The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1869-11-12
Why Pay Bonds in Gold?

The Louisville COurier.JOHrndl Of
the I'd, in alluding TO the payment OF
Government Bonds in gold, very truth
fully remarks that there is no reason
why it should be done. The very ablest
politicians and flnaIoiers even of the
Radical party have committed them
selves against the payment of the bonds
in gold-Scnator Morton, Senator Shcr-
man, and Thad. Stevens, among the
rest. These are among the greatest OF
the Radical leaders, and they have oil
committed themselves upon the ques-
ton as strongly as men can commit
themselves by words. In letter ad-
dreSed % Hon. A. Mann, Jr., dated
March 2Oth, 1868, M Sherman writes ::
Your idcl Is thei VIC proposa 'ngsPe+
Fdiatc or Violate a promise when we of
fer to redeem the principal in legal ten
ders.
think the bondholder violates his
promise when he refuses 10 take the
same kind Of money he paid for his
bond. II the case is TO be tested by the
law, | am right If it is TO be tested by
Jay Cookies advertisements. lam wrong.
] hate reputation or anything like IT,
but we ought not TO be deferred from
doing what is right by fear of undeserv-
cd epithets. IT, under the law as il
reads, the holder of 5-20's can only be
paid in gold, then we are repudiators II
we propose to ray otherwise. If, on
the other hand, the bondholdcr can ie-
galy demand only the kind of money
he paid, then he is repudiator and cx-
tortioner to demand money more valua-
bic than he gave.
Here we have the opinion Of the
Chairman Of the Committee on Finance
in the Senate one year ago. 1t might
be well for Mr., Sherman TO inform the
people why 1t is, under his view of the
subject, that Secretary Boutwell,, whom
he is understood TO support, violates
and is allowed to violate the law with
impunity by giving hundred and
twenty dollars in grcenbacks for a hun
dred dollars in bonds, when the law
authorizes him to pay only the face of
the bonds. The country groccry-keep-
er who sells box of sardines without
having five-cent stamp upon it is ar
rested, tried, convicted. and fined one
thousand dollars and imprisoned six
months for deirauding the revenue out
of five cents, but the Secretary who has
been dcfrGuding the Government out
of three or four hundred thousand dol
lars q week goes free. Why should it
be so? Why is it so?
~'The ToieIo BlRe or a late date has
this paragraph.
A correspondent who is evidently de-
sirous of abiding by the principles Of
justice, whose objections to our posi-.
ton of the payment of the bonds we
have noticed before, writes MS that he
is in no sense a repudiationist-that he
desires to abide by the spirit and letter
of our contract with the bondhoders.
But he states his understanding of that
contract to be that in the stress of the
war the Government was compelled to
suspend specie payments, aud, as n nee
essary resort, issued Government notes,
which were made legal tender
for all public and private debts, which
OF course included tho bonds. Why,
then, he asks. DO you propose to do bet
ter than the contract for the benefit of
the bondholder!
That is the question. Why try to bet
ter the contract for the benefit Of the
tax-cxempted bondholders at the eX-
pense of the taxpayers Of the country?