Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-12-13
PLEADS FOR CHANGE
IN MONETARY SYSTEM.
In His Annual Report to Congress
MIR. Cortelyou Advises a More
Elastic Currency System.

Disaster to trade, commerce, labor
and Investment can be effectively pre-
vented only by q reorganization of the
national monetary system, according to
the report made by Secretary of the
Treasury Cortelyou to Congress.
The Secretary deplores that under
existing laws his hands are tied dur
ing financial emergencies such as
stirred the country lately. He has no
specific plan for monetary ~reorganiZa-
ton, but he makes strong appeal to
Congress for immediate remedial leg
iSlation. The report declares that
banks as well as individuals boarded
money during the financial s%tringency.
The report gives in detail the att
tempt made by the Secretary to head
off bank failures and business suspen-
sions in the East by the deposit Of
government funds. The government is
shown to be in an exceedingly pros
porous condition with a surplus at the
close Of the fiscal year of $S4, 236, $500
of receipts over expenditures. "What
has happened, not only this year but
many times before" says the Secre-
tary, should serve as an admonition
to enact wise laws for the prevention,
at least, to the imperfect organization
Of our monetary system"
The Secretary points out that the in
creasing rate Of interest charged for
call money n time money, as well as
discounts on commercial bills, indicated
a progressive diminution Of available
cash during the early part Of the year.
To offset this, distributions Of $685.
100000 Of government funds were made
among several banks. Four days prior
to the Eastern crisis $35,0O0,OOO more
was transferred from the treasury to
banks, for which State, municipal and
railroad securities acceptable to varl-
Gus States were taken as collateral. On
| Nov. II the sum of $226, 6,237.0 was
on deposit in national bank deposit
taries throughout the country. "It is
said that many Of our people have
boarded money" the Secretary states
in his report. 'This Is undoubtedly
true; but so have many Of the banks"
The report shows the total receipts
OF the government from all sources for
the fiscal year ended June 80, 1907, to
be $S46, 725 ,339, and the expenditures
$762,4SS, 1853, leaving a surplus Of $751;
236,5S6. Compared with 1906 the re-
cefpts increased $S4, 435 INC the ex-
penditures 1926, 771,171.31.
The report states the total debt OF
the United States to be at the close Of
the fiscal year $2,457, 1SS,061.54, against
the payment Of which there is In vari-
GUS forms of cash in the treasury or to
the credit Of the treasury, the sum Of
81, ,O6S.S3. There were 6,5S2
banking associations in existence at
the close of the year, with an author
lied capital of 1901, 8 TO.
At the close of the fiscal year, ac-
cording to the report, the money in cir
culation amounted to S2,772,956,455, or
a per capita of $32.22, while the per-
centage of gold to total circulation
was $41.90. Paper currency was is
sued during the year amounting to
SG9S,213,oOO, and the ~redcmptions dur
ing the same period were s5S2, 2,oO0.
The treasury holdings of gold at the
close of the year 1906 amounted to
SSO7, 051, 690.30, and this had increased
at the end of 1907 to S9O4, 691, 73O.1I.