The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1904-05-05

Id1neQ the SUSPICION tudt Tie tlcdSu'J
department at Washington has been
ioanlng the national banks, without
interest, a much larger sum than Its
reports frcir time to time show
This suspicion was based upon q
seemingly greater general rise III
p.1ces than could be accounted for af-
tC1 considering the effect of the in
Llcased coinage of gold and silver,
the issue of national bank nOtes-ani
the arbitrary edicts of the trusts.
Or. Van Vorhis this week shows be-
yond ca.il that portion OF the re-
serve 1aId-at least 20 millions-must
have l:ean held by banks on April S..
Ills treatment of the figures is that ct
ali expert liz finance and may not be
understood so readily by some OF our
readers as the method of the ordinary,
plug farmer. Let us look at those fls-
ureS.
1t will be remembered that the re
serve fund" i. Kept Tor supposed TO be
kept, in li,o Ii easury vaults In order
to ";nalntain the parity 1t must
always contain $50 millions of god,
one-third of which may be in I'M
coined bullion. On April 8, II the cash
was at Washington, in the treasury
vaults, this reserve fund had 100 mil
lions of coined gold and so millions
III uncoined. So far, SO good.
Dut the general fund" is the bust
HISS end of the treasury. Customs
and other taxes go into it. Warrants
are paid out of it. Internal revenue
becomes a part of it, although de-
posted in the national banks.
These deposits are nOminally SUBJ
jeet to check and are classed as
available" funds.
Now, on April s the books showed
an available cash balance" in the
general fund of $226,014,0 0614. This
was not all at Washington in the
treasury vaults. 1t was, in fact, di-
vided up, apparently as follows:
In national banks. 49,. .$162,237, 1877 go
In Philippine treas.... 4,677,646.09
At Washington ........ 59,O98, 522. As
IL OLdI YLAU,Vlf,VOO.I1
Now, reference to Treasurer Rob-
erts' letter to DR.. Van Vorhis shows
that that very day the general fluid
contained gold bullion to the amount
of~$86, 053, 634.40. Here, then, is the
problem:
Gold bullion belonging
to the general fund. $50, 053, 634. 40
Net general fund on
hand at Washington,
whether coin or bullion 9,098, 522.45
Difference .S26, 955, iii. IS
It is reasonable; to suppose that on
the Sth day of April, 1904, there were
a few dollars of gold coin in the
treasury vaults at Washington be-
longing to the general fund. And it
is not reasonable to suppose that the
treasurer had deposited any gold bull
lion in the banks How could he?
What authority would he have for
such an act?
But even if we concede that there
was not single coined dollar of gen.
eral fund in the vaults at Washing
ton, on April 8 we find that the treas
urer Is short nearly ~ millions of
gold bullion. How can we explain
this?
Upon no other hypothesis than that
he has loaned the banks at least II
millions of the reserve fund.- gold
coin, and that his statement is I'M.
true when he says there was on April
8 100 millions of gold coin in that
fund. Because it is automatically
impossible to divide up 226 millions
of available" coin and bullion, so as
to have So millions of bullion in The
vault at Washington, 162 millions of
coin in the national banks, and nea.-
ly millions in the Philippines. In.
other words, one can't make 253 mil
lions out of 226, without robbing some
other fund.