The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1874-02-14
A POSER.


d Some 30 years ago, shortly after Joe Rimcl
$ became nominally and Thaddcus Stevens
d actually governor of Pennsylvania, there was
t held at Harrisburg the first state convention
C of the aboitOnists of that state. The move
D ment grew out of the encouraging fact that
| both Riner and Stevens were understood to
t favor if they were not themselves strongly in
fected with, the at that time somewhat obi
} Gus ism The convention was attended and al
dressed by such notabilites as Jas. G. Birney,
{ Arthur and Lewis Happen, Lloyd Garrison
VIM. II. Burleigh, President Blanchard, and
last but not least by lank, spare light faced
haXen haired, cravatless young man from
Massachusetts, named Charles G. Burlcigh.
! He welded about the sharpest tongue of them
all, and when some bold democrat in the
audience yentured to poke question at him,
the answer was usually such settler that the
| experiment was not repeated. Quick and
ready wittcd to remarkable degree, grace
full and polished IN his language, and perfect
in gesture and delivery our boyish recollection
OF g. G. Burlcigh is that he was the finest or.
ator we ever heard, and the marvel with us
for several years has been, that a man who
cut such prominent figure in the early days
of the great emancipation movement, ard adj
hered to the cause unflinchlnsly to the close,
should in this day of its triumph when he
must be in the prime Of his manhood, occupy
less conspicuous place than at least that OF
u. s. Senator. Apparently, however, he is
but an humble resident of Normal, in this
state, possibly occupying teachers chair or
a pulpit, or both alternately.
But our purpose is not to write biography
of or grow sentimental over G. c. Burleigh
His name is brought to us by Il note he adj |
dresses, through the Earlvillc 7lunscyiR, to |
one L. NJ. Davis, who has been intlicting some
financial crudities on the public through that
paper, advocating apparently the bottomless
rag money system of A. Campbell and that
class of wild theorists. Mr. Burlelgh in
dulges in a very mild exhibition Of his old
tactics of utterly dsconcerting his oppon.
cnt in argument by crucial question. The
poser he propounds to Mr. Davis is this;
In my pocket at this moment, is piece of
paper popularity called a greenback on which
is printed "The United States promise to pay
to the bearer five dollars" Now what do the
United States promise to pay to me, the
bearer of this piece of paper? Is 1t another
piece of paper promising to pay, or what?
We have seen no attempt on the part of Mr..
Davis to answer the question, but Mr. Grover,
of tho TRANSCRIPT, who is u firm believer
in the Davis philosophy, whether It be I. NJ.
Davis or Andrew Jackson Davis, founders
through half column and then answers
n about this way: Il
Under the constitution The government has
right to coin money and regulate the value Ii
hereof, anu has hitherto exercised that right ,
It is the government stamp put on to legal
cnder currency, in pursuance Of tins con- /
'titutional right which makes anything q
money. 1t seems TO rs on the spur of the !
moment that this is a good answer to Mr..
Burleigh's inquiry, |,
According 10 this ito coin money means t
o put the government stamp on piece of
paper Why not as well upon piece of |
Gather, tin or iron? And by doing so the !
government would be redeeming its promise i
o pay dollars! The man who pretends that v
when the government printed on the face of the l
,reenback its promise to redeem in dollars it .,
meant anything but gold or silver is either an /
gnoramus or is knowingly dishonest