Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1890 — WASHINGTON AFFAIRS. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON AFFAIRS.

Judge David J. Brewer was sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Unitea States at noon, Monday, and immediately took his seat upon the bench. The ceremony was performed in the coart room in the presence of a large audience, immediately after the assembling of the Court at noon. John Jay Knox, ex-Comptroller of the TVaasii rer T now a New. York banker, has prepared a bill for the use of silver bullion as a currency basis. It will he introduced in » few days, This bill provides that national banks may issue circulating notes not exceeding in amounts 75 per cent, of their capital stock; that not less than 70 per cent, of the circulating notes shall be secured by U. S. bonds, at the rate of 100 per cent, upon the par valued such bonds, provided that at the option of each bank one-half of such circulation of 70 per cent. : may be secured by gold coin or bullion, or silver bullion, at the current market priee. Whenever the market value of bullion is reduced below the amount of circulation the comptroller of the currency may demand and receive the amount of such depreciation in other bullion or in gold or silver coin, as long as such depreciation shall continue; or the amount of the circulating notes of such bank may be reduced by charging the excess of cir culation to the redemption fund. The bill further provides for a “national bankruptcy fund,” to be opened by reducing j the United States notes outstanding sl,500,000, and the national bank redemption fund a like amount. To this fund is to be added the duty of ]4 per cent, each six months on national bank circulation. Mr. Knox estimates that at the end of the next twenty years, or at the date of the payment of the 4 per cent, bonds in 1907, a safety fund would have accumulated of at least $25,000,000, so that from that t ime onward a sufficient amount of national bank circulation would remain permanently in existence, well secured by gold or silver bullion and sufficiently profitable to make the circulation large enough in connection with the present amount of United States notes to respond to the demand of the country. It would also give the banks in the West as well as the East, who have confidence in the future value of silver an opportunity to invest in that metal. He believes that such investments would be made for the next three years equal at least to $20,000,000 annually, and thus relieve the treasury from excessive purchase, First Assistant Postmaster General Clarkson has verified the rumor that he hr about to resign. He says that be accepted the office only under strong importunities, and with (he understanding that he would not hold it more than a year. Furthermore his purpose in accepting was to rid his party of Democratic postmasters as far as possible. Senator Blackburn, of Kentucky, was re-elected Tuesday.