The law of March 14, 1900, put our paper currency, save the silver certificates, and also all national bonds, upon a gold basis, providing an ample gold reserve. Silver certificates were to replace the treasury notes, and gold certificates to be issued so long as the reserve was not under the legal minimum. If it ever fell below that the Secretary of the Treasury had discretion.
Other notable features of this law were its provision for refunding the national debt in two per cent. gold bonds—a bold, but, as it proved, safe assumption that the national credit was the best in the world—and the clause allowing national banks to issue circulating notes to the par value of their bonds.
Our money volume now expanded as rapidly as in 1896 advocates of free coinage could have expected even with the aid of free silver. July 1, 1900, the circulation was $2,055,150,998, as against $1,650,223,400 four years before. Nearly $163,000,000 in gold certificates had been uttered. The gold coin in circulation had increased twenty per cent. for the four years; silver about one-eighth; silver certificates one-ninth. The Treasury held $222,844,953 of gold coin and bullion, besides some millions of silver, paper, and fractional currency.
The Republican victory was the most sweeping since 1872. The total popular vote was 13,970,300, out of which President McKinley scored a clear majority of 443,054, and a plurality over Bryan of 832,280. Of the Northern States Bryan carried only Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada. He lost his own State and was shaken even in the traditionally “solid South.” Unnecessarily ample Republican supremacy was maintained in the legislative branch of the Government.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE TWELFTH CENSUS
The plan for a permanent census bureau was not realized in time for the 1900 enumeration, but the act authorizing this provided important modifications in prior census procedure. Among several great improvements it made the census director practically supreme in his methods and over appointments and removals in his force.
Initial inquiries were restricted to (1) population, (2) mortality, (3) agriculture, and (4) manufactures. Work on these topics was to be completed not later than July 1, 1902. During the year after, special reports were to be prepared on defective, criminal and pauper classes, deaths and births, social data in cities, public indebtedness, taxation and expenditures, religious bodies, electric light and power, telephone and telegraph, water transportation, express business, street railways, mines and mining. A few titles mentioned in the eleventh census were now omitted.
Mr. Merriam, Director of the Census.
The enumeration extended to Alaska. Two men had charge of it there. Enumerators went out afoot, by dog-teams, canoes, steamboats—up rivers, over mountains, through forests. The Indian Territory was for the first time canvassed like other portions of the Union, and so was the new territory of Hawaii.