Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-06-20
THE LOAN BILL.

The Committee Of Ways and Means pre-
pared loan bill in accordance with the
Recommendation of Mr.. McCulloch, Secreta-
of the Treasury. This was an administra-
ton measure and was endorsed by President
johnson. The bill was short, and to fully
understand It, one must refer to prior laws
and the statements of the Secretary of the
Treasury as to the condition and nature of
our Indebtedness, Mr.. Morrill,, when it was
up for consideration, thus explained it,
t'The present bill is but patch on an old
garment. The Act of March Sd, 1866,
authorizes the funding of interest bearing
obligations and the present bill expands that
authority so as to include non-intorest
bearing obligations. That is the whole of it
in nutshell Y know it is said the bill
confers powers, and that Is true, but they
are all confined to exchanging a short debt
\ for a long one, or TO the conversion of an
old debt into q new one when it can be done
to our advantage" Mr.. Kelley, in explain
ing its provisions said, ''This bill empowers
the Secretary of the Treasury to withdraw
the only non-interest paying debt we owe,
by making II an interest bearing loan with
which to redeem it, and so involve it in the
additional annual expenditure Of twenty
seven million dollars in interest. If the
Secretary of the Treasury shall call in fifty
million dollars or ten million dollars of
greenbacks, he viii so contract the curren-
cy thst any bank in the Union will begin
under compulsion to sell Government secu-
rites in which it has invested its deposits
There is not bank in the country that can
bear large contraction of the currency
without either refusing TO pay the checks of
its depositors OF sacrificing the loan of the
country, and depreeiating it in the markets
of the world. We must avoid panics, as an
advance guard would masked battery Of
hesvy guns" Mr.. Price, of Iowa, referring
to the evil effect Of Withdrawing the non-in-
terest paying portion of our debt, said, SIT
would certainly then be very bad policy to
fund their notes and thus make ourselves IL
able to pay twenty-seVen million dollars psr
annum for what we are now getting and con-
tinue TO get honestly for nothing. In this
connection, Mr.. Speaker, wish to call the
attention Of the House to the fact, well
known TO all bankers, which is that we may
safely calculate that al least five per cent. OF
this $3.50, COZ, 900, will never come back for
redemption, on account Of being worn out,
lost, and destroyed in various ways, threby
Saving to the Government twenty-five mil
lions i've hundred thousand dollars, in sddi-
ton TO the tWenty-seven million per annum.'
I LAC aNHOCAbCa VI bA46 lOhA D4AA III 0CbobS
had compared our greenbaeks to the assig.
mats of France. Mr.. Price in reply to this
said, 'fWhen q man who claimed to be an
American Citizen, in the House of Congress,
or anywhere else, undertakes TO compare
the currency of this country, which is as
good as was ever Issued by any bank in the
United States, with the rotten system Of
lassighats of France, assert that he Is lack
ing in one Of two things, namely, a want o.
proper information on the subject, or want
of disposition to do justice to the currency Of
the country, and those, Sir, are as mild terms
as can possibly use in reference to it"
MR.. GARFIELD would ask the gentle
man, when he speaks of the asslgnats ol
France, whether he is aware that they were
founded on the most reliable property in the
realm, namely, real estate, that was believed
by every body to be worth fully the sum o.
ESQ, ,0O0,OO0 sterling.,'
Mr.. PRIsE.-"I said, as compared Will
ours, that was rotten basis"
Mr.. Price then stated, that what Mr.. Gar
field called the most reliable resources O
the country, was the conAseated property o
the church, and claimed that our greenback
were secured by the whole property and IN
dustry Of the country. He then said, "AnC
will the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Garfield,
stand here and make such comparison a
that to go forth to the world. Sir,
had hoped that the day had gon
: by when q gentleman would stand u
: before the American people, and make suel
comparison. The reason why the system
: of assignats was rotton was because tn
foundation for their redemption was insui
fcient and insecure. But will any man o.
this floor dare say that the foundation c
the security for our legal tenders and Treas
Jury notes is insecure and insufficient n
man with an American heart in his bosoI