On the 27th day
of November, 1886, the people held of these coins, or certificates
representing them, the nominal sum of $166,873,041, and we still had
$79,464,345 in the Treasury, as against about $142,894,055 so in the
hands of the people and $72,865,376 remaining in the Treasury one year
ago. The Director of the Mint again urges the necessity of more vault
room for the purpose of storing these silver dollars which are not
needed for circulation by the people.
I have seen no reason to change the views expressed in my last annual
message on the subject of this compulsory coinage, and I again urge its
suspension on all the grounds contained in my former recommendation,
reenforced by the significant increase of our gold exportations during
the last year, as appears by the comparative statement herewith
presented, and for the further reasons that the more this currency is
distributed among the people the greater becomes our duty to protect it
from disaster, that we now have abundance for all our needs, and that
there seems but little propriety in building vaults to store such
currency when the only pretense for its coinage is the necessity of its
use by the people as a circulating medium.
The great number of suits now pending in the United States courts for
the southern district of New York growing out of the collection of
customs revenue at the port of New York and the number of such suits
that are almost daily instituted are certainly worthy the attention of
the Congress.
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