The Winchester journal. [volume] (Winchester, Ind.) 18??-1920, 1870-07-28


r party in the North would hold the Re
: publican party still while the worl
: was consummated, and i'm that belle
they embarked in it. They We're tire,
, of the rebellion within the first tw,
years, and wanted to quit, but tn
) Democratic party of the North sym
pathized with them, that it was ever,
where gaining ground throughout al
the Northern States, and that when i
should come into power, which j
certainly would do-they could estab
lish their Confederacy; and believin:
that they did persevere Throughout
1868 and 1864. But after the Demo
cratic party was beaten in 1854 in th,
Presidential election, then hope dice
and the rebellion came to its end.
/ merely remark these things, which
you all know and which can not bt
denied, for the purpose of placing in 6
clear light before your minds the just
responsibility for the National debt
who caused it to be contracted, and
who it was that placed it upon your
shoulders and upon mine.
My friend, Mr.. Voorhees,, recently
made speech in Indianapolis, which
was extensively advertised i'm the
newspapers before lie went there, as
intended for my especial annihilation
and destruction. 1t was so heralded
by the telegraph throughout the East
ern and Western States; but, my
friends, / am here tonight. Loud
cheers Now that speech-and / have
it here-occupied some three hours i'm
its delivery; hope l shall not victim
ize you that long tonight. 1t is de-
voted almost entirely to myself, and
+ there is not in it one fair and candid
statement either in regard to myself,
the Republican party, or the admins
tration Of General Grant-not one
many of its statements are clearly
without foundation; others that have
foundation iii fact are so perverted
ard misrepresented as to make false
impression, and to mean the very re-
verse of the truth. | do not intend to
attempt to answer all that speech to-
night; it would not be worth your
time or mine, and life is too short for
any such undertaking (laughter,) but
I int 10 fan 70
particular upon which he expended
some ten or twelve pages of this
speech, and that is what is called the
greenback question.
First few words in regard to the
greenbacks. On the 25th day of Feb
ruary, 1862, Congress passed the first
act that was passed authorizing the
issue of legal tender notes. A second
act was passed in January, 1868. Since
then there have been no acts passed
authorizing the issue of legal tender
notes. Under the several acts of Con-
gress four hundred millions of green
backs were issued, of this amount
forty-millions were contracted, or, as
we say, retired from circulation by
Mr.. McCulloch, the Secretary of the
Treasury during the administration of
President Johnson, leaving in circula-
ton, as there are now, three hundred
aid fifty-siX millions of greenbacks.
We have also about three hundred
millions of National Bank notes based
on the bonds and redeemable in green
backs; but l speak now of the legal
tender notes issued by the Govern
ment.
We have been trying ever since the
close of the war to bring those notes up
to par, starting with them at IS or 20
cents on tie dollar, and bringing them
up gradually until now we have got
them to about % cents on the dollar,
and we expect to have them at par in
the course of six months. Now, if it
has required such a long time, and has
been attended with so much difficulty
to bring three hundred and fifty-six
millions of these notes up to par, and
get clear of their depreciation, if in
stead of having only three hundred
and fifty-six millions of these notes i'm 1
we had two thousand mil !
lions, in that case all hope of getting
them TO par would become wholly +
as was the case i'm France
and elsewhere under similar circum-
they would fall to the ground
as they have done i'm other countries.
But by keeping these notes within a
moderate limit we have succeeded i'm
to great extent their de-
pi eciation and shall succeed in bring
ing them to par.
In the great loan bill of 1864 under
which the most of the bonds now out i
were issued, it was provided
that the whole amount of greenbac,ls 1
should never exceed four hundred
millions of dollars. That was pledge
given to the oondholders and to those
rom whom we expected to borrow
1t was then believed that
without this pledge the government
.ould not borrow the amount necess-
lry to carry on the war. That pledge
that guaranty-is unrepealed, and
5 as binding now as it was then. This l
; my general statement i'm regard To
he condition of the greenback ques- I
ion.
Mr.. Pendleton thought, in 1867, that
lie made a discovery-but in 1865,
when he was a candidate for Gov /;
,rnor in Ohio, he had come to the con-
.lusion that he had not made a dis '