Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1871-03-02
21lftifaI.
BONDS, GREENBACKE, GOLD,
DEMOCRACY.

For the Belmont CHRONICLE aisats
A correspondent in last weeks Ga
zette signing himself "Observer," /" in
commenting onsione of the Revenue
Reform articles published in the CHRON-
ICuE, says, g writer in the CHRoN-
IcLE signing himself Farmer, and who
Judge is farmer-writing on thesub-
ject of Revenue Reform, Feb. 2, in a
smooth and insinuating manner, at
tempts to hoodwink the people, by in
directly sustaining the present Tariff,
in principle at least, and acquiescing in.
the present fraudulent system of Fin
ances- Il say fraudulent system, for.
nothing but fraud and oppression could
have caused thesystem in vogue. Farm
er seems to think one hundred and
sixty millions to be necessary under the
present system to be raised by duties
on imports to carry on the Govern
ment, and so it is-but, the system and
the principle are wrong"
have quoted far enough from OBJ
server to show that it is not to the de-
tails of the present tariff heis objecting,
but of the principle of it. And while
he arraigns the Republican party for
making it necessary to raise SO much
revenue, he does not once tell US where
in the principle of the present tariff is
wrong, or how he would change it;
whether from tariff duties to direct
taxation or otherwise. True he calls it
a fraudulent system of Finances for
as he says, "nothing but fraud and op-
preston could have caused it," that is,
I suppose, that nothing else could have
caused the rebellion, which made it
necessary to raise so much money to
put it down and to defray its conse-
quent expenses. That Observer had
reference here to the system of slavery
In this country, which most people be-
lieve caused the rebellion, is fairly in-
ferable from the text, but would hard
ly be a iuStifable conclusion when tax
en-. in connection with the balance of
his article. He claims the bonds should
have been "paid as agreed in Green
backs" and a thousand millions thus
saved to the people. Why not have
saved the whole amount of the debt in
the same way, by issuing twenty-five
hundred millions In Greenhacks, not
bearing interest, and payable at the
pleasure of the Government, with
which to lift the bonds? That would
have been getting even with these
rascally capitalists who furnished the
money to put the rebellion down.
But was it agreed, as stated by OBJ
server, that these bonds should be paid
in Greenbacks? The laws authorizing
their issue do not say so, nor does the
reading of the bonds. a $40 bond is a
simple promise on the part of the Gov
ernment to pay at Specified time to
the owner SO many dollars, and to pay
the interest semi-annually, at the rate
of per cent per annum. This interest
is payable in coin, and thereon hangs a
tale. The Legal Tender Actwhich was
passed in 1862, provided that the inter
est on the five-twenty bonds should be
paid in scoin. This Act originated in
the House, where it was passed with
out the gold interest clause; the Senate
amended it so as to require the interest
to be paid in coin. The question then
came up In the House on agreeing to
the Senate amendment. Mr.. Stephens
and other republican leaders opposed
the amendment with great zeal, and
the vote was taken and resulted as fol-
| lows: 80 % - sn-