174 



CONGRESS. (THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.) 



ucts of our farms as well as of our shops. These 

 duties necessarily have relation to other things be- 

 sides the public revenues. We can not limit their ef- 

 fects by fixing our eyes on the public Treasury alone. 

 They have a direct relation to home production, to 

 work, to wages, and to the commercial independence 

 of our country, and the wise and patriotic legislator 

 should enlarge the field of his vision to include all of 

 these. 



The necessary reduction in our public revenues 

 can, I am sure, be made without making the smaller 

 burden more onerous than the larger by reason of the 

 disabilities and limitations which the process of re- 

 duction puts upon both capital and labor. The free 

 list can very safely be extended by placing thereon 

 articles that do not offer injurious competition to such 

 domestic products as our home labor can supply. 

 The removal of the internal tax upon tobacco would 

 relieve an important agricultural product from a bur- 

 den which was imposed only because our revenue 

 from customs duties was insufficient for the public 

 needs. If safe provision against fraud can be devised, 

 the removal of the tax upon spirits used in the arts 

 and in manufactures would also offer an unobjection- 

 able method of reducing the surplus. 



A table presented by the Secretary of the Treasury, 

 showing the amount of money of all kinds in circula- 

 tion each year from 1878 to the present time is of in- 

 terest. It appears that the amount of national bank 

 notes in circulation has decreased during that period 

 $114,109,729, of which $37,799,229 is chargeable to 

 the last year. The withdrawal of bank circulation 

 will necessarily continue under existing conditions. 

 It is probable that the adoption of the suggestions 

 made by the Comptroller of the Currencyfnamely, 

 that the minimum deposit of bonds for the establish- 

 ment of banks be reduced, and that an issue of notes 

 to the par_value of the bonds be allowed, would help 

 to maintain the bank circulation. But while this 

 withdrawal of bank notes has been going on there has 

 been a large increase in the amount of gold and silver 

 coin in circulation and in the issues of gold and silver 

 certificates. 



The total amount of money of all kinds in circula- 

 tion on March 1, 1878, was $805,793,807, while on 

 Oct. 1, 1889, the total was $1,405.018,000. There was 

 an increase of $293,417.552 in gold coin, of $57,554,100 

 in standard silver dollarsj of $72,311,249 in gold cer- 

 tificates, of $276.619,715 in silver certificates, and of 

 $14,073,787 in United States notes, making a total 

 of $713,976,403. There was during the same period a 

 decrease of $114,109,729 in bank circulation, and of 

 $642,481 in subsidiary silver. The net increase was 

 $599,224,193. The circulation per capita has in- 

 creased about $5 during the time covered by the table 

 referred to. 



The total coinage of silver dollars was, on Nov. 1, 

 1889, $343,638,001, of which $283,539,521 were in the 

 Treasury vaults and $60,098, 480 were in circulation. 

 Of the amount in the vaults, $277,319,944 were repre- 

 sented by outstanding silver certificates, leaving $6,- 

 219,577 not in circulation and not represented by. cer- 

 tificates. 



The law requiring the purchase by the Treasury 

 of two million dollars' worth of silver bullion each 

 month, to be coined into silver dollars of 412i grains, 

 has been observed by the department ; but neither 

 the present Secretary nor any of his predecessors has 

 deemed it safe to exercise the discretion given by 

 law to increase the monthly purchases to $4,000,000. 

 When the law was enacted (Feb. 28, 1878) the price 

 of silver in the market was $1.20 4 /io per ounce, mak- 

 ing the bullion value of the dollar 93 cents. Since 

 that time the price has fallen as low as 91'2 cents per 

 ounce, reducing the bullion value of the dollar to 70-6 

 cents. Within the last few months the market price 

 has somewhat advanced, and on the 1st day of No- 

 vember last the bullion value of the silver dollar was 

 72 cents. 



The evil anticipations which have accompanied the 

 coinage and use of the silver dollar have not been re- 



alized. As a coin it has not had general use, and the 

 public Treasury has been compelled to store it. But 

 this is manifestly owing to the fact that its paper rep- 

 resentative is more convenient. The general accept- 

 ance and use of the silver certificate show that silver 

 has not been otherwise discredited. Some favorable 

 conditions have contributed to maintain this practical 

 equality, in their commercial use, between the gold 

 and silver dollars. But some of these are trade condi- 

 tions that statutory enactments do not control and of 

 the continuance of which we can not be certain. 



I think it is clear that if we should make the coin- 

 age of silver at the present ratio free we must expect 

 tnat the difference in the bullion values of the gold 

 and silver dollars will be taken account of in com- 

 mercial transactions, and I fear the same result would 

 follow any considerable increase of the present rate of 

 coinage. Such a result would be discreditable to our 

 financial management and disastrous to all business 

 interests. We should not tread the dangerous edge of 

 such a peril. And, indeed, nothing more harmful 

 could happen to the silver interests. Any safe legis- 

 lation upon this subject must secure the equality of 

 the two coins in their commercial uses. 



I have always been an advocate of the use of silver 

 in our currency. We are large producers of that 

 metal, and should not discredit it. To the plan 

 which will be presented by the Secretary of the 

 Treasury for the issuance of notes or certificates upon 

 the deposit of silver bullion at its market value, I 

 have been able to give only a hasty examination, ow- 

 ing to the press of other matters and to the fact that 

 it has been so recently formulated. The details of 

 such a law require careful consideration, but the gen- 

 eral plan suggested by him seems to satisfy the pur- 

 poseto continue the use of silver in connection with 

 our currency, and at the same time to obviate the dan- 

 ger of which I have spoken. At a later day I may 

 communicate further with Congress upon this sub- 

 ject. 



The enforcement of the Chinese exclusion act Las 

 been found to be very difficult on the northwestern 

 frontier. Chinamen, landing at Victoria, find it easy 

 to pass our border, owing to the impossibility, with 

 the force at the command of the customs officers, of 

 guarding so long an inland line. The Secretary of 

 the Treasury has authorized the employment of addi- 

 tional officers who will be assigned to this duty, and 

 every effort will be made to enforce the law. The 

 Dominion exacts a head tax of $50 tor each China- 

 man landed, and when these persons, in fraud of our 

 law, cross into our territory and are apprehended, our 

 officers do not know what to do with them, as the 

 Dominion authorities will not suffer them to be sent 

 back without a second payment of the tax. An ef- 

 fort will be made to reach an understanding that will 

 remove this difficulty. 



The proclamation required by section 3 of the act 

 of March 2, 1689, relating to the killing of seals and 

 other fur-bearing animals, was issued by me on the 

 21st day of March, and a revenue vessel was dis- 

 patched to enforce the laws and protect the interests 

 of the United States. The establishment of a refuge 

 station at Point Barrow, as directed by Congress, was 

 successfully accomplished. 



Judged by modern standards, we are practically 

 without coast defenses. Many of the structures we 

 have would enhance rather than diminish the perils 

 of their garrisons if subjected to the fire of improved 

 guns ; and very few are so located as to give full ef- 

 fect to the greater range of such guns as we arc now 

 making for coast-defense uses. This general subject 

 has had consideration in Congress for some years, and 

 the appropriation for the construction of large rifled 

 guns, made one year ago, was, I am sure, the expres- 

 sion of a purpose to provide suitable works in which 

 these guns might be mounted. An appropriation 

 now made for that purpose would not advance the 

 completion of the works beyond our ability to supply 

 them with fairly effective guns. 



The security of our coast cities against foreign at- 



