The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-09-09

S5UU,UUUIuUU u1l&lL De issued OF InOS9
bonds payable in twenty years, but re-
deemable in five years by the govern
ment, and any person having these le-
gal tenders to- the amount of 500,
might bring them to the Treasury and
take one of those bonds for the amount
ofpaper which he brought, payable as
1 said before, in twenty years or re-
deemable in five, bearing interest at six
per cent. per annum, payable semt-an-
nually. What is the reason of this2
You notice that when we issued $780,
000,0 600, soon after made $500, 1000, 600,
and decreed that 10 should be legal
tender for all public and private debts,
1t was nothing more nor less than say
ing 10 the people of this country, "You
shall lend your government $50 DOC, 900
without interest" It was a forced
loan; going to every mans pocket and
saying, "You shall lend SO much
money, and rake paper for it," Now
you say that this of itself is very
harsh measure, and only justified in
one of those crises in the history of a
nation when, to save the nation itself,
resort must be had to the most stringent
and what in ordinary times would be
unjust measures. II is justified by ne
cessity, and should exist just so long
as Che necessity exists, and no longer.
It is temporary in its character, and
was so understood at the time.
1nlS measure WIS dDSO4uIElJ hCCG6Sd-
nv to carry on the war, but 1t should
exist only so long as necessity Justified
it. And why did we pass the second
section !? We perceived that the first
was very severe F.; 1t was hard to say to
the people, lend the government $780,
OOO,O 600 without interest: therefore we
provided that any man who had an
amount equal to 500 could bring it to
the Treasury and take a bond which
agreed to pay interest at six per cent,
payable semi.Rnnually, and payable in
coin. 1t was to soften the asperity and
apparent hardness of the first measure
thnt the second section was passed. We
knew that $3.50, 00O, 600 would not an
swer all our purposes; we must have
more money, and we must make this
money circulate among the people. We
supposed that having issued S150, GOO, 900
and shortly after another Sl50, 200, 600,
we should be able to float there bonds.
The people having this money would
say, /" i do not liketO keep this without
interest, 1 will take a bond that agrees
to pay me interest in coin and the prin-
cipal in twenty years." Our Democrat
ic friends tell us, the eminent gentle
man from Ohio tells us, it was never
meant to pay the principal in coin, and
that the government should now avail
itself of the opportunity to pay it in
paper. Looking at the first section
there is nothing TO gainsay this, but
what Is the understanding and meaning
of the whole law, the meaning which it
had when it went into operation We
are not TO settle a question of this kind
according to strict judicial principles,
as if we were trying law case we are
to settle it according TO the opinion of
those who contracted it, and we are
to appeal to the enlightened judgment
of The world for the correctness of
the decision we make on this ques-
ton. 1t is not Il question for the court
to decide. The language of the stat
ute will allow You TO do particular
thing il you choose to do it, but we are
to appeal to the enlightened judgment
of the world whether we are not bound
by honesty and good faith 10 pay our
debts in coin. Let me give you little
history of this bill. When it passed
the House OF Representatives It said
nothing about paying in anything in
coin or in currency; it said so much
money simply, the principal in twenty
wears, and the interest semi annually.
Do you suppose that any sensible man,
any man in Congress, any man any
where, dreamed at that time that TWEEN
ty years afterwards, when these bonds
came round to be paid, we should be
dealing in grsenbacks? Did any MEM
Der of that House dream that the prin-
ciple of that debt was to be paid TWEEN
ty years after its inception in paper
and depreciate paper at that? No man
dreamed any such thing. The bill
came to the finance committee and the
provision that the interest should be
why? Simply because as the interest
was to be paid during the continuance
of the war, it might be inferred that IL
was to be paid in the currency of that
period, that 1t would be paid In green
backs. The provision FOR the payment
a.. II N11Igr
for the purpose of preventing this in
ference to be drawn, and not to make
any distinction between the iterest and
the principal. To carry out this pro-
vision we provided the means for pay
ing this interest.
The Senate also made provision
that these bonds might be redeemed in
five years, and what was its reason for
so doing? We supposed the war would
be over before five years were out, and
that when the war was over we would
be able, If not in five years, in ten years
perhaps, or at some period within TWEEN
ty years, to adjust matters iii such a
way as to pay of most of the bonds in
coin. live did not pay them off, we
thought we could reduce the interest,
for six percent. interest is too low for a
time of war, and too high Tor a time of
peace. No nation in negotiating loan
for twenty, thirty or forty years would
think of giving six per cent, and no
nation in the world situated as ours
was at that time could get money at six
per cent. The action of Congress,
therefore, was taken with an idea to
settle up this forced loan as soon as
possible. Having done this, we are
now told by the Democrated party that
we would be justified in taking adyan-
tage of this five years stipulation, put
in there in the hope to be able to meet
all our obligations In that time or Soon
after, justified in paying these bonds off
with more promises. And why do they
because it was the letter
of the contract. Was 1t the spirit of the
l will illustrate it. Every
man had right to get bond payable
in twenty years, with interest sendisan-
nually, payable In coin. Now our
of i've years it is right to pay these
bonds in greenbacks. Let us
see what the political working
plan would be. Suppose 1 have
a bond for $1,000. go to the
Treasury and the government snys,
'' will pay you off in these bonds, in
these promises you are not entitled to
else, that Is the contract"
turn round in the same building where
I am paid, and go to the Treasurer and
say, Here are a Thousand dollars in
the law says i may have
q bond for twenty years redeemable in
five years." When that five years are
gone go again, and get other bonds,
and so also at the end OF the next five
years, and am paid off in the same way.
That would be the operation of their
and this Is manifest to all, to
the citizens of foreign countries as we'll
as of our own. But this power which
gave the people the right to exchange
currency for these bonds was found |