The age-herald., 1900-01-05
SENATOR ALDR|CH OPENS DEBATE
 ON THE REPUBLICAN FINANCE BILL
He UPh& the Gold Standard and Does Not Deny the Charges 2. of Departure from Party Platform

--~~-~--~-~~-----~~>-- silver monometallists of the greatest pro- nounced type.
 Redemption Fund
 "The second section provides for reserve fund of s15O,0OO,OOO in gold to secure the permanent and certain redemption of out standing United States notes and treasury notes. This fund is increased $50,oOO, 600 over that which is now held by the treasury for redemption purposes.
 'That this amount of $150,000,000 can be held without embarrassment to the treasury will be evident when we consider that the total amount of gold in the treasury on the first of November, 1899, exclusive of the amount held to pay gold certificates, was s25O ,OOO,O 900, and the available cash balance. including the gold reserve, was $29S OO,OOO. This section makes it the duty of the sec retary of the treasury to replenish the re- serve fund from time to time by the use of notes redeemed. This he may do by exchanging the notes for any gold in the general fund of the treasury; or any which may be deposited at the treasury or sub-treasury; or he may use the notes for securing gold coin under the provisions Of section 370O of the revised statutes
 "In case all these methods shall fail and the gold in the fund shall fall below $l0o,O0 ,OO0, then it becomes his duty to sell United States bonds, the proceeds to be used No restore the fund to the maximum amount by paying the gold so obtained into the general fund of the treasury, ex- changing for it an equal amount of notes which have been redeemed from the reserve fund. The committee having in view the rapid increase in the gold production of the world and the equally rapid increase in the available stocks of gold in this country is of the opinion that it will not be at any time necessary to sell bonds under the provisions of this section"
 MT. Aldrich quoted statistics on the gold production to show that there Will be no difficulty in securing by use of notes the gold which will be necessary to maintain the fund at its maximum amount. Equality of Value
 "In considering questions affecting the adequacy and use of the gold reserve" he said, i've are bound to inquire into the ability of the treasury to maintain an equality of value between the silver dol lar and silver certificate and the gold dol- lar with provision for direct exchange ability. Our own experience and that of other countries, notably France and Ger many, clearly proves that 1t is possible to keep in circulation at parity of value with gold @ large but limited amount of legal tender silver or notes based upon such silver without any provision for a compulsory redemption in gold.
 1.-The amount of silver certificates in cir cuation on the first of December, 1899, was $994, ,292,S ,S00 and of standard silver dollars $7S 232, ASA, total of s472 ,25i. This amount will be gradually increased by the silver coinage which will take place under the provisions of the act of June 13, 1898. Both silver dollars and silver certificates are by law receivable for all public dues, and as long as the ordinary receipts of the gov ernment are more than $600.0 900 per an- mum, 1t is very evident that silver certif- ca'tes are not likely to go to discount. | The government itself, in the absence of a l positive injunction, would be bound to maintain the value of this form of curren- | cy through the ordinary business channels of exchange for self-protection.
 Suggests No Changes
 "The committee does not suggest any l changes in the status of the silver dollar | or silver certificate. We do not propose to | take away from silver any of the moneta- ry privileges or prerogatives which it now enjoys In fact, we believe that the legis- | lation suggested will greatly strengthen its | position in our monetary system. 'The third section makes it the duty of l the secretary of the treasury, as fast as standard silver dollars are coined, as re- quired by law from the bullion purchased under the act of July IA, 1890, to retire and cancel an equal amount of treasury notes, and provides that upon the cancellation of the notes silver certificates shall be issued against ba cn Gold Certificates
 "nhe fourth section authorizes and di- rects the secretary of the treasury to re- ceive deposits of gold coin and to issue gold certificates therefor in denominations of not less than $20. The provisions of this section are in most respects the same as those contained in the twelfth section of the act of July 12. 1882. "The purpose of the section as whole is to give certain and active monetary use to the large and rapidly increasing amount of gold in the country
 1.-The fifth section provides that no United States or treasury notes shall hereafter be issued or reissued in denominations of less than s10, and all such notes of smaller de- nomination whenever redeemed shall be cancelled, and notes of $10 or upward sub stituted therefor. It also provides that no silver certificates of higher denomination than $1O shall be issued.
 Two Per Cent. Bonds
 "The sixth section of the substitute gives to the secretary of the treasury authority to convert a portion of the national deht into bonds bearing 9 per cent interest The proportion contemplates profitable anti cipation of interest payments and conse- quent reduction of the public debt
 ''In order to induce the holders of out standing bonds to consent to the conversion proposed, and in consideration of the reduce tion of interest affected thereby the secre- tary of the treasury Is authorized to pay to them in exchange a sum not greater than the present worth of such bonds, computed to yield an income of 2A per cent. per ar,- mum and the paper value.
 "The surplus in the treasury over and above the amount required for an adequate working balance for the reserve fund creat- ed by this bill would allow the secretary to pay without difficulty the $SS, ,O00,00o which would be required to effect this reduction of interest.