Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-08-01
THINGS ARE DIFFERENT.
Conditions Under Cleveland Not What
They Are Under Roosevelt
Administration.

At this time ten years ago an extra
session of congress had been called by
President Cleveland and that body was
soon to assemble. In April, 1893, for the
first time after che republicans specie
resumption law took effect in 1879, the
gold in the treasury available for green
back redemption dropped below the
500 900 mark. This was month
after CleVeland's second term began.
The decline continued, and at one time
the free gold in the treasury was down
as far as 100000. Alarm seized the
people; runs were made on the banks
in many cities; many banks suspended
and others collapsed; great business
houses went down in some of the big
centers and carried many smaller con-
Germs down with them; mills and fac
tories shortened their hours of work or
closed altogether; wages were reduced
ON all hands, and panic was "on." This
condition of things impelled Mr.. Cleve-
land to call congress in extra session,
and it met on August 7, 1893.
A. widely different condition prevails
today all over the country, says the st.
Louis Globe Democrat Instead of the
declining gold reserve and the runs on
the treasury, we have larger hoard of
gold in that depository than was ever in
it at any time in the past In addition
to the regular reserve fund of gold,
which was fixed at $3.50, 900, 900 by the
law of 1900, over ST., 900 900 of gold coin
and bullion is in the treasury vaults now
President Cleveland was Obliged to sell
bonds four times during that fateful sec
ond administration of his in order to pro-
tect the gold reserve. He increased the
interest bearing debt of the government
to the extent of $262, 600 900 in this way,
but he was unable to keep the gold fund
up to the $100,000,000 line Greenbacks
were rushed into the treasury and gold
was forced out by them almost as fast
as the gold could be gathered there by
bond sales. A general feeling of de-
preston prevailed all over the land.
There was fear that the country would
have to drop to the silver basis For a
time there was alarm lest the republi-
cans gold resumption law, which went
into effect in 1879, under which Cleve-
land made his bond sales, would be in
adequate to protect the country against
the assaults which were being made on
the treasury's gold fund.
The situation in 1903 is strikingly diff
ferent in all respects from that which
prevailed in 1893. Not only is the gold
hoard in the treasury the largest which
has ever been known, but the general
tendency is upward. Instead of buying
gold to-day, the treasury officials would
be glad to sell some of il Or to get rid of
it in some other legitimate way. The
endless chain which Mr. Cleveland
talked about-by which the greenbacks
after displacing gold in the treasury.
were used to force more gold out-has
been abolished. Nobody is going to the
treasury these days with greenbacks to
exchange for gold. The current to-day
is in the reverse direction. 1t gives gold
IN exchange for greenbacks The ''finan-
eial distrust and fear" which Cleveland
mentioned in his message to congress
when it met in called session ten years
ago has been succeeded by prosperity
! and confidence. Everybody in the coun-
try to-day who wants work has it. All
the great interests and activities are
busy. The country is happy, prosperous
and hopeful. Where President Cleve-
land found calamity President Roosevelt
sees good times in higher degree than
the country has ever before known.
Here is tale of two administrations
which carries its own moral to the minds
of the American people