Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1868-09-23
NO. III.
Senator Morton on tie DEBT.

In speech made q few days ago at
Connelsvillc, Indiana, Senator Morton
gave his views respecting the public
debt His general idea is that the debt
sh uld be paid in grcenbacks, but that
the grcenbacks should be made equal to
gold. He repudiates Pendletonism rs
warmly as any other Republican, as
will he seen from the following ex-
tract
I ann informed by the public papers
that Mr. Pcndlcton, the celebrated ora
tor said, in his speech at Bangor, Me-,
the other day, that | endorsed his doc
trine OF paying the debt in greenbacks.
God forbid Laughtcr.) Because I
had said in the Senate OF the United
States that the Government had right
to use these old notes now cxistinn
i'll the paymclt of the $40 bonds. he
wanted to make me say to the people
that the Governments after the war il
over and long after these bonds had
been sold out, had the right to issue these
notes by the hundreds of millions to nav
them in the redemption of The bonds. /
say that it is in violation of the public
faith, and it is population in itself.
Why, my friends, in 1868, when we Of
iSiNt 'pii'S w tiic bSODic, anu were In
sore want of money, the moneyed men
of New York said to us, there must be
some limit to the issue of legal tender
notes, or YOU cannot borrow any more
money. If the country is to be flooded
with this paper currency, which paws no
interest, and for which there is no time
for payment fixed, then you can borrow
10 more money. Then the Congress-
came forward with law, and said that
the issue of legal tender notes should
never exceed $3.50, 100000. We cave
that pledge to the people of the Uni
ted States, by act OF Congress. in 1864.
that the ISSUE of legal tender notes
should never exceed $50, 600 GEO. We
could not now exceed that amount
without II violation of the express pledge
given by Congress during the progress
of the war ; we could not issue those
notes and pay them upon the bonds
without fraud upon the bondh0lders,
and it would be reputation.
Will state to you now, my friends,
what is my financial policy. / am not
much of tinancier | have only been
studying this question short time I
had not much time to study it during
the war, as many of you know; L had
my hands full of other matters. | think
the first great thing to be done in this
Nothtiy 10, w ictulll W Sptclc payment;
in other words, make our currency as
good as gold. Instead of having a
grecnback dollar that is only worth csc.
10 you to-day-that is all you get for it,
and that is all you give for it-let us
have it worth 100 cents let us bring
That currency up To par value. How
shall it be done? We cannot do it all
at once. We cannot return to slccie
payments tomorrow by act of Congress,
but we must do it gradually, aud we
must see the means to bring it about.
some of our friends are of the opinion
that if we just hold still and let the
country 90 on, we will come back to spe-
Gle payments without taking any steps
for that purpose. | do not think so. /
think that we have got to use the means
and that we have got to resort to some
legislation for the purpose of bringing
that thing about. | am not in favor OF
bringing ii about by CONFUSION OF by
panic, bat am in favor of doing it so
gradually and so easily that the whole
country Will come to 1t almost without
Knowing 1t. ! am not in favor of doing
1t by contracting, either. l think con-
traction went on as far as it ought to
have gone. | will tell you how | am in
favor Of doingit. am in favor of Con-
gress fixing a day 10y law, some time in
the future, when the Treasury will re-
deem the legal tender note or the green
back, in gold. lam not prepared to say
VIII 1t that day STALL be; they might say
july !, 1871 / think that would be soon
ENOUGH, nearly three years TO come /:
they might say July l, 1872, but perhaps
1871 is far enough oil.