People's Pilot, Volume 2, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 April 1893 — WILL STICK TO GOLD. [ARTICLE]

WILL STICK TO GOLD.

President Cleveland Declares Himself on the Financial Situation. WASHINGTON, April 24. —In an interview concerning the financial situation President Cleveland said: “The inclination on the part of the public to accept newspaper reports concerning the intentions of those charged with the management of our national finances seems to justify my emphatic contradiction of the statement that the redemption of any kind of treasury notes except in gold has at any time been determined upon or contemplated by the secretary of the treasury or any other member of the present administration. The president and his cabinet are absolutely harmonious in the determination to exercise every power conferred upon them to maintain the public credit, to keep the public faith and to preserve the parity between gold and silver and between all financial obligations of the government “While the law of 1890 forcing the purchase of a fixed amount of silver every month provides that the secretary of the treasury, in his discretion, may redeem in either gold or silver the treasury notes given in payment of silver purchases, yet the declaration of the policy of the government to maintain the parity between the two metals seems so clearly to regulate this discretion as to dictate their redemption in gold. Of course, perplexities and difficulties have grown out of an unfortunate financial policy which we found in vogue and embarrassments have arisen from ill-advised financial legislation confronting us at every turn, but with cheerful confidence among the people and a patriotic disposition to cooperate, threatened danger will be averted pending a legislative return to a better and sounder financial plan. The strong credit of the country, still unimpaired, and the good ssnse of our people, which has never failed in time of need, are at hand to save us from disaster.”

Comparative quiet reigned at the treasury department Saturday, and Secretary Carlisle was encouraged by offers of about $4,000,000 in gold from western banks to replenish the reserve. This raises the reserve to over $100,000,000, but it is likely to be pulled down again this week by additional shipments to Europe. The amount of these shipments was stated in dispatches received here as likely to reach $10,000,000. This would reduce the reserve, if no gold were received during the week, to $90,000,000, and the government could not stand many weeks of such large exports. The news that the shipments of Tuesday will probably be unusually heavy does not give Mr. Carlisle any uneasiness as he feels sure that the western banks will do as handsomely in supplying him with gold for emergencies as they did Saturday. Moreover it is understood that Mr. Carlisle’s statement of last Thursday has been supplemented since by private correspondence with leading western bankers who are known to control large resources of gold with a view to have them cooperate with the treasury. The administration has already decided against the Wall street men, and their demand for an issue of bonds has been answered in the negative. So long as it is possible for the government to get along without a bond issue, just so long will the present policy of the treasury department be adhered to. Should the demand for gold during the coming week exceed the amount of free gold in the treasury there is nothing in the situation to suggest any other policy than that which was followed under similar circumstances on last Friday when the gold reserve was unflinchingly entrenched upon. The expenditures so far this month have been heavy, exceeding the receipts by over $2,000,000. The receipts have been $22,700,000 and expenditures $24,900,000. This has had the effect of reducing the net cash balance in the treasury, which to-day is $24,905,000, and of this amount $1[illegible],600,000 is in subsidiary coin and $11,000,000 is in national bank depositories.