Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1868-08-13
JOHN NJ. BARRERE,


The first issue Of FIVE twenty
bonds, authorized by the act of
February 20, 1862, amounted to
$5lj,OO0,000, The five years "op-
ton" has matured, and the Govern
meit may at any time hereafter call
them in and pay them. Many per
sons are Of the opinion that they
are payable in legal tenders, but the
chief point in dispute is, how the
legal tenders shall be obtained
wherewith to pay those bonds. Sey-
mour, the Democratic candidate for
President, proposes to pay them by
tdrattoa; but first to appreciate
their value to that of gold, and then
pay off the bonds with the surplus
revenue This iSthe ground taken
by Belmont, chairman of the Dem
ocratic National Central Committee.
1t is also the position of all the
Democratic magnates and leaders
OF any standing, east of the ALE
ghany Mountains. 1t is the plan
which the great organ of the party,
the New York World, has steadily
advocated for a year past, and it is
the view that prevailed in the New |
York Convention as was shown bv
the defeat OF Pendleton, the candi-
date Of the in6ationists, and the
nomination of Seymour, the candi-
date Of the bulliOnists.
But large fraction Of the Dem
ocratic party in the West, led by
the candidate rejected by the Con
vention, persist in demanding that
the $50 bonds shall he paid in
greenbacks, and that the green |
backs shall be obtained by the
simple, easy and cheap method ofI
turning acrank'' and grinding them
out.
Pendleton, in his Grafton speech.
declared that he was in favor of
watering the currency eight hun
dred and fifteen millions to begin
with-three hundred millions to
take the place of the National Bank
and five hundred and
fifteen millions with which to pay
off the first issue of 500 bonds.
Let us follow Pendleton's PROPOSE
ton to its logical sequences. The
$40 bonds of the first issue are all
in Europe, in the hands Of the Ger
man, English, Scotch, Irish and
French people 1t is not believed
IN Wall street that there are ten mil
ions of that issue in the United
States. 1t is the favorite bond on
he other side of the water; per
laps, because it was the first issued t
md is therefore best known. The t
'-2Os of 1862 are always quoted l
ieveral per cent. higher than any
ubsequent issue of 5-20s, and as {
hey are no better than other 5-20s t
'ur capitalists have sold them to t
european purchasers.
Now, suppose that Congress at {
IS proposed extra session in Sep {
ember should PASS a law carrying
nut Pendleton's proposition, and t
.irect the Secretary Of the Treasury
0 print FIVE hundred and fifteen {
Millions of United States demand {
otes, called grecnbacks, and ship l
hem over to Europe and tender {
hem to the holders of our first is I
ue Of 500 bonds, is it probable
hat the tender would be accepted !?
not. No man there wo'd
i've up an interest-bearing bond in Z
xchange for non-interest demand a
ote. But suppose our creditors
n Europe should do so preposter- 4
us an act as to accept the shinplas- I
ersin exchange for their bonds, and q
the latter, would the debt )
e paid? Would the obligation of
he United States he diminished by Il
ne dollar? Would not our Gov p
rnment owe the holders of the new
ssue of greenbacks five hundred d
nd fifteen millions of dollars 2 And 2
ow are these notes to be paid p
an itbe done by exchanging them
u another issue of shinplasters 6
greeubdck is a demand note pay b
bic at the treasury in New York, g
n presentation in "dollars, " and a W
dollar is twenty-three and one A
,urth grains Of gold. If the ior- W
On holders should be foolish IL
lough to accept greenbacks for C,