Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
Though the amount of gold drawn from the Treasury appears to be very
large as gathered from the facts and figures herein presented, it
actually was much larger, considerable sums having been acquired by the
Treasury within the several periods stated without the issue of bonds.
On the 28th of January, 1895, it was reported by the Secretary of the
Treasury that more than $172,000,000 of gold had been withdrawn for
hoarding or shipment during the year preceding. He now reports that
from January 1, 1879, to July 14, 1890, a period of more than eleven
years, only a little over $28,000,000 was withdrawn, and that between
July 14, 1890, the date of the passage of the law for an increased
purchase of silver, and the 1st day of December, 1895, or within less
than five and a half years, there was withdrawn nearly $375,000,000,
making a total of more than $403,000,000 drawn from the Treasury in
gold since January 1, 1879, the date fixed in 1875 for the retirement
of the United States notes.
Nearly $327,000,000 of the gold thus withdrawn has been paid out on
these United States notes, and yet every one of the $346,000,000 is
still uncanceled and ready to do service in future gold depletions.
More than $76,000,000 in gold has since their creation in 1890 been
paid out from the Treasury upon the notes given on the purchase of
silver by the Government, and yet the whole, amounting to $155,000,000,
except a little more than $16,000,000 which has been retired by
exchanges for silver at the request of the holders, remains outstanding
and prepared to join their older and more experienced allies in future
raids upon the Treasury's gold reserve.
In other words, the Government has paid in gold more than nine-tenths
of its United States notes and still owes them all. It has paid in gold
about one-half of its notes given for silver purchases without
extinguishing by such payment one dollar of these notes.
When, added to all this, we are reminded that to carry on this astound,
lug financial scheme the Government has incurred a bonded indebtedness
of $95,500,000 in establishing a gold reserve and of $162,315,400 in
efforts to maintain it; that the annual interest charge on such bonded
indebtedness is more than $11,000,000; that a continuance of our
present course may result in further bond issues, and that we have
suffered or are threatened with all this for the sake of supplying gold
for foreign shipment or facilitating its hoarding at home, a situation
is exhibited which certainly ought to arrest attention and provoke
immediate legislative relief.
I am convinced the only thorough and practicable remedy for our
troubles is found in the retirement and cancellation of our United
States notes, commonly called greenbacks, and the outstanding Treasury
notes issued by the Government in payment of silver purchases under the
act of 1890.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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