The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-06

WASHINGTONTC Nov. 5.-Eon. Ellis H.
Roberts, treasurer Of the United States,
in his annual report, sums up the opera
tons of the fiscal. year by saying that
notable activity was exhibited in all kinds
OF currency, with marked increase in
the use OF gold coin and in a less degree
or silver coin. While the prosperity of the
country has at no time left any part of
the government notes in the treasury
above the demands Of daily business in
it's several Offices
He adds: The effect of the new revenue
law Is shown In the receipts for the year,
In which there was an increase over 1898
OF $56,553, 419 from customs, and $102, 536, $40
from internal revenue. The collections
of internal revenue were larger than
! those for any previous year with the ex-
ception of 1866 and the total ordinary re-
receipts, which amounted to $515,96O, $40,
were also the largest on record with the
| same exception. The net ordinary ex-
| penditures We're little over S6O5, 600, 900,
an amount exceeded only twice-in 1868
and in 1864. There was a deficiency of
$50, Ill, 900 in the ordinary revenues.
Inclusive of loans and the issue Of notes
ana certificates the total receipts on all
| accounts, by warrants, were $1,GSS, 451, $40,
and the total disbursements $946, 222, 14S
| With the addition of the proceeds Of the
new per cent loan to the ordinary rev.
enues, there was j. fiscal surplus of $1OU,
| 791, 521 for the year The receipts from
the loan represented every part Of the
| country. OF the total of nearly $500, 0O0, 00O
! upwards Of $125, 0OO,0 900 came to the office
| in. Washington In the form of checks
| on banks in every part of the country.
Nearly $29000,O00 was paid in gold, up
! wards Of $25, 0O0 900 III United States notes,
and the rest in other kinds Of money.
CASH BALANCE.
| At the close of the year the treasurer
was accountable for $947, 746,994, against
which he held SOL, 673,925 n cash and cred
| it's the difference consisting Of funds
| classed as unavailable. Aside from the
| issue of the per cent bonds the most
| important event effecting the public DEBT
was the failing due on Jan. OF the last
| Of the bonds issued for the construction
| of Pacific railroads. OF these Sl3,91O,OoO
were presented and paid, leaving $4,000
| of the loan outstanding, past due and
| bearing no interest.
There were in circulation June 30, 1898,
| 500, 572, 329 in United States notes, $685.
| C65, $50 in treasury notes, $780, 659,OS0 IN
| silver certificates, and 1923, 129, 7O3 in ma
! tional bank notes. On June 80, 1899, the
amounts were: United States notes,
$3.50 547 S49; treasury notes, $92, 6O5 l92; Sill
yer certificates, $401, 1863, 343; national bank
notes, 1881, S32 594. The paper N circula-
ton was thus increased during the year
| by $43, S2S. 1856. AS a result Of these chang
| es the treasury holdings Of government
! paper fell between the two dates: In Unit
| ed States notes, from 1884, 663, 6S7 to $15,278,-
| 66T in treasury notes, from $2,04l, I0O TO
| S9l2, ass, and in silver certificates, from
| 81, S97, 424 to $4,216, l61. BY continuance OF
| the process of retiring treasury notes OF
| 1880, redeemed in standard silver dollars,
the amount of the notes outstanding was
| reduced during the year from SlO1, 2Of, 2SO
to 1913, 5lS $50. The reduction OF the total
of the paper held by the treasury, from
$44, 500, 73I to $20407,3f6 was caused by
the payment of government Obligations 10
public creditors and by the receipts OF
revenue in growing measure IN gola com
The treasury was thus brought to the
| minimum of paper currency required for
its daily business.
GOLD IN CIRCULATION.
| The gold coin i'll circulation steadily in
| creased from $47S, III 1870, Sept. 50, 1896, to
$646 So, 1855 ON the same date in 1899. In the
small notes there was u shrinkage OF
| Sill 522, Isl from 1886 to 1884, but in the next
year there was an increase of %l, o5i ,O3i,
and from 1898 to 1899 the amount ran up
| by $5S, 665, ass. During that year the in
| crease of these denominations OF both
geld and paper was $50, 7S9 The total
addition TO the paper circulation in the
same period was $10I, $3.50 Cal, of which
| $4o, III, 225 was in the larger denomina-
tons. The addition to the gold circula-
ton during the year was $23, 911 1873, and
this added to the increase of the paper
outstanding makes a total increase OF
$125, III, O4O
In the fiscal year 1898 the ten treasury
offices paid out $40,8921 49 in standard sill
yer dollars, and in 1889 $42,532 256, an in
crease of 81, 700, 147. At the same time
the receipts of standard dollars were Ssh
| COZ, 1884 in 1898 and $37, 581 ,O40 i'll 1899, de-
| crease of SIC, o94. These changes indi-
cate q growing circulation Of these coins.
Previous to this year the maximum Of
silver dollars in circulation at the close
Of any month was reached in December,
| 1890, as the result Of urgent efforts to
promote their use, when the record was
| SGT, 547, G23.
From the end of 1887 TO July, 1898, the
receipts of gold in New York from Gus
toms were less than 1 per cent; then for
| seven months they ranged from 5S.1 to
| II per cent. After January 1894 the pro
portion Of gold was nominal, but in De-
cember, 1897, it was 81 per cent, and then
rose rapidly to rs per cent in September,
1898, and to 91.5 in September, 1899 The
| percentage of gold for the whole fiscal
year of 1898 was 204 for 1885, 1876; and
! for the first quarter of 1910, S4.2
HOLDINGS HEAVY.
While disbursements in gold have been
heavy the holdings of the treasury in
| coin and bullion have surpassed all pre-
! Vtous records, both in gross amount and
in net excess over outstanding certificates.
! The former gross ma XimUm is found in
| September, 1888, at 1882 sol sos, and the net
maximum, before 1888, was Sis, SIS, 253. in
| March of the, same year. On June 80. 1898
| the gross gold in the treasury was s2O2-
| S25O49, and the net $167, 004, 40 These 1ig-
ures rose to 1853, 002, $50 gross and S254, 32S,-
| S21 net. Sept go 1899. These statistics
make plain a tendency to an increase in
! the use of coin of all kinds On Oct. 1.
1899, the estimated amount of gold In cir
! Culatton was 80. per cent of all the cur
rency, and the gold in the treasury 50. "A
per cent of the United States notes and
| treasury notes outstanding.
| These resources, the treasurer suggests
would make it very easy to establish a
permanent and adequate gold reserve
He points that while the reserve of
| $100,000000 several times has been
trenched upon under pressure of neces-
sity the trust funds set apart for a
! specific object as the gold pledged for
| gold certif1ca teS and tho standard dol