established more firmly than ever the national credit at home and
abroad. A marked evidence of this is found in the inflow of gold to the
Treasury. Its net gold holdings on November 1, 1898, were $239,885,162
as compared with $153,573,147 on November 1, 1897, and an increase of
net cash of $207,756,100, November 1, 1897, to $300,238,275, November 1,
1898. The present ratio of net Treasury gold to outstanding Government
liabilities, including United States notes, Treasury notes of 1890,
silver certificates, currency certificates, standard silver dollars,
and fractional silver coin, November 1, 1898, was 25.35 per cent, as
compared with 16.96 per cent, November 1, 1897.

I renew so much of my recommendation of December, 1897, as follows:

That when any of the United States notes are presented for redemption
in gold and are redeemed in gold, such notes shall be kept and set
apart and only paid out in exchange for gold. This is an obvious duty.
If the holder of the United States note prefers the gold and gets it
from the Government, he should not receive back from the Government a
United States note without paying gold in exchange for it. The reason
for this is made all the more apparent when the Government issues an
interest-bearing debt to provide gold for the redemption of United
States notes--a non-interest-bearing debt. Surely it should not pay
them out again except on demand and for gold. If they are put out in
any other way, they may return again, to be followed by another bond
issue to redeem them--another interest-bearing debt to redeem a
non-interest-bearing debt.


This recommendation was made in the belief that such provisions of law
would insure to a greater degree the safety of the present standard, and