The sun., 1898-09-19

On thG ether hand, the estimate OF the amount
withdrawn By the Treasury from the market at
e50.0o0000 was much too low. a. the following
abstract OF the Treasury statements Of June 10
and Sept 1o win show;
TrsdaTV Roidfass. June IS. Sept 10.
Gold. .S1o6 e11,to1 S2t3,A7T,otb
eilvsr.............. 7,648.oSV 7sps,17e
U. q. notes.......... as.o1o.osO Ae.ssT,17o
Treasury notes, &o. 1sb4&.77s 1e.a7o.Iao
Totals. .......... 1921 .oos.s2a tsls,Sss.e17
That 10 to say. the Treasury now holds. in
actual cash. $e7.0O0.o00 more than Il did
when the bond payments began, notwithstand-
ing ita deposits In the national banks and its
disbursements for war and ordinary expenses.
Had IL not been for the relief afforded BY the
extraordinary gold imports Of the last few
months, so enormous q looking up OF the basis
Of credits could not have failed 70 produce .
collapse In prices compared with which the
recent furry Is not worth considering. Obvious
ly, the subject is OF far greater importance than
that OF replacing Government notes by bank
currency. which. In the last half dozen years.
has occupied the attention Of the two Indian
apolis Currency Conventions. of the Currency
and Banking committees OF the House Of Rep
EesentAtives. and OF every annual Bankers
Convention, and it is quite as deserving OF de-
bate as the question whether gold or silver
Shall be the standard OF value. to the discussion
Of which the convention at Omaha devoted the
three days Of It's session last week. In all
these bodies. the assumption has tacitly been
made that the important thing was to
secure proper supply Of coin and pa
per money. entirely neglecting the fact that
o5 per cent. OF the oountry's business
is done with transfers Of bank credits, and not
with coin or with notes. It is purely bucolio
and shopkeeping idea that buyers and sellers
In making their transactions always count out
cash upon their counters. and yet We hear even
city bank Presidents talk about an elastic"
currency. which shall " expand with the needsof
business" as II the bulk OF the country's busi-
ness needed more currency at one time than
Il does at another. What they have In mind.
and what they really mean. is an elasticity Of
bank credits. which can be secured only by .
free movement Of gold from one point to
another as It Is called for. and the Government.
by locking up gold and hindering It's free circu-
latlon. does harm which they fail TO see.
The most useful purpose served BY the de-
bate at Omaha has been to bring out clearly
and deeisively the fact that the handspring Of
the efforts In behalf Of free silver coinage II q
desire to raise prices and thus to enable debt
ore to pay their debts at Q cheaper rate than
they can under the gold standard. 1t also
showed that the silverites have no concern
whatever for the welfare Of the workers for
wages. While their speakers ct Omaha dilated
oloquen4iy upon the evil Of the falling prices Of
agricultural oommodities. they omitted to say
anything about the rise Of wages BY which
tho workinGman both gets moro dollars in gold
for his labor than he did twenty five years ago.
and with those dollars can buy from 80 to 100
per cent. more Of the neeessaries Of life. The
debtor alone was the object Of their solicitude.
to the exclusion Of the rest Of the community.
In the course Of the next two months o new
House OF Representatives iB to be elected to
succeed the present one. the members Of which
20 out Of ofloe next March. Some Senators
also will be virtually elected By the election Of
State Legislatures who will be charged with
the duty OF choosing them. The result is not
Of immediate Importance. since even II the ma
jority OF the new House should be in favor Of
free silver, and the present complexion Of the
: Senate should remain substantially unchanged.
the Executive is pledged to maintain the gold
standard and the two-thirds vote necessary to
override his veto II scarcely possible. The in
dicatlons. however. at present. are. thatthe sill
verites will again be In o minority In the new
House as they are In the old one. and that any
change in the Senate will lessen their number
IN that body. AL the Eastern Republican
State conventions and manv Of the Western
have already declared in favor Of gold more
plainly than they did in 1893. and the Eastern
Democrats. who In 1893 voted almost to Q man
for Bryan. arc this year seeking to avoid a COM
initial OF their party to the cause Of silver. Nor
are their brethren In the West AZ enthusiastic
for silver as they were two years ago. The
mainspring Of sfverism. o. has already been
said. is desire to pay debts with less value
than the gold standard reouires. and 90 far a.
debts have been extinRuished By the good
prices OF the crops Of the past two years. by 30
far has that desire been extinguished also. In
deed, some Of the debtors Of 1895 have become
creditors In 1S00 and It Il their or that II TO bs
gored by the establishment Of the silver stand
ard. They have Joined the ranks OF the saw
ings bank depoSltorS. railroad and municipal
bondholders. wages camera. and investors Of
all kinds. who voted against silver In 1895. and
will vote against it IN 1893 and in 1900.
The result Of the coming elections. should II
be unfavorable 10 silver. as there Il reason to
believe, will not. however. alone secure the
permanence Of the gold standard. The theorists
who arestriving TO have Congress enact Q law
declaring for gold. In order as they cay. to re-
move all Uncertainty in regard TO the standard.
foraet that what one Congress can do another
can undo. Should silver. even. bo admitted to
free coinage. the act admitting IL could be re-
peAled. e. it was repealed in 1873. though the
difieultyof securing the repeal would be Inn
menSe and the risk OF having to make the effort
for it ought. ct all cost. to be avoided. On the
other hand. while no legislation In favor Of gold
can be made impregnable against future leKis-
iatIon hostile TO 1t. every year that leGialation
Tor silver can be delayed. and the existing gold
standard maintained. is clear gain.
The financial and economic policy OF nations
IO determined. - all history shows. not by
abstract theory. but By the immediate end "a
be attained The British Parliament In 1893
voted against dsbAsinR the national silver
coinage In direct opposition to the most in-
Renious arguments for tho measure. because
- A. AninYV IL would do IA the national cYA,fit
30. IN 1874, another Parliament tsurrenderedth the
protootlon Of native agriculture and adopted Z
freO-tEAdo policy because British manufaetur-
era wanted ehsau,, food and their interests WsrO
superior 10 those Of the landowners. At thil
moment. the sntirs British Ministry. with one
exception. favor bimOtAllism. and have at their
command majority IN Parliament but they