It was soon to appear, however, that this party accord
was merely nominal.
CHAPTER IX. THE FREE SILVER REVOLT
The avenging consequences of the Silver Purchase Act moved so
rapidly that when John Griffin Carlisle took office as Secretary
of the Treasury in 1893, the gold reserve had fallen to
$100,982,410--only $982,410 above the limit indicated by the Act
of 1882--and the public credit was shaken by the fact that it was
an open question whether the government obligation to pay a
dollar was worth so much or only one half so much. The latter
interpretation, indeed, seemed impending. The new Secretary's
first step was to adopt the makeshift expedient of his
predecessors. He appealed to the banks for gold and backed up by
patriotic exhortation from the press, he did obtain almost
twenty-five millions in gold in exchange for notes. But as even
more notes drawing out the gold were presented for redemption,
the Secretary's efforts were no more successful than carrying
water in a sieve.
Of the notes presented for redemption during March and April,
nearly one-half were treasury notes of 1890, which by law the
Secretary might redeem "in gold or silver coin at his
discretion." The public was now alarmed by a rumor that Secretary
Carlisle, who while in Congress had voted for free silver, would
resort to silver payments on this class of notes, and regarded
his statements as being noncommittal on the point.
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