The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-12-08
THE DIVORCE QUESTION.

the press of business, and the crowd OF Exc
cutive documents has restrained our hand so
long We have now the Message and its
obstinate Sub-treasury recommendations. We
shall have the honor of speaking to that docu-
ment separately The adumbrations of the
official organ, of the week previous, which
were not little extraordinary, must, however,
first aud directly occupy our attention. The
long and elaborate article of the Globe Of last
week, Friday, under the head Of the "Divorce
Question" excited some interest; and to pre-
vent, if possible, the mischief which its fla
grant sophistries and misrepresentation are
but too well calculated to induce, we direct
our battery first to that point.
The thirty millions Of public money which
was in the hands Of the banks at the time
they suspended specie payments in May,
1887, did not Gin one fortnight become I'M
available" So far from that, the sum had
been reduced to little more than eight mil
lion dollars as early as the 2Sth day of Au-
gust following, which was the amount report
ed by the Treasurer of the United States at
his credit, and subject to draft on that day.
And by the Secretary of the Treasury's Re-
port on the first of December following, it
appeared that all but about four and half
million dollars, (which was satisfactorily
secured, payable in nstalments, as authorized
by Congress) had then been paid or would be
paid when drawn for. "
We consider that General Jackson and
those who supported the measure of the re-
moval Of the depostes, and employing State
Banks, in 1888, fully as obnoxious to CEN
sure as those who now advocate the renewal
Of the connection between the Government
and the State Banks. The history of the
bank suspension from 1914 to 1917, was fully
before their eyes then. They knew that
what had occurred once might happen again
Indeed, it was foretold by Secretary Woodbu-
ry, that there was no system which could be
devised that was free from risk, and this he
considered the least Objectionable because
attended with the fewest risks of endangering
the safety Of the public money
1t is not true, as asserted, that in 1887 and
1888, the Government was compelled to make
discrimination in regard to the public Gre
ditors, paying them nominaly the full amount
of their dues, but some of them in paper, ten,
twenty or thirty per cent. below par" This
statement made by the Globe is contradicted
by the Secretary of the Treasury, in his Off
cial report, who said, no persons have been
required to accept any thing else, (but specie)
nor, according to the views Of the undersign-
ed, could they be, without violation of law
and sound policy" ...
Says the Globe Gin the event Of war,
the firing Of the first gun would be signal
to the banks throughout the country again to
suspend specie payments )" and it adds, from
the excited state of the population on both
sides the Canadian line, we may have war
without waiting for the formality of a declara-
ton" We can tell the writer in the Globe,
that in the event of war, the banks could
continue to pay specie as long as the Govern
war without calling upon the banks to give
their aid in supplying it means. And sup
pose we were to become involved suddenly in
war, without the formality Of declaration"
tsef7 Why, without dollar, comparatively,
in the Treasury; with an impaired credit
and at war with all the moneyed institutions
Of the country! Even now, in state of pro-
found peace, Treasury notes bearing five per
cent. interest, are at a discount, and those
drawing six per cent, arc with difficulty Kept
at par, when the amount issued is less than
eight millions of dollars Let the Govern
ment be called on in the event of war on
sudden emergency to issue twenty or thirty
millions of Treasury notes, and even those
drawing six per cent interest, would soon be
at 5, and, perhaps, 90 per cent. discoun, in
exchange for the notes Of sound banks.
Suppose the Sub-treasury system to be es-
tablshed, and The reuenuc be reduced to the
actual wanfs Of The Government, thereby pre-
venting an accumulation in the Treasury,
at any one time, of more than three or four
millions of specie, which is the plan, as cx-
planned by the advocates of the measure, we
should like to be informed wherein the coun-
try would be prepared for war;" which the
Globe talks about or how it would place the
finances on such basis that they would be
liable to no arrangement Who does not
know that state of war would lead TO an
entire arrangement of our finances Where
Is your revenue to come from with our foreign
commerce broken up! There would be
none. There would be the Sub Treasurers