The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-04-15

| wasted. Letters OF encouragement must
go to Gen. B. F. Butler, at his home in
Lowell, Mass, from every part of the
country. Petitions to Congress must
be prepared, and information must be
everywhere circulated, SO that before
next winters snow flies Congress shall
learn that some millions of the work
ingmen of America are in earnest, and
that their arms will never he laid down
until this great and peaceful revolution
be carried through to victory tor 1t Is
oar life.
A second strong point is that there Is
nothing new in the idea of convertible
bonds and currency. We have tried it
before. When our civil war broke out,
and vast sums Of money had to be
raised to put the Old flag back where
misguided men had taken IT down,
there was not gold enough in the cOun-
try to carry the war on three months,
and in this tremendous exigency we had
to give up all nonsense and go to work
like men. The old heather idea Of specie,
to which statesmen had chung with the
tenacity Of the old Jews in their wOr
ship of the golden cali, had to be given
up on the spot; and, leaving useless
metal, come to men, to manhood, to the
plighted faith of the nation. As soon as
Mr.. Chase, the Secre tary Of the Treas
ury, discovered this great fact, that
there was not gold enough 10 carry on
the business Of the country with, he laid
the case before Congress, aud in Feb
ruary, 1852, law was passed authorizing
the issue of legal tender paper money as
fast as the government needed it.
Everybody knew that il was money !;
they fell that II was money; and it was
accepted as money II aOas money, for
it bore on its tAee t5e pledge of the
public faith, just - thr gold com OF the
country did, and / -gould buy just as
much. And this STATE Of things con-
tinued until the banks and capitalists
and spectators combined against the
government "a profit out Of its trouble.
But the next great feature in that act
Of February, 1862, Was the very con
dition of eonvcr6bility, for which we
are pleading. and which is, we hope, to
become the corner stone of our future
financial system, through Gen. Butler
bill. The February act Of 1862 pro
vided that the legal tender money might
at any time, At the will Of the holder
be converted into six per cent. SEQ
bonds. The act authorized five hun.
dred millions, which was taken up by
such conversion. The bonds were
bought, and paid for in legal tenders
and although (most foollshly) the con
yertible provision was. subsequently,
repealed, yet during the time the
Secretary continued to treat legal ten
ders in the same way.
/ While this policy lasted there was
prosperity throughout the country in
every department Of business. The
nation never had seen such univer-
sal prosperity a. in 1854, 1865 and 500.
Every laborer, mechanic, farmer, mer.
chant and manufacturer agreed on this
'Epomt Tire secret If all this was plain
enough-just as plain as that good
crops come from well MANFRED, wei
watered and well tended farms. The
muscles of labor were not paralyZed by
hunger or idleness; machinery did not
rnst by standing still enterprise was
ever fresh for new exertiOn capital
ready for new adventure. The means
to carry on business were sufficient
! There was no famine Of money There
was no lack of food for society to grow
strong on. Everybody who was willing
to work found employment; and a.
those who begged got little charity, the
drones Of society ceased TO be idle
Labor was well paid and in universal
demand. The farmer got high price.
for bis products, and could pay high
prices foT labor. TIE workshops were
humming with the beehive music OF
happy toll. The people were growing
rich; there were no gangs of hungry
men unemployed there were nc
strikes; and when the voice of the
watchman was heard from the rampant.
of enterprise and labor, the whole ma.
ton listened to the glad answer-"AT.
weH"
! Oh! would to God this fair Landscape
could have renamed to bless the glad.
dened eye But the lessons of wisdom
Which Ouf SVatoeiheh idu Uetn tauSn'
by the hard master Of experience were
forgotten when our national troubles
had passed, and, once more, Congress
returned to the old heather road, rails
ing the mad cry, con TO SPECIE PAY
MENT" The people had too much
money: take part Of it away, 10 NJ after
if You burn it up. And SO the Secretary
of the Treasury did get authority to
burn, and he did burn, million of dol
lars every week. But this was a triflt
compared with Other modes OF ex
) tingulshing money, as by Withdrawing
i