Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1864-11-26
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The following Is an extract from the
speech of Mr.. Chase in St. Louis, Sa,ur.
day evening before the election, on "Wha,
is q g eenbsek = aud presents an interest.
ing view Of the financial strength Of the
county. Governor Chase said:
Now l have been called the father OF
greenbacks. You are the father Of green
packs. What 10 a greeubsck T? DID you
ever think what it wasf Why, il is sim
ply the credit of this great American peo-
pie put In the 90 m of money 10 circulate
among the very people whose credit makes
it worth say,hing. When l was Secreta-
~ Of the Treasury, the question arose,
how should these vast armies aud navies
be supplied z How should the boys be fed
in the field, the sailors in ships, and pro.
vision made for their support, their cloth
ing, their food aud transportation j
found the banks Of the country had sus'
/ ended specie payment. What was to
do The banks wanted me to borrow
their credit, and pay them interest in gold
upou their credit. They did not pay any
goki, or propose to pay any themselves
but they wanted me to borrow their notes.
I said. mo gentlemen, this great Anert
can people is worth oil Of you pat together
and I will take the credit Of these people
and en-. IL M in the form Of little bits Oi
naner and we will receive that paper Tor
, bonds upon which we will punctuslly pay
the interest 10 gold ; aud then, in order
that the national currency might be perma
nent. and that nobody could have just
cause TO complain, / called the national
banking system into existence, and pledged
every bank to redeem its currency in green
backs, and the Government pledged that
every dollar should te redeemed in the end
the securities 10 be pledged and provi'
dcd-,hat in the end everything should be
made equivalent TO gold
l think this is the true idea Of green
: back. Ii is tie credit aud property of the
g American people u.ade TO serve the pur.
pose Of money in the midst o! great
, strife. when we must have everything We
can get, and, fellow cit zens, in my humble
Judgment, il out OF this war this national
currency comes as is provided for in ou
platiol IN, so that no Western farmer o.
merchant will be Obliged to pay tribute t.
q the East 10 his exchange, (applause) 81
l. that we shall not lose upon exchange 81
&c large a profit npon oar industry SO tha
the aborer receives his dollar or two dol
,e lars, or dozen dollars at the day or week
end shall be pei feciy sure that it viii
not turn 10 dust aud ashes before thu
morning sun rises | say if We can ge
such sound currency as this, then thi:
country will not, at least, have been with
out Que of the collateral bent6s Of this
war, if you can take your money on the
Atlantic and GO 10 the Pacific aud pay
yonr bills oil the way without having TO
charge the currency at every tavern you
stop at. / say if the Govern
ment is administered as it should be, with
proper vgor and economy, every dollar in
greenbacks will be as good as dollar in
gold Why, eight months ago, if coulu
have had the assurance that l would not
have been troubled with any oher issues
il could have been assured that there
should be no trouble from any unaut horzrd
by any but the nation ITSELF would have
undertaken to resume specie payment in
week, if any body wanted il, and say,
now, if the war is prOsecu' ed rs it ought
to he, and the Government is administered
with the economy aud prudence that
trust it will be, then there is no more dan
yer Of that currency than there is that the
great American people will fail.