1 VI p4OsOOO,OOO 1CSS I1AdA
the sum recognized by law as the prop
er amount of the gold reserve alone.
The gold reserve itself had fallen to
| SOS ,6OO,00
Then President Cleveland directed
that bonds be sold under the resump-
ton act. This was done to replenish
the gold reserve and provide the means
of meeting the demand for the redemp-
| ton of government notes. But the eff
feet necessarily was to increase the
cash in the treasury, counting the re-
deemed notes as cash, as required by
law.
When the gold reserve approached
exhaustion again it was replenished
by selling more bonds. Four times dur
ing Mr.. Cleveland's administration
bonds were sold to replenish the re-
serve, the effect being. incidentally, to
increase the cash balance. Bonds to
the amount of $685., 315, 400 were sold,
and the amount received for them was
$293, 454, 266.74.
The result was that the Cleveland adj
ministration turned over to the Nc
Kinley administration n cash balance
of about 1913, 100000. If the Cleveland
administration had not taken the re-
sponsibility, there would have been
no cash balance, but, on the contrary,
the treasury would have been $80,000,-
600 behind on current obligations.
The sale of the Pacific road increased
the balance, but in spite of the receipts
from that source the treasury would
be far behind to-day but for the acts
of the Cleveland administration, as
there has been a deficit of fully $780,,
600, 900 under the Dingley law, not
withstanding the small surplus last
month.
Because democratic administration
dared to borrow, a republican admins
tration now has $5O,OOO,OOO or more to
use in an emergency and is spared for
the moment the disagreeable necessity
of issuing bonds. That is where the APP
plause is due.
The fact is that we are financially
weak under existing laws, notwithstand-
ing the large balance now on hand. The
Dingley law produced a small surplus
last month only because interest pay
ments were comparatively light. It is
not yet demonstrated that that laww
produce enough for ordinary expenses
on a peace basis. In case of war the
cash balance will soon be exhausted
and congress either must provide for
the sale of bonds or for the collection
of more revenue or there will be an
other paper money imitation, to be fol-
lowed, as it always is, by collapse and
evils ten times as great as would re-
suit from temporary increase in taxa
sion.-Chicago Chronicle.