Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 6.djvu/235

Mr. Gage, August 25th. There is no doubt Mr. Bryan could order his Secretary of the Treasury to make payment in silver of all the public debt payable in coin, and for all current disbursements of the Government as well, which amount to from $1,500,000 to $1,750,000 per day. That he would give such an order, too, is very certain, if he is in the same mind that he was in 1896. . . . He would have great difficulty in doing that at once. The Treasury of the Government at present is very firmly established on a gold standard. Including the reserve of $150,000,000 held against the legal-tender notes, the Government owns and controls over $200,000,000 in gold coin and bullion, while it owns and controls only about $16,000,000 in silver, the rest of the silver being out in circulation among the people, either in the form of silver certificates or silver coin. But the announcement by the Treasury Department of its purpose to pay silver in settlement of all interest on the public debt not specifically payable in gold, and to

Mr. Gage, July 15th. I am satisfied that the new law establishes the gold standard beyond assault, unless it is deliberately violated. . . . It is quite true that the legal-tender quality has not been taken away from the silver and paper money of the United States. It would have been a remarkable and disquieting thing to do. . . . What difference would it make to me if I held some bonds and Mr. Bryan should direct his Secretary of the Treasury to sort out some of his limited stock of silver dollars for the purpose of redeeming the bonds? Would I not immediately deposit the silver in my bank and draw checks against it just as I would if the Secretary had exercised the more rational policy of paying me with a sub-Treasury check? I believe that silver will never drop below par in gold. The crux of the proposition is that adequate measures have been taken by the new law to prevent such a contingency. . . . It is wholly immaterial whether some Secretary of the Treasury pursues the infantile policy of paying silver dollars upon these bonds