Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1865-12-14
st of May, 1865, numbered /, GOO $40 men

lishment TO a peace footing, comprising fii,
thousand troops Of all arms, organized so NJ
to admit of an enlargement by filling up tn,
ranks to eighty-two thousand six hundred
if the circumstances Of the country should
require an augmentation of the army -
The volunteer force has already been rcdu
ced by the discharge from service of over
eight hundred thousand troops, and the
Department is proceeding rapidly in the
work of further reduction. The war csti
mates are reduced from $jl6, 6,2lO, l3l tc
$50, ,Sll ,4Gl, which amount, in the opinion
OF the Department, is adequate for peace
establishment. The measures of retrencb
ment III each Bureau and branch of the ser.
vice exhibit dligcnt economy worthy oI
commendation. Reference is also made il
the report to the necessity of providing fo,
a uniform militia system, and to the propri
ETY. of making suitable provision for wound
cd and disabled officers and soldrs.
The revenue system of the country is q
subject Of vital interest to its honor anc
prosperity, and should command the earn
est consideration of Congress. The Secre
tary Of the Treasury will lay before you Q
! full and detailed report of the receipts and
disbursements Of the last fiscal year, of the
! first quarter Of the present fiscal year, ot
the probable receipts and expenditures fol
the other three quarters, and the estimates
Tor the year following the Both of June,
| 1861 might content myself with a refer
cnce to that report, in which you will find
all the information required for your delib
crations and decision But the paramount
Importance of the subject so presses itsel
on my mind, that cannot but lay before
you my views of the measures which ar,
required for the good character, and nigh,
almost say, for the existence of this people
The life Of republic lies certainly in tn,
energy, virtue, and intelligence Of its citi
zens but it is squaly true that good reve-
nue. system is the life Of an organized gov
ernment | meet you at time when the
nation has voluntarily burdened itself with
a debt unprecedented in our annals Vast
as is its amount, it fades away into nothing
when compared with the countless blessings
that will be conferred our country and upon
man by the preservation of the nation life.
Now, on the first occasion of the meeting of
Congress since the return Of peace, it is of
the utmost Importance to inauguratc Just
policy, which shall at once lie put in mo-
ton, and which shall commend itself to
those who come after us for its continuance.
We must aim at nothing less than the com
plctc ciiaccment Of the financial evils that
necessarily followed IA state ofcivil war. We
must endcavor to apply the earliest remedy
to the deranged state Of the currency, and
not shrink from dcvising a policy which,
without being oppressive to the people,
shall Immediately begin to effect reduction
OF the debt, and, if persisted in discharge
it fully within definitely fixed number OF
years.
1t is our first duty to prepare in earnest
for our recovery from the evcr-increasing
evils of an irredecmable currency, without
"A sudden reyulsion, and yet without un-
timely procrastination. For that end we
must, each in our respective positions, pre-
pare the way. | hold it the duty Of the
Executive to insist upon frugalty in the
expenditures and Il sparing economy is
itself u great national resource. OF the
banks to which authority has been given
to issue notes secured by bonds of the
United States, we may require the greatest
moderation and prudence, and the law
must be rigidly enforced when its limits
are exceeded. We may, each one of us.
counsel our active and entcrprising country
men to be constantly on their guard, to
liQuidatc debts contracted in a paper cur
rency, and by conducting business as nearly
as possible on system of cash payments or
short credits, to hold themselves prepared
to return to the standard Of god and silver.
To aid our fellow citizens in the prudent
management Of their monetary affairs, the
duty dcvolves on Us to diminish by law the
amount OF paper money now in circulation
| Five years ago the bank note circulation OF
the country amounted to not much NOR,
than two hundred millions; now the crcu
latlon, bank and national, exceeds seven
hundred millions. The simple statement
OF the fact recommends more strongly than
any words Of mine could do the necessity
OF our restraining this expansion. The
gradual reduction Of the currency is the on
~ measure shat can save the business OF
the country from disastrous calamities and
tins can be almost lnperccptlbly accomplish
cd by gradually funding the national secu
rites that may he made rcdecmable at the
| pleasure oi'thc Government.
Our debt is doubly sccure-frSt in the
actual wealth and still greater undcycloped
resources OF the country; and next in char
actcr OF our institutions. The most intelli-
gent observers among political economists
have not failed to remark, that the public
debt Of Il country is safe in proportion aS its
people are free; the debt of republic i
the safest Off all. Our history confirms aud
establishes the theory and is, | firmly be
licve, destined to give it still more signal
Illustration. The secret of this superiority
springs not merely from the fact that in Il
republic the national obligations are dstrb-
utcd more widely through countless mum
bers mall classes of society; it has its root
in the character of aur laws. Here all men
contribute to the public welfare, and bear
their fair share Of the public burdens
During the war, under the impulses of pa
triotisn, the men Of the great body Of the