The Message

On Monday the president sent to congress a special message dealing with the serious financial emergency which confronts the treasury and -the nation, his views as to the causes thereof, the remedy and the urgent necessity, for immediate action. It is in his characteristic style, clear and forceful, and will rank with his best state papers of earlier dates. The language is such as to admit of no misunderstanding. He uses no ambiguous phrases or expressions which really mean one ccrtain thing but which may be interpreted to mean another. He goes straight to the root of the existing monetary evils and suggests the remedy that has been and is being urged by the majority of the best business and financial minds as well as the leading newspapers of all parts of the nation. He shows that lack of gold to maintain the national credit is the real cause of the trouble, rather than lack of revenue, as has been alleged by the minority. He shows how the government has been robbed of its gold in redeeming greenbacks a.nd treasury notes which do not stay redeemed, but are immediately reissued to go through the same process again, and that whereas millions have been expended on this "endless chain" process, not a dollar of the government's outstanding obligations have been cancelled. The remedy suggested is that the secretary of the treasury be given authority to issue bonds in order to maintain sufficient reserve to meet all demands. He advocates the issuance of small denominationbonds, Í20 and $50 and múltiples of the same, to bear interest not to exceed 3 per cent. and run fifty years and be payable, principal and interest in gold. He advises that the tary of the treasury be allowed to receive legal tender and treasury notes tor the bonds and to cancel these notes after redemption. Also that dudes on importsi be paid in gold. The scheme likewise gives to banks authority to issue notes of not less than ten dollar denominations to the face value of the bonds held except the two per cents, and the replacing of silver certificates of ten dollars and above with silver certificates of less denominations than ten dollars. The carrying of these proposals into law would no doubt stop the outflow of gold for all purposes except for trade balances, and this would cause no run. The gold that has been going abroad would return as foreign investors would then have no fear of a change of financial basis and would not only cease to send home our securities but would gladly pay gold to get them. The uneasiness and depression existing in all lines of business at home would cease and a return of prosperity result. Notwithstanding the advantages that would flow from the adoption of the president's proposals, it is extremely doubtful whether they can be enacted into law.