The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1868-08-06
the bondholder is as sacred as the grave
of the soldier.

the bondholder is as sacred as the gray
of the soldier.
l deny that it is according either t
the spirit or the letter of tho contract un
der which the fve-twenty bonds were sold
l say that neither the spirit nor the lette
Of the law under which these bonds wer,
issued, nor good faith, nor good morals
nor exact justice to the bond holder, re
quire to that they should be paid in gold
They are payrble in legal tender; and il
this opinion I am sustained by the resolu
tion Of the democratic convention in New
York, which declares that where the obi
cations of the government do not express
ly state upon their face-or the law under
which they were Issued does not provide
that they shall be paid in coin, they ough
in right and justice to be paid in The law
iul money Of the United States.
When the legal tender act vas passed
the private Indebtedness Of the countr,
amounted to very large sum. 1t was
contracted to be paid in gold, but was II
fact discharged in paper. the public ne
cessity was alleged to be the reason ot
tins wholesale confscaton. Is there nc
public necessity now to demand the pay
ment Of the bonds in the money which
was paid for them?
The policy of the republican party is tc
pay al! these bonds in gold; to convert all
the currency now outsta lding, and all the
Indebtedness Of the United States iato
these bonds; to pay interest in gold for
this enormous amount, whatever it nav
be, and to extend the time within which
the bonds are to be exempt from taxation.
and the interest is to be paid, semi annu.
ally, 10 gold. What the amount of in
teotedness under that system can finally
be shown to be, cannot say; s., 500, ,0OO,-
VUO we know it is now. Less than that it
certainly will not be. The interest upon
that sum will be $50, ,O00, 900 in gold.
and this amount is to be drawn annually
from the people of the country, during all
your lives, and the lives Of your young
est children. in order to carry out the
dogmas OF the republican party.
The democratic party upon this ques-
tion las given forth 10 uncertain sound.
1t declares that the debt shall rot be ex-
tended, but must be paid as rapidly as
possible ); all the money collected from the
people shall not be sduandered Oh freed.
men'5 bureaus and standing armies but
shall be applied to the payment of this
debt aud Of the reduction of the s..terest.
1t declares that the fge-;wenty bonds snail
be paid in legal-tender, and until they be
paid they shall ba subject to the same rate
of taxation as all other property. 1t de-
clares there shall be one currency for the
laborer aud the Office holder, the pension
or and the soldier. the freedmen aud the
bondhoder.
And how soon is it practicable to pay
this debt? Three hundred and thirty
millions Of bonds are held iii the treasury
department as security of the national
bank circulation. Redeem the very in
stant you have the option to do so, with
legal tender notes, and let them supply the
place Of Tie bank paper. This measure
alone. with very little imitation IF the cur
reney and without any addition to the
taxation, will reduce the debt and save the
twenty millions Of dollars in gold, annual
iy: which are now paid as a bonus to the
national banks.
Five hundred millions of the first issue
OF i've wentles are already, or will this
year be payable at TIE option Of the gov
ornnent. Redeem these, also, in legal
tender notes. Where will these notes
ccme from? asks some friend. Stop this
contraction at the treasury department !;
reverse lis whole policy; give stability to
the money market; let it be understood
that fortunes are not held at the whim of
any secretary, and trade will revive and
become active. Investments will be made
and these notes will flow into your treasu.
ry. Let economy bo practiced; let cor
ruption be banished; let the army be re-
duced; the freedmcn's bureau broken up;
the impovcrishmcnt of the south cease;
and notes will be abundant.
But, gentlemen, these measures will not
supply funds, speaking for myself, would
expand the currency ; l would correct the
evils which have been produced by such
extraordinary and unprecedented contrac-
ton. The business Of the country has
become adjusted to a larger volume of
currency than we now have. The de-
mands OF the south and west require a
greater amount of currency They are
beSgars TOR money, and are willing to ray
from ten to twenty per cent. During the
war. when the currency was nj ;ts l.roost