The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1844-08-09
W AS HI N G. Z @ N.
FRIDAY EVENING, AUG. 8. 1874.
POLK ON THE SUB-TREAsURY.

In lS43, Messrs. Wyatt Christian 7. Leath,
and other citizens of Shelby county, Tennessee,
addressed communication 10 Gov. Jones and
Ex-Gov. James K. Polk, propounding to each GER
tain interrogatories on public subjects. Mr..
Folks reply, which has been shown to us, is dated
Columbia, May Is, ls43 We extract SO much
of it as will show his opinion in relation to the
Su6.treasury, taking the liberty to mark few
phrases as emphatic:
ITO the fourth interrogatory, in the following
words. viz: Are you in favor of The Sub-treasury
sy,tem passed by Congress in 1910 and repealed
in 1871" | answer, Gays Mr.. Polk,) that
AM; and for my views, as given at some length
on the subject, refer you 10 my two published
addresses ito the people of Tennessee the one
bearing date IN the Sd Of April, 1885, and the other
on the 25h of March, l64l. In my address Of 1889,
l avowed myself to be in favor of keeping the
money of the people, in the Treasury OF The
people, under the care of officers elected by the
people and responsible to them, where it can a,
all times be commanded forrubiic purposes-and
not in banks, not elected by the people and no,
responsible to them, to be loaned out for private
purposes"
And again in the same reply, he says 81 now
only add, that HAVE SEEN NO REASON
TO CHANGE MY VIEWS as expressed in
these addresses. The Constitution of the United
States contempla,es public Treasury. 1t pro-
vides that no money shall be drawn from the
Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations
made by law Such Treasury is provided by
the Independent Treasury Act, called by you the
Sub-treasury system Itprovided that The public
money, between the periods of collection and dis
bursement, should be kept in the wants of the
Treasury at Washington, and in strong boxes
provided at the principal points of collection, that
it should be under the lock and key of the Cow
ernment-under the care Of officers elected or
chosen by the people, according to the forums OF
the Constitution of The United Siates-that these
officers should be placed under bonds with appro-
we'd security, be under oaths, and be subject to
ignominious punishment by long imprisonment in
the common Jail or penitentary for violation OF
their duty. The system had worked WELL and
was working well. when the party in power at
their extra session Of Congress in l64l, repealed
it."
We explained at some length last week the
necessary tendency, and, indeed, the avowed
object of the SUBJ Treasury measure to reduce the
wages of labor. Its ablest and warmest advo.
Gates insisted in their appeals to the wealthy
classes that such would be it's effects. Mr..
Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, who was then, and is
now, one of the ablest statesmen in the Locofoco
ranks, told the manufacturers that they should be
IN favor OF the Sub-treasury because it would
reduce the wages of labor. He told them, that
they would never be able to compete with France
and Germany-hard-money countries-until they
could employ labor at the hard-money price, which
In those countries is about twenty-five or thirty
cents per day.
n vxyiU hr,n
treasury plan that every laboring man in the
country may understand how necessarily it will
reduce his wages-how necessarily make the rich
richer and the poor poorer.
Let it be understood, them that the patriots Of
the Revolution, who framed our Constitution and
Government and set it in motion, established a
United States Bank for the purpose of regulating
currency and for the purpose of having safe
deposit for the public money between the time of
It's collection and characterization the time il
Is paid to Government agents until thew nav it
out IN support Of the army and navy and civil de.
partments. 1t is frequently the case that n,,nv
m'l'ions are mus accumulated, and Washington
and his compairots felt that there would be M
safety in trusting SO much money in the hands &c
individuals. They therefore established bank Cor
the purpose of keeping it---a National Bank
and in the meantime made use of the State banks
This wire and safe plan of preserving the peo-
pies money from the plumber of their nficers was
continued from the days Of Washington to those
OF Van Buren,. For, after the expiration of the
charter of the first bank, estab isled by Wash.
ingto', the plan Of placing the peoples money in
the hands Of the State banks was again resorted
TO, and continued until the establishment of the |
second National Bank under Mr.. Madison's adj |
ninstration. The old bank and the late bank
zach kept the public money in The creates,