The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-11-12
DAILY PRESS,
PORTLAND.
Tuesday Morning, November l2, 1867.
Thndde"s stevens ansong the Repudin-

| ----------
Thaddeus stevens among the ReD,ssliu-
- .rft.t, ... tors.
In spite of the resistance of some of tbeir
abest speakers and writers the Democratic
party shows unmstakable signs of a de.ermn-
alton to follow such guides as Pendletop.
Valiandigham and Deanhl their reckless as.
sault upon the national credit. An the Dam-
ocratlc papers in Maine are Just now repro-
ducing Mr.. George NJ. Westons letter. ad-
dressed to the editor OF the New York Trb-
une but published in the Bangor Democrat,
arguing IN favor Of the payment of the prin-
| cipal of the national debt in greenbacks.
Even the Argus, after a vain attempt to stem
| the current, has succumbed and is drifting
| with 1t. On the other hand General Buffers
| ingenious sophistries. intended to bolster up
the same wicked scheme, have been unani-
mously condemned by the Republican press,
and the Republican party in Maine ito recur
once more to our special field of observation)
has In all its representative bodies, from the
State convention to the last Grant club af-
irmed and reafiirmed the duty OF sacredly OBJ
serving the conditions of all national con-
tracts 4.
1t is under these circumstances that Thad-
deus Stevens issues a letter, nominally adj
dressed to neighbor but really to the Ameri-
can people, and deliberately lends the weight
OF his name to a proposition which the better
class OF Democrats are ashamed of and which
his own party has already rejected. If Mr..
Stevens were not the Chairman of the Com
mittee of Ways and Means in the House of
Representatives we might adopt Ben Wade's
concise Characterization Of another of his va,
Saries, call his letter so much "iooleiy," and
let it pass. The position which he holds does
not allow his remarks on this subject TO be so
treated. Mr.. Stevens has reported most of
The financial measures which have been adopt
dby Congress of late years, and might nat
nrally be supposed to know what they were
The country was little startled last spring.
when in the course of the discussion of an an
preparation bill reported by Mr. Stevens, it ap-
appeared that he did not even know what
items were in the bill; but the public is not
yet prepared to believe that his opinions ON
questions of finance generally are as inexaet
and unsatisfactory as his knowledge of that
particular bill. 1t is with the utmost surprise
that many people will read the following
declaration, which contains the substance Of
Mr. Stevens's argument: Bat a.G
have never doubted that the government
has the constitutional power to make mol,ev
oi Whatever material it chooses, whether metal
or paper, leather, tin or greenbacks, and to
regulate its value, and therefore legal tenders
are to all intents and purposes the lawful
money of the country-monsy in which all
deots, public or private, may be legally and
justly paid. Money is just what the law makes
1t is difficult to treat such assertions az
these respectfully. The constitution bestows
on Congress power to coin or borrow, not to
"make' money. Money must be something
in which a final payment can be made, must
therefore be something which contains in
trinsic value. Convertible paper is used as
money, because it may at any time be ex
changed for money. But it would be as ar
eurate to say that aconcert ticket is a brass
20" ~ 10 sey that bank note is the dollar it
' Congress has the
constltutlonal power to borr0W mor4t-,r,, =,
may undoubtedly give in exchange its prom
ise TO pay inscribed on leather, Tin, OF paper;
but the promise is not payment. The green
backs are promissory notes. On each ofthem
we find the United States promising 10 pay
to the bearer certain number of dollars
They are made payable at the Treasury and
are signed by the Treasurer of the United
States. They differ from an Ordinary note OF
hand only by emitting to name any date for
payment-an important difference. The val
ue attached to them arises primarily from the
well grounded expectation that they will
some time be paid paid in money, intrinsi-
cally valuable, good for duties ON imports
good in Europe as well as America good for
everywhere.
The proposition of Messrs. Pendleton, But
Ter, Vallandigham, Dean and Stevens is sirnp-
ly for the United States to take up interest
bearing bonds, payable at date fixed, and
compel the public creditors to receive instead
these promissory notes, bearing no interest
and payable at no fixed date. Such trans
action would be infamous 1t might easily be
shown that it would also be ruinous, but that
is unnecessary. The great majority OF the
American people are honest as matter of
principle and not merely as matter of
policy. We read without surprise that Mr.
Stevens's letter was used on Wall street Sat
urday by operators for a rise in gold, and also
that it had but slight effect. The common
sense and common honesty of the nation re-
ject this transparent swindle; the party
which adopts it will find itself deserted by its
best members. a3Ue .4sv h