“No, I am not crazy,” said Morning with a laugh, “though I do not blame you for thinking so. The time has come somewhat sooner than I expected for intrusting you with my secret. The Morning mine is a phenomenal deposit of gold. It is so large that, fearing any general knowledge of its extent might cause demonetization of gold by the nations, I took measures to conceal its true yield, and for every ounce of gold which I shipped to New York or London as the ostensible product of the mine, I shipped twenty-five other ounces disguised as pig-copper to this city, or New York, or Philadelphia, or Liverpool. In the latter place $1,000,000,000 are stored, and there are $500,000,000 in each of the American cities I have named. A month ago I sent four of my trusted men from the mine to this city, where they have since been busy with cold chisels, releasing the gold bars from their copper moulds. They will go from here to Philadelphia and New York, and thence to Liverpool, for similar labors. I did not intend, Mr. Secretary, to offer any of this gold for coinage or sale until able to present it simultaneously at European and American mints. But the present exigency induces me to turn over to the United States for coinage, the five hundred millions of gold bars now ready for delivery in this city. I may add, Mr. Secretary, to quiet the apprehensions which your deep interest in the commercial prosperity of the country might lead you to entertain, that I have not intended, and do not now intend, to throw $2,500,000,000 of new money immediately into the channels of commerce. I shall change the gold bars into money at once, in order that the present value may not, by demonetization, be taken away from gold; but, once transformed into money, it will be fed gradually to the world, and not precipitated upon it.”
“But, Mr. Morning, it will require the constant labor for a long time of the mint and all its branches to coin this large sum, and you require the money at once.”
“I propose, Mr. Secretary, to avail myself of the law of February, 1894, and claim treasury notes for my ingots. That Act of Congress will enable you to print in two or three days enough bills of large denomination to cover the whole sum.”
“You astound me, Mr. Morning, but I suppose I must believe you.”
“If you will ride with me to the foot of Sixth Street, Mr. Secretary, I will exhibit to you $500,000,000 in gold bars.”
“But, Mr. Morning, even $500,000,000 suddenly poured into Wall Street will create a wilder panic and precipitate worse results, than those which may come from the pending conspiracy.”
“I do not think so,” said Morning quietly. “It is contraction and not inflation that hurts. A flood may be disastrous to the crops in places, but a general drought will surely kill them all.”
“If Congress were in session, Mr. Morning, it would be likely to demonetize gold. It would never suffer fifteen hundred millions of money to be thus added to the present currency. Why, such an amount will double at once the entire paper and metallic money of the country!”
“But Congress is not in session, Mr. Secretary, and you will pardon me for saying that, whatever may be your individual opinion as to consequences, you have no power to refuse to issue gold notes as fast as you can cause them to be engraved, for any amount of gold bars that I may offer.”
“True,” replied the secretary.