The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-05-16
Mr. pendIeten,. Financial "Plau. -

| Neither conferred, nor can recall.
| This mans dominion.
|
Mr. PendIeten's Financial "Pian."
Mr. Waller, SO we'll known, and high
ly respected, in Chicago, has written to
a Chicago paper the following commu'
nication. With legal exactness and
brevity he has made the sum OF Mr.
Pendleton's speeches on finance. AS
having been very attentive reader o
those speeches, we corroborate the ac-
curacy of this summary. Any reader
of ours, having our files Of last August,
September, October and November at
hand, Can verify the same, for himself
Mr.. WALLER's LETTER.
To the Editor of the Chicago Tribune (Radicall
In a late article of the Tribune on
have made a very emphatic and pointed
call for a statement of the financial pol
icy of Mr.. Peudleton-alleging very
great difference to exist in the repre-
sentations made of it to the Democratic
party. Such call from a paper so able
and widely circulated as yours, demands
attention from some one, and as 1t
seems to be passing by without a
prompt response, propose, briefly, to
discharge duty made SO simple and so
practicable by the many lucid exposi-
tions of his policy, long since given to
the public by Mr.. Pendleton himself.
What then, does he propose Simply
this: that the whole debt of the United
States, amounting to abont $4,000, ,OOO,-
600. shall be paid-erery dollar Of lex
actiy in accordance with the contracts
of the Government, although it may be
against the wishes of its creditors; that
the bonds issued previous to the legal
tender act and the ten-forty bonds pay
able in gold, issued since, shall all be
maid in coin at their maturity, but that
the ssh, ,OOO, 900 of 5-20s, authorized by
the first legal-tender act of 1852, and all
of the kind subsequently issued, shall
be redeemed in greenbacks alter the
lapse of five years from their date, as
fast as it is possible to do so witheut
initiating the currency beyond a safe and
lust point. They can legally be so re-
deemed, he contends, because it is SO
expressly provided by the law of their
issue-by the legal-tender act itself
which provides that the United States
Treasury notes, payable to bearer there
in authorized, shall be received in pay
ment "of ell claims and demands
against the United States, of every kind
whatsoever, except for inter est upon
bonds and notes, which shall be paid i'll
coin. and shall also be lawful money
and q legal tender in payment Of all
debts, public and private, within the
United States, except duties on imports
and interest aforesaid" 1t is stated
that while the 500 bonds were being
issued, the Secretary of the Treasury
announced it as his opinion that they
would be paid in gold. What he said
Mr.. Pendleton affirms, was promptly
met by Mr.. Stevens, Chairman of the
Committee of Ways and Means, who
said On the floor of the House that such
bends were not payable in gold, that
the Secretary was wrong and his opin'
ion would bind nobody. Neither the
Secretary of the Treasury, nor any one
else, could change the obligations o.
the Government under its bonds by any
Interpretation he might give of the law
at the time of their sale. III it were
otherwise, Mr.. Chase might be Secreta
~ durig one year, and give his interpre
tation that the 5-2Os issued through
him were payable in coin, and the mex
year Mr.. Stevens might be Secretary
in his place, and give the Interpretation
that the 5-20s issued by him were psya
BILE in currency. Thus there would bt
two sets of exactly the same kind o.
bonds issued under the same law-ont
set payable in gold, the other payable
in legal paper-which is surely absurd
1t is also stated that these bonds ART
not payable in legal-tenders, because
the act of 1864 declared that the amount
of legsl-tender notes should never ex
ceed four hundred millions, and thit
sum is not equal to the amount of th'
bonds. To which Mr.. Pendleton replies
that, by like reasoning, they are no
payable in coin--for all the coin in tn,
country is not equal TO one-fourth of tht
5-20s. To the cry of repudiation, he re
plies that there is no repudiation in thu
course he advocates-that neither tht
law nor good morals require that thes,
bonds should be paid in coin-that tht
charge comes with bad grace from tht
Republicans, who, in Ohio, Indiana
New York, and other States, paid in lie
gal tender notes the interest upon tht
State debts, which were contracted t
be paid in gold-that they voted for tn,
law which authorized every man whc
agreed to pay 800 in gold to discharg,
the debt by paying 500 in paper-whO
after they have compelled the people t,
take legal-tender notes in payment o
every State, county, township, city anC
railroad bond, now turn round and de
preciate these notes, aud say they ar
not "lawful money" While the Repub
licans are represented as being in favo
, of taking up our unliquidated debt o
eight hundred millions, consisting o
grsenbacks and unadiusted claims, b,
issuing in their stead an equal amoun
of bonds bearing interest, which are t,
become the basis Of more Nationa
banks, and of an increase of bank cur
rency, and which will add forty-eigh
{ millions more Of interest in gold to tn
national debt, Mr.. PeRdleton is opposed
to such q measure, contending that tn
forty-eight millions Of our present rev
enue, thus to be appropriated annually
, should 60 into a sinking fund for III
final payment of the public debt. he i
also in favor of redeemipg at once tn
$500, ,000, 900 Of 5-20s now held by tn
! National banks by the issue of$300, 600,
: 600 in legal tender notes which will tax
, the place Of that amount of Nationa
bank notes. Taking, therefore, tn