The Forrest City times., 1900-01-19
TRANSACTED IN SECRET.
.,.- Cages Handling of the Peoples Money Helps the Mc-
 Kinley syndicate.

It is painful thatMr. McKinley's first lord of the treasury, MT. Gage, is being harassed by scrutiny and criticism. II is more painful to have to do the scru- ;inizing and criticising of so amiable and respectable a person. It is most painful of all that MT. Gage should be doing anything that calls for scrutiny and criticism.
 What are the facts?
 First. There is in New York a group of the most powerful financiers in the country who were of the largest con- tributors to the famous monster Han- na campaign fund of 1896, who are or ganized as the National city bank, and who have been the recipients of sundry extraordinary favors from the Mckin- ley administration, such as, for exam pie. the privilege of purchasing "by private arrangement" a piece of gov- ernment property in New York city for about S1,7o0,0o0 less than its appraised value.
 Second. Mir. Gage, as secretary of the treasury, as an accountable public serv- ant. has entered into a secret agree ment with this syndicate whereby it is | to handle the entire internal revenue re- ceipts of the gorernment-about $300,- | OO0. .O00 year. No one but Mir. Gage and | Mir. Mckinley and the syndicate know | the terms of this secret agreement or how much profit the syndicators will be able to make out of the handling" | It is known, however, that the syndi- cate will have each day a very large sum of the peoples money for which il will pay nothing and upon which it will col lect heavy interest through loaning it out to the public.
 Mir Gage says in his explanation to the World:
 | "It is necessary to concentrate the in- l ternal revenue receipts of s90o.olQ, nearly | q 0C00o1 a day at one place in order to make any fair distribution of them from l day to day"
 But is it necessary secretly to concen- trate them? And why is it necessary to bring into the coffers of the National city bank collections made in Rich mond. Cincinnati, Chicago, Louisville, St. Louis, Peoria, San Francisco? Why could not the government do the dis tributing? Why could it not do the dis tributing publicly, in order that nc one might be able to suspect or allege ia. | voritism?
 Mir. Gage says:
 "The National city bank has a larger de- posit of bonds with the treasury depart | ment than any other bank in the country. This ample security would not exist in the case of bank whose deposit of bonds was nominal or comparatively small"
 But does this change the fact that the internal revenue receipts, if they must be distributed as free deposits. could be and should be distributed by the gov ernment itself in smaller amounts among the strong banks throughout the country, in order that all the peo- pie might have an opportunity to bene- fit instead of little group of favored money lenders in Wall street?
 MT. Vanderlip, Mir. Cages factotum and the junior lord of the treasury, says;
 "The department will not announce the new Repositories or institutions which will receive the money. I do not regard 1t as good policy. nor would any good result from it's publicity"
 Where would be the harm? Is il not the peoples money? Are not Gage and Vanderlip the peoples servants? If they are compelling the National city bank to make a fair distribution of these vast sums, what possible reason
 can they have for hiding the facts |?
 What would MT. Gage have thought if
 when he was president of a national
 bank in Chicago his cashier had come
 to him and said: "Mr. Gage, really
 cannot permit you to know what am doing with the banks money. You will have to be satisfied with a statement oi
 totals and results at the end of the year?"
 !, Is it not against public policy for tn, secretary of the treasury in any cir cumstances to turn over his functions and the public funds to private money
 lenders. however good the security they may give? Is it not gross abuse ot public trust for him to make this as signment to a little group of the finan , cial packers of the administration DO 1itical fortunes, and that by secre' agreement?
 } If MT. Gage is wronging his publi, , reputation by this secrecy his redres, l is easy to obtain. All he has to do IS ts adopt the only safe and just course fol | an honest and faithful public official } publicity! publicity! publicity!-E. ' } World.