Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-11-16

ne lollOWlne Is an extract from tue
very interesting speech made in st Louis
on Saturday night. by Governor Chase:
DEFINITION OF A GREENBACK
Now | have been called the father ct
sreenbacks. To', are The fathers of green
backs What is crecnback Did YOU
ever think whatit was !? Why, il is sim
ply the credit Of this great American pco-
pie put in the form of money, TO circulate
among the very people whose credit makes
il worth ANYTHING When | was Secre-
tary of the Treasury, the question arose,
how should these vast armies and navies
be supplied ? How should the boys be
fei in the field the sailors in ships, and
pro, ision made for their support, their
clothing their food and transportation p
| found the banks of the country had sus-
pended specie payment. What was to
DO The banks wanted NE to borrow
their credit They did not paw any gold
or propose to pay any themselves, but they
wanted me to borrow their notes. | said,
NO, gentlemen, this great American PEG
pie is worth all Of you put together, and
viii take the credit of these people and
cut it up in the form Of little bits of pa
per. and viii circulate that paper, and we
will recei that paper for bonds, upon
which we will punctually pay the interest
in go d and then, in order that the Ma
tional currency might be permanent, and
that nobody could hase Just cause to com
plain, | called the National Banking Sys-
tenn into existence, and pledged every bank
to redeem its currency in greenbacks, and
the Government pledged that every dollar
should be redeemed in the end-the Sc
curties to be p edged and provided-that
in the end everything should be made
equivalent to gold
! think This is tie true idea of q green
back 1t is the credit and property of
the American people, made to serve the
purpose of money IN the midst of a great
strife. when we must have everything we
can get And fellow citizens, in nv hum
bic Judgment, if out of this war this ma
tiona' currency comes as is provided for
in our platform, so that no Western far
mer or merchant viii be obliged to paw
tribute to the East in his exchange Tap>
plause !, so that we shall not lose upon ex-
change so large profit upon our industry
so that the laborer receiees his dollar
or two dollars, or dozen dollars. at the
days or weeks end, shall be perfectly sure
that it Will not turn to dust and ashes be-
fore the morning sun rises | say if we
can get such currency as this then thi,
country will not, ut least, have been with
out one of the co lateral benefits of this
war, if YOU can take yonr money on the
Atlantic and go to the Pacific and pay
your bills all the way without having to
change the currency at every tavern YOU
stop at
| say Is the Government is administered
as it should be, with proper vigor and
economy, every dollar in greenbacks will
be rs good as a do lar in gold Why.
eight months ago, If ! could have had the
assurance that | would not have been
trout led with any other issues-if could
have been assured that there should be no
trouble from any unauthorized currency.
unauthorized by the nation ITSELF would
nave undertaken to resume specie pay
ment IN week If anybody wanted il. and
say now, if the war is prosecuted as it
ought to be, and the Government is ad-
mlnlstered with the economy and pru-
dence that [ trust it will be. then there is
no more danger of that currency than
there Is that the American people will
fail