The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-03-19

wos~eis: And so, Mr.. Speaker. out of SIX
trels hundred millions of debt, thus ia
createu', but four hundred millions is Cur
rency, the assent and faith of the Hous
followed him and the Copperheads shrunl
back in their chairs. They shrunk deepe
back under his manly rebuke Of the argu
ments and statements they had resorted t,
with deliberately malicious purpose o
swelling the current of improvident specu
lation-Of weakening still more the publi,
confidence--cf depreciating still more III,
pubic creGit-of pushing up still higher
the price OF the precious metals-of in
creasihg to a still greater degree the neces
proportion the burdens OF q people already
staggering under their load of bloody sac.
rihces, great anxieties and expenses-and
OF attempting 20 shriyel the war arm al
Inc country with predictions of national
bankrnrty and reputation. He said:
Sir, such predictions anu statements
cannot be made in this House without
damage to the public credit. and injury to
private interests. Nor can they be made
without hurt.aeintluence on the hundreds
OF thousands = so.ciers in tine field. far
away from their homes, and in the midst
OF enemies. They look to Congress to build
up the natiorla credit, 70 ssreng;hes, it if it
is endangered, and TO fcftity it where it
needs fortification. They wish to feel sure
OF ample supplies Of men and money, un-
til they can terminate the war successfully
and honorably. ] sympathize with these
soldiers. With ell my objections to the
present financial system Of the country. l
feel tito te ny Gaty to sustain ii until the
suGr Is Deer. And / think, sir, that it is the
duty Of cre,y nan IN this House to DC Jealous
and industrious IN his labor to inspire the
public icith confidence IN M. Case's fnun-
ci0t system, and to enable the Government to
p)AbN 10 70 -
.ude rs ottiQations.'
Had there been holes in the neighbOr-
hood Of Fernando Woods seat mum. rous
chairs had been vacated under the ring of
these Democratic words, vacated with un-
dulatory haste and hisses of fleave-taking.
The orator then rose with his theme, and
treated paper, money like a statesman as
well as banker. He said:
am taught by history that great wars
have always been carried on with pa
per money. My Judgment and my expe-
rience teach me that this country cannot
hope to be an exception to this rule.
therefore do not propose to discuss the sys
tenn of paper money, nor to point out its
impersections. ] desire to see nothing but
the great facts that we are in the midst Of
civil war-that men apd money are essen
nation must be say the honor Of our
arms maintained - integrity Of the
United States preseryed-the authority Of
the Federal Government vindicated. A
financial system, the offspring Of this great
necessity, has grown up. It has been in
operation for the past three years. II is
interviewer through every part Of our in
We aOould Tc ought not to abolish 1t If Ws
could. We mus; wait for peace to prevail
before we undertake to pull down the
structure and build in its place another
To undermine and destroy IL notc, trouLd be
to bury tic nation under its rains"
Sweeping onward in his argument to the
point where he saw q return to the specie
basis in Mr.. Chase's policy, the speaker de-
1.-The Secretary's opinions commend
themselves to my judgemnt as the correct
steps to healthier and q sounder state Of
They are all that any Democrat,
the condition Of the country,
and the existence Of fearful civil war,
shoult. expect or demand. The Secretary
has claim to the support Of this House in
his efforts to gravitate toward q more solid
system Of finance. So long as he seeks to
carry ont these principles shall support
them, because, in SO doing, ! shall support
the best interest Of commerce; shall sup
port the best interests Of all classes and
conditions Of my countrymen; shall sup
port the efforts ofthe Government to check
to reduce prices, to restrict
speculation, 70 restore confidence. to di-
minish the public expenses"
Mr.. Stebbins next Endorsed Mr.. Chsse's
National Banking scheme as calculated to
strengthen the na;ional credit, to provide Q
mode and means of selling Government
debts in considerable quantities, and to
prepare the way for resumption Of specie
payments and the gradual displacement Of
the legal tender. And this resumption Of
0s In I,oEn n h.
place through the influence Of the National
Banking Law without any of the disorders
and convulsiOns which always heretofore
have followed great financial changes.
He uttered his faith in the Funded Amer
icAn Debt, and based the faith Of the Peo-
pie in the bonds Of the United States with
truth as we'll as rhetorical
beauty; the plowed fields and the home
steads between the Atlantic and the Mis-
souri,, on the public domain Of . thousand
million OF square miles west Of the Mis-
souri-On its mex xhaustable minerals Of
coal, iron copper, silver and gold-on its
Pacific railroad to traverse and cut thr'O
this bed of eternal wealth, and to tap the
commerce Of the Pacific world-on the en-
that will build this road, mine that wealth,
and draw of that Commerce.
sir" said the orator, 'the people be-
lieve in this basis Of their country's debt.
believe in it. Iknow the great econoln-
icial truth that while from the year 1901
10 1861 the population Of France Increased
81 per cent, and that Of Prussia increased
but 70 per cent. and that Of England 12l
per cent, the growth Of population in my
country was 5e3 per cent! Iknow too,
from the statistics of the increase Of the
wealth Of America for the last ten
years, that in 1870 the middle Atlantic car
rying and manufacturing and the Western
EOod- producing States will surely have
thousand millions Of taxable
and in 1880 eighty Thousand mil
ions Sir, the four hundred millions Of
States to be paid by them out Of their in
,reased wealth from 1850 to lS6o alone,
would have been extinguishsd in the first
,ix months Of 1850, and the balance Of in
:rease of wealth remaining on hand be the
sum of s, ,500, ,006, 600. Measured
n this connection with the Nations abili-
y to pay, this Legal Tender Debt, Sir, is
wholly unimportant. Have not twenty
i've millions of Americans indorsed this
paper as well as all the Debt Of the United
states; and is not this Endorsement guaran-
knor1 1x~,E r.. - A