Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-09-01
TIE CONTEST IN OHIO.
speeoh or senator sherman.

II
publicans, with large and enthusiastic
meeting at Whites Hall tonight, which
was addressed by Hon. John Sherman.
Senator Sherman's speech was an able
review of the political issues of the day,
and, throughout, was listened to with
demonstrations Of approval by the large
audience.
THE EWING FINANCIAL DEPARTURE.
Referring TO that portion of General
| Ewing's Columbus speech which treats on
| the national finances, Senator Sherman said
He General Ewing) proposes to issue
S1,O00,OOO,O0O of paper money, make it
legal tender, destroy the national banks,
| pay OFF the 8 20s, and thus make money
easy and interest light
Before we examine this New Departure.
1t Is we'll to inquire whether It is a Demo.
cratic departure. If 1t is merely an Ewing
departure, we can properly leave 1t to con.
sole its author. II this is but new edi-
ton of the paper money schemes which
inspired John Law and the South Sea bub.
BILE, those fictions of fiimsy romance, those
tissues of folly which fancy has woven,
we can leave 1t to the brief life and ruin
| Gus decay of the thousand such schemes
that have risen and fallen within two CEN
| turtles.
Is this the financial plan of the Demo.
cratic party9 If we look to the South.
they want no paper money, but open re-
pudiation and specie payments. five look
to New York, California, Connecticut, and
New Jersey, the Northern States where
the Democratic party has power, we find
they utterly r. ject this scheme, and all
schemes OF paper money, and demand
return to the hard money Of the constitu-
ton. The voice of the party in other
States Is ominous
If we look TO General McCook, the
nominee for Governor, we find no counte.
nance for such scheme. If we look to
the Democratic Judges Of the Supreme
Court, we find that they held all legal
tenders to be unconstitutional and void.
If we look to Vallandigham, whom Cen
eral Ewing eulogizes, we find he demand
ed prompt specie payments in his Dayton
resolutions. But General Ewing says
this is the New Departure Of the Ohio
Democracy. The only resolution of the
Ohio Democracy that bears on the subject
is the twelfth. That squints vaguely at
the payment of the bonds in greenbacka
and three per cent loan, and, perhaps 1t
may uphold General Ewing's magnificent
scheme.
am sorry he assumes the bsntling As
we had Pendleton departure that was
snmmarily throttled in the house of its
friends, General Ewing should have taken
warning from this example. But let me
state the fatal objections to this scheme:
/. The four Democratic Judges of the
| Supreme Court pronounce any scheme of
legal-tenders unconstitutional and void,
while the five Judges who sustained our
present Legal Tender act rested it upon
the war powers of the government, and
not one OF them would uphold as consti-
tuLional new legal-tenders in time of
peace, in viol alton of our loan laws,
| Na1 ke oh h.
creditors. This scheme would then meet,
at the outset, the unanimous judgment of
the Supreme Court, as unconstitutional,
null and void.
2. This scheme is an express violation
of our contract with the public creditors.
These laws provide that the custom duties
should be paid in gold, and that in no
event shall the amount of United States
legal tenders ever exceed $450,000,000. 1t
is, therefore, an act of open, palpable re-
pudiation, and crime against civilization.
The only doubt that ever existed as
to the payment Of the debt in legal-ten-
ders, was whether the notes already issued
under the acts creating the public debt
could be rendered in payment of the prin-
cipal of the debt. They are now so near par
in gold that it would be idle to raise
the question, even if it was an open one !;
but it has been settled, by the "act to
strengthen the public credit" that no
such credit shall be made until paper
money shall be on a par with gold. This
settlement OF dangerous question has
been approved and acquiesced In by nine
tenths of the American people.
4 Aside from all question of public
debt the further issue of deprecated pa
per money, irredeemable in gold, would be
bad policy. No proposition on political
economy is clearer, or has been established
with more eXamp les, than that irT edeemable
paper money is the most fruitful cause of
misery and misfortune, especially to the
laboring man; the most ingenious way to
ferti.ize the rich mans field with the
sweat of the poor mans brow. The most
important and difficult problem on hand
now is, to bring our present paper money,
the necessity of the war, up to the stand
ard of gold without distress or contrac.
ton. This done, with a proper provision
against panics, we have the best system Of
currency in the world.
5. The allegation that this scheme will
lower the rate of interest is without the
! slightest foundation. All experience
! proves that paper money increases the
rate of interest, and a sudden imitation
would derange all values, diminish the
purchasing power of labor, and drive
capital into fixed Investments, Like real
| estate, Capital would fee from such a
,, scheme as from war or pestilence.
, : 6. The idea of maintaining per cent.
', currency bond at anything like par is ab-
: surd. The market va ue would at once be
, fixed at gold prices by such Dem Gratis as
= Belmont and Tweed, and the only effect
of the scheme would be TO cheat the public
7 creditor out of the discount or difference,
! and the laborer would be cheated by re-
ceiving nominally more wages, but less
y food ord olOthipn Tho of Enr
: land is directly the opposite of what Is
: stated by General Ewing. She never re.
= duces the interest On her debt, except by
/, offering par in gold, and pursued the
J very policy the Republican party is now
5 pursuing to reduce her rate of interest.
!. Z. After the United States shall have
J. suffered all the evils Of this wild scheme,
at the end of the whole stands the notes
g unpaid and the debt undiminished. We
= would have the alternative TO pay the
) notes in gold or TO repudiate this paper
money, thus completing tue triumvirate
: of financial blots in modern times-Con.
l tinential money, French GssfgndtS, and
e this nameless issue now proposed The
D worst is, that while our toreiathers and
the French were driven by dire necessity
e to this form of reputation, we would now
Q enter upon 1t with the wealth and com
u merce of a continent in our keeping
General Ewing glides over this by saying
q that, after all, this paper money is not
y debt 1t is promise to pay money. Il
s that is not debt, what is itS
might pursue this wild and visionary
} scheme further, by citing historical ex'
n amples of their fatal effects. They are all
, grouped by one writer under the name OF
5, popular delusions, and have their proper
!; place with witchcraft, sorcery, second
q sight, and such hallucinations.
n Before leaving General Ewing, mus
Is answer one question he puts to me, anC
p asks the answer here. said that one o.
y the benefits we derived from the nationa
"a banking system was that they paid 80,