The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-09-21
A Fraud ON the Peonle.

A Fraud ON the People.
The Secretary of the Treasury has
given notice that he viii be ready to
redeem in gold, ON the first of Decem-
Der, one hundred millions of the five-
twenty bonds Radical journals make
that matter of congrafulation, as it
will, in their language, aerush out the
monster dishonesty of the Democratic
party"-the claim that the five-twenty
bonds should be paid, as the contract
provided, in legal-tender notes "After
one hundred millions have been @honr
estly paid in coin, let us see, says the
Albany, New ork, Journal, wheth-
er they democrats will demand that
the rest 2" That, like the resolution
passed by Congress, and Intended to
stop the agitation of the subject de-
claring for the payment of the bonds
in gold, will only add to the public
| Indignation at the fraud on the people.
For fraud it is of the most palda
BILE kind. The act of February 25,
1862, which provided for the issue of
| the $500, 100000 of fye-twenties, pro-
vided expressly that Treasury notes,
which it also authorized, sf shall be re-
ceioable IN payment of all tdres, an
ternag duties, eccises, debts and de-
Blands Of erery kind due to the United
States, e1cept duties on imports, and
of all claims and demands Of ereTy
kind achdtsoere1. against The United
States, except for interest upon bonds
and notes, sclt1cb shall be paid an com
and shall also be taseful money and a
legal tender an the payment of att debts
pu6lic and prtcate, soittin the United
States, ercept duties on imports and
Interest as a aforesdid," @ @s
The law was the authority of the
Secretary of the Treasury to borrow
the money. Hon. 1Thos. Ewing, of
Ohio, former Secretary of the Treas
ury. himself, and one of the ablest
lawyers in the country, says on this
subject: @sz.. as.a; Ses a. i. -
"In this case the United States bor-
rows its own legal-tender notes, and
stipu1ates that the interest on the.
bond which it exchanges for them
shall be paid in gold; but the creditor
is as the same time told, and it is made
part of the contract, that when the
principal becomes payable at the end
of five years, he must receive in pay
ment leoal-tender rnotes-precisely the
character of funds which he lent, un-
less, by the new arrangement, the cred
itor may give him something which
be prefers-and there is no pledge
contained in the law or in the contract
unless raised by forced implication,
that the United States will not provide
in due time, in the way deemed most
expedient, .legal-tender notes to make
the payment. aa d.. ea aag a
" What is said of opinions expressed
or promises made by the Secretary of
the Treasury, that the bond would be
paid in gold, is entitled to no weight.
'7 ssThe act of Congress which was
the Secretary'ss power. OF attorney,
was in the hands of the whole read
ing public, especially of the capitalist
and his counsel, who could not fail to
know that the Secretary had no pow
er to pledge the Government by parole
or in any manner not written down in
the law. He doubtless entertained and
expressed a strong opinion that specie
payments would be resumed before
the bonds became payable, but the ma
ton is under no obligation now to
bankrupt itself, and add its whole
wealth for ages to the already aenor-
nous profits of the. capitalists, in or
der to make good the prediction. Il
oaff1oo tho unocfinn 70
right of the United States to pay these
bonds in legal tender notes, If nothing
more acceptable to the. debtor and
creditor can be agreed on Il
i Yet in the face of the law, the con-
tract and the right, such Radical jour
nails as the Cleveland Leader. have the
shameless efrontery to style the prop
osition to pay the $40 bonds in legal
tender notes 8. the monster dishonesty
of the Democratic party" And the
Leader does that, too, in the face of
the letter of its candidate for re-elec-
ton to the Uniten States Senate, John
Sherman, to Mr.. Mann, of Brooklyn.
In that letter Senator Sherman, in re-
ply to the idea advanced by Mr.. Mann |
that to pay the bonds in legal-tenders
was to repudiate OF violate promise,
said:
81 think the bondholder violates
his promise when he refuses to take |.
the same kind of money he paid for
the bond. If the case is to be tested /
by the law, am right; it it is to be-
tested by Jay Cookies advertisements, /
7 r hot nd iafi ha,f
ace ought not to be deferred from do
Sng aesdt is right By Jedrot uudesegv-
ed epittets. a If,sunder the law as it I
stands, the holders the 5-20s can only
be paid in gold, then we are irepndia-
tors if we propose to pay otherwise.
If, on the other hand, the bondholder
can demand only the kind of money
he paid, then he is Tepudt0tor and
ectortioqae2 to demand money more.
UGlakd6le than he gaze. si ' @ii
6 In addition to this, and to endorse
Senator Sherman's views, the Ohio
Republican Convention of 1869 adopt
ed the following as one of the; planks
of the platform of the Ohio Radicals:
Resolved, +" That the Republican
party pledges itself to the faithful pay
ment of the public debt according to
the laws under which the five-twenty
bonds were issued said bonds should
be paid in the currency of the country
which may be legal-tender when the
Government shall be prepared to re-
deem such bonds.D aii st
When therefore, we repeat, the Sec
retary of the Treasury redeems the
fve-twenty bonds in gold instead of
in legal-tender notes, he does. a great
wrong, which ought to be the unpar-
donable political sin, never to be for
given: and the country ought to be
made hot with public indignation at
such an outrage on the labor and in
dustry of those who pay the taxes