Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-03-06
The Minority Report of the Congress
si0HaI Committee.
What they have to say Touching the
Gold Panic.
The President and his Family Seri-
0usly implicated.
The Facts and Points Siurred Over
by the Majority of the Cemmittes.
Isn't this q dainty dish TO set before
the Kings 7'

Mr.. Cox presented the following
minority report:
The minority of the committee
while recognizing the right freely t6
comment upon the majority report,
substantially concur with ii in its clear,
ab e and succinct statement OF the i'm
mediate - cause which produced the
famous gold panic Of Friday, Septem
beI' "A, last.
We fOrbear comment upon the so
cial. political and economic causes III
,cident TO our peculiar currency, or tC
our two currencies, which afforded the
opportunity to gold speculation. Nc
one doubts that if the constitutional
currency of coin had remained 20 Us
such panics would have been and
would now be impossible, 1t Is a
striking commentary on bad fiscal
government that it was possible fOs
men of great audacity, unscrupul0u-
motives and daring so to cOnspire a
10 combine the means TO effect q rl5e
ia gold by which 70 attain great gains.
However plausible or wise may have
been the theory upon which the ''eOn-
spsratOrsD acted, and which they sue.
.ceedsd in impressing upon the Exec
-utive, VIZ: that produce would be en-
hanced, TIE railroads fully employed
fn its transportation eastward, and Its
-exportation inc1eased-nevertheless
those who worked this theory did il
for their own ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. Nc
more polite plan could be devised f5l
momeutary gain. No more daBgerOu.
scheme was ever invented for the in
jury of the farmers or people, if we
look to the end-tO the bursting OF tsla
bubble and its reaction. II Is an ak
ION tilst the cost Of all such huctua-
tons is ultimately paid for the cen
sumer of products.
Whatever may be its merit as a
fheofy for transient gnd designing pur-
poses Ii Is certain that il allured and
deIuded the President Of the United
States for a time. However much
this theory may have Influenced
the Executive in his peculiar
course. and in giving the inter
views and diYeetiOEs about gold
sales hereafter apparent, 1t is equally
sure that the origin Of this conspiracy
60 raise the price of gold had IN it a
siRister and selfish object. Whether
AkLeAl OtstsAt " d AlA1F eANLyA4A JAAoAACA u
not We do not care to know. We are
investigating causes only. But while
fhiS theory seems 70 have been the
TatiOnalia or hinge OF which this gold
speculation turned, it is also true that
the egg OF this conspiracy was laid
further back. 1t was hatched as early
as the month Of May or June. II
CatherWOOd tells the truth, the con-
Seder2tes were Corbin, CatherwOOd
and Gould. Who was most prOmi-
nent is no Elstter; they are equally
responsible for its inception. When
EatherwOOd made his exit, If he Is to
be credited, it was that Butterfeid
shOald enter. The scheme had in ii, as
the first move, the appointment Of
Treasurer at New York. he must
be one facile to the uses of the con-
spiracy. How the plan vas cOntrlEed
Rr. CatherwOod testi1es. ne thus
SriNeS Us its basis: Men could Oper-
ate with safety when they are acting
on a ceTtalnty." Afterward, when
developing the plot, he was asked to
sfai.1 more distinctly the {" legitimate
thing ., ,,-hich he "pOOl" E4s 70 at
tain. he answered, - = understood tfat
it was buying gold and seiiiii;;:,SS stocks
and bonds on q certainty of the mOSS-
ments Of the government in selling or
not selling gold" In further deYel-
Opment Of the plot he even goes 50
far as to say that the profits Of the
/" pool" were divided into four parts
saD.- fourth to Corbin, one-fOUrth TO
himseif ,.1e-fOurth to Gould, and one
Fe,1-fb 70 - some one for whom
Gould was taking ere. On this point
Mr.. Gould was not quesstioneg. ne Is
therefore silent In this, d III OtIleI
matters, Mr.. COrbin forgets or per- tl y
the facts. He denied any such conf
binatiOn; for he denied giving any aid
20 General Butterfeid's appointment.
He sWears: 4" 1 frankly told Gould and
CetherWOOd I could not recommend
the latter" And again be says; /
Withdrew my promise TO help Butter
field" Ne also denies any converse
tion with Butterfeld as 10 Gould. BE
swears that he had no communica-
ton with Butterfield al all during the
movement as to the gold business.
While Mr.. COrbin denied generally all
plans as TO gold fluctuations, he finally,
under pressure, confessed that ne haO
not entire exemption from selhShness.
He "had not attained perfection, but
was struggling for it,"
Notwithstanding these denials, it IS
certain, by letter produced by Cath
erwoOd, and written by COrbin to
him, that there wss a secret design to
obtain control Of the Office of the Sub
Treasurer Of New York. 1t was so
secret and bad that Corbin, when
writing, nsed a cipher TO convey il to
his stepson-in-iaw OatherwoOd. When
they said "New Jersey Railroad, "
they meant New York Sub-Treasu-
~" How much reliance is to be
placed on Corbin's statements will
hereafter further appear. Certainly
on all matters where he is not con-
hrmed, he Eneeds it badly. In our
Judgment there can be no doubt
that Butterfeld was selected to
know the certainty" of the
government movements in the sale OF
SOld and the purchase of bonds.
CatherWOod testifies that he was
TO be pressed on the President because,
first. ne was q military man Of fair
record in the war; second, as an old
friend of the Presidents brOther-in-
Law. Mr.. CoFbin; third, because he
was a friend Of the President, having
raised the money TO pay General
Grant a large advance upon the house
which Corbin had originally sold to
Grant upon a similar subscription.
We forbear any comment upon these
transactions. They are outside of our
inquiry. It's enough that Butterheld
succeeded.
What further was done the majority
report faithfully details. We have no
|doubt that the Clearing House, which
4 Is a nuisance to legitimate traffic and
commerce, and the Gold Exchange
Rank, which was an instrument used
for the certifcation of fabulous
amounts, not represented by money,
f1e . phantom gold which played so
.conspicuOus q part in the drama, are
.obnoxious to the sweeping criticisms
of the majority report. The Clearing
House cave great facilities for gam
hing. Seventy millions a day was its
General average, and not half Of it le-
Climate business. The minority con-
s.,1r with Mr.. Law that they "know
~ no legitimate business that could
not he transacted without the Gold
EXCHANGE Bank" We concur in the
majority report that federal legisla-
fion ia the form of taxation would be
of great utility in destroying this pes
fifeTOus institution. The gambling
felis OF Hamburg or Monaco are not
more perniciOus as temptations. Inelr
evils are few compared 70 those IN
Aicted upon all our country and lts
business by this time and labor-saving
-. i III