The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1867-09-20
A TALK WITH SUMNER, WILSON
AND BUTLER.

boston AuVeIllSeF. New EngiaDdeTS who
know its character, and public. men who
understand its drift, know and understand
that accuracy is its aim. 1t is alike ex-
act and cautious. A correspondent il.
dorsed by it relates in full a conversation
held BY him with Senators Sumner, Viii
son, ana Gen. Butler
The report of the conversation makes
quite a sensation East, and we reproduce
It as fully as our space will permit. No
one will sacrifice time or thought IN pc
rusing it. It is worthy both attention
and study.
S-nator Sumner, as western men would
say, is fierce. The removal of Secretary
Stanton he considers a national calamity.
Grants position il is difficult to explain.
I'VE are left in narrowing uncertainty as
to his ID Mons" johnson he regards as
'perverse, pig headed, brutal. Congress
long ago should have put him into a
straight jacket, for be is usurper aud tyr
ant" He will be impeacheu aud remov-
ed. Fessenden. styled by Wendall Phil
| lips, " dyspeptic Scotch terrier" and
all the conservative class will be forced to
this conclusion"
Senator Wilson. is reported to have
said:
my opinion is that General Grant has
taken that Office for the sole purpose OF
trying to do what good he can for the coun-
try. know that Mr.. Stanton kept that
Office for eighteen months for this purpose.
l talked with him often about it; and dur
ing the last session of Congress, in the
| presence of Gen. Grant. Mr.. Stanton said
he would not be driven out of his office If
he could help it-that he felt it his duty
to do what he could for his country. and
he said to me that he had done some good
and prevented much evil, and our frieD is
will see, by. and-by, that Gen. Grant and
he were entirely in agreement in regard
to the course of affairs.
" i know this continued Mr.. Wilson,
that Gen. Grant, like some other men who
were behind the scenes, has been more
anxious during the last twelve months
about the condition of affairs, than he
ever was during the war, and so expressed
himself. It was the same with Stanton.
Now, in regard to what you ask about
Grants going in there, it is not matter
of belief, but Of knowledge to me beyond
any sort of doubt, that Gen. Grant has
entered On that duty to do what he could,
aud save what he could for the country
And his position, like the position OF Mr..
Stanton, is misrepreseuted. Mr.. Stanton
| felt keenly the criticism of his friends.
and now Gen. Grant has the same feeling
He expects to be misunderstood; but be
believes he is acting in the light of pub
| lie duty which he owes TO the country.
and holds greater than anything else. My
belief is that he is acting the part of a
patriot, and the whole country will see 1t
by and by, as they do now in the case OF
| Mr.. Stanton"
Ben. Butler, smoking and chatting, did
not fear Johnson; he had not the courage
to do harm, nor the capacity to trammel
the country If military ran were to
be President, he was for Sheridan. Grant
had tried dangerous experiment; he
could not work it out successfully. Nc
Culoch was honest; safe man; but he
had fixed ideas as 10 a return TO specie
payments. This idea Butler fought: he
said, speaking of the bonds of the United
States:
The argument used why We should
pay them in gold is that our capitalists
and bankers took them, when the country
was engaged in war, as an act eft patriot
ism; but with gold at 200, and from that
to $50, one cannot forget that they had
an eye to proceed as well; in this, that
they shaved them at from fifty to sixty
per cent. Now, why should the country
be called upon TO disarrange its business
relations, to reduce its values, to burden
its children with taxation. in order to pay
from the poor mans labor into the capl
talist's pocket this immense premium
while, too, this investment escapes taxa
ton, which is thus wholly thrown upon
productive industry? 1t would seem TO
be wisdom in the first place. to have all
national securities taxed, and while one
Should recognize the fact that during the
war the country might get money upon
any terms, and that those terms. What
ever they were, should be faithfully kept
yet now that peace has returned, with
it should come return to financial poll
cy which shall raise the money TO pay Oh
these untaxed obligations at the earliest
possible moment and substitute for them
securities liable to tsxation."
"Another and vital mistake in finance,
it seems TO me, is allowing the national
banks to issue currency. There is some
four hundred millions of this currency,
en- the issue of which Government sub
stantially pays some thirty millions o.
dollars yearly. That is, if, instead Of
these bills, it issued only legal tender
notes to the amount of four hundred mil
lion dollars, it could withdraw that amount
of seven thirty bonds, the interest o
which would amount to more than thirty
millions. Now, can there any reason b
shown why this amount should be giVer
to the national banks? OF four hundred
millions Of capital, their July returns
show that they have over sixty mlllIon'
surplus. Now, banking business |
properly done, is the safest possible. ana
il is an axiom in fnance that safety In IN
vestment is correlatiye with low rates o
interest. Hazard in business brings inter
est in proportion, but it is the safe busi
less of banking which returns from SIX
teen to eighteen per cent! Yet strang
enough-f he were not banker. ant
governed by the banking ideas of Wa
street-Mr. McCuHoch is retiring as fas
as possible the legal tender notes, and sub
su1uung for currency the national ban
notes. Why sheuId not the precise OF
j, Poslte be done? The government IS r.
sponsible TOR ali these notes, national ban