The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1871-07-20
Whole No. 1884.

els and the danger that may come
from them. The Republican par
ty has exceIled the generosity Of
the GirOndists, and has exhibited
none of the fury of the Mountain.
AL our measures since the war, and
the amendments are the most inn
portant, were aimed to secure per-
sonal rights. The additional pow
ers given to- Congress by the
amendments are only to enable
Congress to enforce these rights,
and to give pardon to the rebels.
They talk about the Bayonet Bill
and the Ku-Klux Bill. These bills
were demanded by orgadized re-
sistance to fair elections, and to
punish crimes of the most revolt
ing character against the common
est rights of humanity. If they
are not sufficient we will give them
others. The difference is that they
would encourage these crimes. We
try to prevent and punish them.
If they will restrain their fellow
Democrats of the South from mur-
der and organized frauds, we will
repeal these laws. If not, we will
pass more effective laws.
On questions of finance, we need
no resolutions to know wbsE we
stand. The whole existing .s2ia5tem
offnanciaI legislation is the work
of the Republican party. During
the war we were driven by our ne
cessities to. provide a currency
We gave you the greenbacks and
the National Bank notes. The
greenbacks were a forced loan. We
did not in the beginning, intend to
exceed in amount the sum we
could maintain at a specie standard,
but our necessities left US no
choice. We increased them to a
dangerous extent, but we support
ed their credit by the legal tender
clause, and by the right to convert
them into interest-bearing bonds.
We have, since the war, sought to
improve their credit, to bring them
nearer and nearer to the standard
of gold. During the two years Of
this Administration we have raised
their value from sixty-nine cents
on the dollar to ninety-one cents on
the dolIar-and this without con-
traction, distress, panic, or fnan-
.cial revulsion. If left alone, we
will in two years more, bring them
to the standard of gold. We had
two dangers to avoid first, an in
crease and consequent depreciation
Of these notes; and, second, a too
sudden contraction of currency,
and the inevitable distress and ruin
to those il business or in debt
We could sooner have resumed spe-
Gle payments, by redeeming a por-
ton of the greenbacks, but. we
would thus have changed the stan
dard of value and increased the
burden of debt. We have avoided
both extremes. We have main
tained in circulation the maximum
limit Of greenbacks, and increased
their value by the natural growth
Of our. business and population, and
by the public confidence in our pol
icy. In Ohio they would increase
the greenbacks-in the East they
would redeem them, and force, alb
ruptly, specie payments. Disagree
ing among themselves, they agree
to subvert our wise policy, and in
their platforms threaten again to
open the question Of paying the
bonds in greenbacks. Our policy
will soon make greonbacks and
gold the common standard Of all
values and debts and if this policy
succeeds in the future as in the past,
our country will present the unex-
ampled spectacle of recovering from
the vast expenditures of 4 war with
out discredit-withOut dishonor and
without a single wave Of financial
panic. In human life the most
prosperous healthy man is rare
ly contcnted with bis fate; but
surely our nation should be satis-
fed with its financial prosperity
under the greatest difficulties over
come by people.
As to our banking system, it was
but the choice af expedients, and it
was a happy choice. 1t subverted
an ineOngruous hotch-potch of State
Banks, founded upon the laws of
thirty-seven different States, with
out security, without uniform value,
of local circulation, and endangered
by a swarm of counterfeits. These
State Banks were the spawn Of the
extreme doctrine ofState Rights. If
anything should be national, it
should be bank notes. They are
the blood of the system and they
should flow freely through the sys-
TEN. A centralized bank, like the
old Bank Of the United States, was
dangerous from its unity and pow
er. It.was managed by o few who
were encouraged to use their pow
or for political ends. Our present
banks are q unity only in their Sc
curity, form and circulation. They
can not combine. When carefully
supervised and regulated by law,
and well distributed, they form the
most convenient financial agents Of
the people. In comparison with
the old State Banks, they are pre-
terable in every respect. The only