The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-02-25
CURRENCY REFORM.
Chicago's Comptroller of the Cur
rency on Gold Standard.
President McKinley's Position on the
Question Clearly Reflected
Wisdom of the Pres ~.
ent System

Al the Lincoln day celeDratlon OF Inc
Marquette club of Chicago, the city's
comptroller of the currency, Charles
Gates Dawes, one of the principal
speakers of the occasion. took for his
topic Currency Reform" speaking as
follows:
1.-The question OF the changes in our pres
| ent law which should be made In order to
carry out the will of the people, as eN-
pressed in 1896. in favor of sound govern
mental money and the gold standard, Is one
| which confronts the country, and which,
now that the clouds of war haye lifted, Is
again receiving careful and general con-
sideration. The year 1893 had demon
strated that our present monetary system,
when subjected to the severe test OF COM
mercial panic, and deficiency In govern
mental revenues, had an inherent weak
ness which. before that time, had not been
generally recognized
| This weakness resulted chiefly from two
causes. The first cause was the dispropor-
ton existing between demand govern
| mental currency liabilities and the gold IN
the treasury with which TO redeem them.
The second cause was the fact that when
| these demand liabilities were once redeemed
in gold they could be paid out again Tor
governmental expenses. This enabled the
public, coming again into their possession,
to again present them for redemption ana
thus was created what was known as the
endless chain
! "Recognizing the duty of action incum-
bent on him and his party, the president OF
| the United States, in his first annual mes
! sage 10 congress, made the fohoWlhs rec
| ommendation: That when any or the
| United States notes are presented for re-
| dempton In geld and are redeemed in gold,
! such notes shall be kept apart ana only
paid out in exchange for gold. This is an
obvious duty
"In his last annual message to congress
/ ba rap N "A ton in the tOl-
! lowing words: In my jGdgme mt the PRES
ent condition of the treasury amply lusu-
! flies the Immediate enactment OF the ltS.s-
ation recommended one year ago. under
| which a portion of the gold holdings
should be placed in n trust fund, from
| which greenbacks should be redee med upon
I presentation, but when once redeemed
| should not therefore be paid out except for
! gold 4"
The speaker then reviewed the course
of monetary discussion subsequent TO
the presidents first recommendation
He maintained the proposed preference
of the noteholder over the depositor, as
indicated in the later plans. would be
most injurious to the general business
community. saying: AS a fundamen-
tai principle of inherent justice the
rights of note-holder and depositor
against the common assets of the bank
to which their money has alike con-
tributed should be equally sacred He
continues:
What will be the effect OF enactment
into law of his principal recommendation?
It's simplicity should not obscure its great
value and Importance 1t will accomplish
the following results, all of which relate
directly to the safety of the gold standard:
with this trust fund in existence, de-
ficient governmental revenues cannot eat
away the foundation OF governmental cur
! rency The practical effect of the inability
of the secretary of the treasury 10 use the
trust gold fund for currency expenditures
will be TO require the adjustment of rev.
enue laws by congress 10 meet The emer-
gency. In the second place, with this
trust fund in existence, II II Is necessary
for the government to borrow money be-
fore congress can change the revenue laws
so as to provide for deficiency, II VIII
borrow under more favorable conditions.
Preserving Gold Standard.
"In the third place. with this trust fund
| In existence, the preservation OF the gold
| standard by the direct act of the presi-
| dent and the secretary of the treasury,
| which occurred of necessity several times
in the years 1891, 1895 and 1896, would not
be absolutely necessary until the trust
funds were exhausted by the redemption
| from II of an equal amount of currency IL
abilities.
| 'In the face of the unquestioned ability
! of the United States to furnish at all times,
through currency legislation, revenues suf-
! fceint to pay current expenses. the abb
! sorption of n portion of the present surplus
| gold holdings into fund for the better pro-
! lection of the demand currency liabilities OF
the treasury can incite no reasonable OPP
! position.
1.-THE early segregation of his fund,
which cannot be drawn upon :or the cur
rent governmental expenses, Increasing. as
| IL will. the immediate Importance of ade-
! quate revenues cannot but have bene-
fetal effect in making more prominent that
relation, which, more than any other. is
vital to the success of both governments
and individuals-the relation of existing
| income TO existing expenses.
'In his second annual message the pres
dent omitted the specific recommended
! ton that National banks should be allowed
! to issue currency TO the par of the United
| States bonds deposited as security, but
renewed in strongest language his recon-
mendation for securing the safety of our
! governmental currency system. by setting
aside a trust fund in gold from which,
when once redeemed in gold, greenbacks
| shall not thereafter be paid out except for
gold,
1T is impossible, under all the circum-
| stances, to construe this otherwise than
as an evidence of the great Importance at
tached by him TO this special step In gov
ernmental currency reform, and an inti-
nation that no projected measures in
volving national bank currency or branch
banking extensions should be allowed 10
interfere with the passage of law en-
| bodying this great safeguard to govern
! mental currency credit.
Each of these latter propositions can
be considered inde pendently and should be
so considered, II either. attached as rider
to the provision providing for governmental
currency reform. tends to lessen its pros
pect for enactment into law.
Let US remember that under the pres
SNsgt In uyh iTh Unxy .fst1t ant do