

. HESS. (Tm BOND QUESTION.) 



tMHuiilVrtlt have attracted their attention to the gold 

 of the Uovarament. There need be no fear that we 

 can not payoor current expcneea with such money aa 

 wrhare. Thvrv b now in the Treasury a comfort - 

 able anrploa of more than *a,ooo/w, but it i* not in 



..- .- ;.'! ,,-s 



I can not aw that differences of opinion concerning 

 , to whkh ail veromghtto^e coined or used 

 uM interfere with the oounacb of 

 t., rectify evjb now apparent 

 in oar tnancbi situation. They have to consider 

 ihr question of national credit, mid the consequences 

 .low from to collapse. Whatever ideas 

 may be inabled upon auto silver or bimetallism, a 

 "' n of the question now pressing up^n UH 

 a recognition of gold aa well u silver, 

 jo of to importance, rightful 

 .ired, aa a baab of national credit, a 



ssrr 



neoasaity in the honorable discharge of our obliga- 

 tions payable in gold, and a badge of aolvency. I 

 do nofwidefttinJ that the rear friends of silver 

 deaire a condition that might follow inaction or neg- 

 lect to appreciate the meaning of the present exi- 



; r.-Mjli in the entire banislu i 

 gold from oar financial and currency arrangements. 



Besides the Treasury note*, which certain! 

 br paid in gold, amounting to nearly I 

 there will fall doe in 1904 f 100.000,000 of 1 

 during the bat year, for which we have received 

 gold, and in 1907 no 



nearly 600,000,000 of 4-per-cenl 

 Donda baaed in 1877. Shall the payment of these 

 obligation in gold be repudiated t Tf they are to be 

 paid in each a manner aa the preservation of our na- 

 tional honor and national aolvency demands, i- 

 should not destroy or even imperil our ability to sup- 

 ply ourselves with gold for that purpose. 



While I am not unfriendly to silver, and while I 

 deaire to aee it recognized to such an extent as i* con- 

 btant with financial safety and the preservation of 

 national honor and credit, 1 am not willing to see 

 gold entirely banbhed from our currency and 

 nanrea To avert such a consequence I Believe 

 and radical remedial legislation should be 

 pasaed. I therefore beg the Congress to 



; , ' - . ' '., ! ..' , '. 



In my opinion the Hi-. .i-ury should 



beauthorued to bane bonds of tin- <."\, nirm-nt i--r 

 the purpose of procuring and maintaining a sunVient 

 gold reaurve and the redemption and cancellation <>t 

 the United Statea legal-tender note* an< 1 tin -Treasury 

 noteataaoed for the purchaae of diver un.l.r the law 

 of July 14, 1890. We ahould be relieved from the 

 humiliating proceaa of issuing bonds to procure gold 

 to be immediately and n j*-ut-dly drawn out < 

 obligations for purpoaea not related to the benefit of 

 oar Government or oar people. The pri 



-.. . 



; 



of these bonds ahould be 



principal and 



payable on their 



In gold, because they should DO sold only tor 

 '-..-... ad i baeanai than would 

 . -. ..-. . -v ia favorabh dJaporiag o< 

 -,- iat paktSon. 'i ,-.;.-. 



.-.,-: .-: -..:? 



and their multiples and that they bear interest at a 

 rate not foeeding S par cant, per annum. I do not 

 aee why they ahould not be payab 



; -.- : ;.-,'..- ..n have largi 

 amount* to pay if we meet oar obligations, and l-n.' 

 boods are most aalable. The Secretary of the Treaa- 

 7 might wrll be nennitted. at his dbcretion, to re- 

 ceive on the aale of bond* the legal-tender and Treas- 

 ury notea to be retired, and of course when they are 

 thai retired or redeemed in gold they ahould be can- 



Tbeae bonda under existing lawn could be deposited 

 by national bank, a* 

 ..,.-h banlu should be allowed to bane circuh. 



face value of these or any other bonda so de- 



. r 



rent. inU-rrt, and which sell in the market at leaf 

 than par. National banks * hould not be allowed to 

 take out circulating notea of a leas denomination than 



$10, and when such a* an n..\v ..utMandinj: reai-h tlu> 



i- redemptioa jm.l n-tin mcm. th-\ 



-h..ui,i teeof thedenominauonof 



|^li ami iip\\aril i^ued in th< .-, nili 



cateeof the denomination ot'llo an. I uj.\\ ;i i.i 



..nation-* in. 

 ..lit mean-* tor the imiint<-i>inif,- of 



aonable aupply <>f iroM in tin 



ini|Mirt> hhoulil he paid in tfold. allowing all other 



dues U> the (Government to ! |, ; ,i,| in a nv -;!.. 



o| in, : 



I believe all the provision* 1 have sugffeated should 



be embodied in our las\> it \\eare to enjov a<-omjh-te 

 .> r-ouii.l tinaiK-ial OOOdftion, 



.rinifv >(! 



inir for the in.-iva>e ..t'thf ein-ulatin^ im dinm urOUgh 

 the agency of national or Stat- l.ank.- that in;... 



inenditaMf to the Congream, oanaaaU) i-e 



i to Midi a :--i, dii.-. Objection naa been madi 



to tin : hearing oliliiration^ tor the 



purpose of rt- tiring the nonintanai-bearing h 



ler notes. In point of tad. however, tin 

 burdened us with a lar^e load ot intTe>t. and it i> 

 still aeeumiilatini.'- The a/cn-^ate int-r-M <>n t 

 original issue of bonds, the proceeds of which 

 ^old eoiistituted the n - r\<- tor the payment ot' tin 

 notes, amounted | .Ian. 1. 188 



the annual charirc for inli-rest on i- and 



those 'IK* ued for the same purpose during the liut year 

 Mill IK- $..! 4-VM MI. <latin- tn.m .Ian. 1. 1H86. 



While the catK-i-llatioii <.f these notes would not 

 relieve us from the obligations already incur 

 their account, these figures are given by wav 

 that their i,a> not |, t '.-n fr. 



;unl that the longer they are out- 



standingf judging from the -.\peri D 



the inon- expensive they will l.c< , 



In OOnoloakML I desire to frankly confer my 



to is^uini: more bonds in piv-ent <-in'um- 

 stam-es uiiil with no better roult.- than have lately 

 follriwed that cour-e. I can not. ho\\. 

 from adding t" an auran<-e .if my anxi< ' 

 ate with the )>! n anv reasonable 



measureofrelief.au expn-ssioii of my determination 

 to leave nothinir umlone whi<-h furnbhi 

 improving the situation <r checking a suspicion of 

 our disinclination or disability to meet with the 

 strictest honor every national obligi 



;.K\U.AM.. 



Ex i N \8ioN, Jan. 28, 1895. 



On the same day Mr. Springer, of Illiin.i-. in- 

 troduced the following I ill designed to carry out 

 the President's recommendations. 

 A bill to authorize th< 



i.aintain a sutJ'u-ient (.'old rese 

 nd to redeem ami retire United States notes, 

 tor other purjosea. 



- ,-//. m,. i Il,,>i*, i,f /t 

 tcd ittaU* ' 



a**ftnbll. That in order to enable the Seen ' 

 the Treasury to procure and maintain a sull 

 gold reserve and to redeem and retire I uit.-.i >::tt< s 

 ii'.to and Treasury not-s is.- ued under 

 .'idy 14, 1890, entitled u An .\<-t din -.-tin-.' 

 the piin-huse of silver bullion uml the j~- 

 iry ii..- ' rolher j.urpo-i-." h . 



by authorized to issue and sell, at not , 

 i. except aa provided in se<>rion 



-. in denomi- 



1 ^.V', and multi; , .-inns. 



respectively, payable fifty vears after date in jrold 

 the United States of the present weight and 

 fineness, and bearing interest at a rate n 



nt. JKT annum, payable quarterly in lil 



nnd Hiieh iKind-. ainl the intcrent thereon shall have 

 like Qualities .and exemption-, a- the bonds 



issued under the a-t apjroved July 14. 1*7". en- 



An Act to authorize the refunding of the 

 national debt," Such bonds may be sold and de- 

 livered in the United States, or elsewhere, as may be 



