Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1874-08-11

truth some 2, 700, 0U0 men, without property,
did contribute a greater share toward support
of the war than would capital aud property
have done, had they furnished Government
with money to carry on the war, aud thus have
aVerted any occasion for the issue of either
bonds or legal tenders. These bonds and legal
tenders are properly the debt of capital aud
property men alone Who failed at the time 10
pay their Just dues, as did the :, 700, 600 men
who were the rank and Ele of the army
Not only have those interests never paid their
proportionate contribution to the expenses of
the war, but they have received, at par, bonds,
principal and interest in gold aud hsye trans>
ferred from their own shoulders to tho shoul.
ders of 2. TO0, 900 the burden Of paying these
deferred taxes of capital. Thus, these 9, ,700,-
600 who had contributed their personal serS
vices, subject to hardships, wounds, sickness
and death. as their full quota, now find
themselves bound to pay the taxes which cap
ital neglected to pay, one-fourth, at least,
of all their earnings and of the earnings of
their posterity for generations to come, are
mortgaged to pay the taxes due by property
and capital, thus being impoverished, while
capital is reaping, at their expense, princely
and usurious return for money loaned. These
men, who have to pay both bonds and legal
tenders, demand legal tender currency ex-
clusively; they demand legal tender cur
rency, for the all-suficient reason that every
living being (even though fool, bu: not
knave) knows perfectly we'll that with our
foreign debt we cannot possibly command
specie to an extent to give full efficiency to
our productive industry. If however, bond>
holders aud capitalists insist on redemption
OF greenbacks, let Government crafty them
in the only just and practicable mode !;
Iat faY ha at cd Cof 90
absorb legal tenders and bonds, then there
will be perfect redemption of legal tenders,
they will have their much coveted specie pay
ment, and the people and posterity be exempt
from the burden of the public debt this Is
the only legitimate mode of complying with
the demands for repeal of the legal tender law
and for redemption in specie of legal tenders.
The equity of this mode proposed must be
apparent to every just aud candid mind. The
result of such taxation as herein proposed
would be that every dollar of legal tender
would be perfectly redeemed by being paid
into the Treasury and there cancelled there
would be no need of coin to redeem the legal
teuder if these parties who did not contribute
their quota to the war, and for which reason
and for whose indulgence the legal tenders
were issued, would now submit to and pay
taxes to fulfill their quota of contribution !;
then there would be no occasion for their
raving about specie payment, about the dis
honor of non-redemption and all the other
evils which their failure to pay their contri>
button to the war has Occasioued had they
done their duty at the time there would have
been no bonds or legal tenders to burden and
to curse our productive industries.
If these gentlemen can stand that racket,
the people could do SO with comparative COM
U1o oh =. al L.
properly, Of the rich, who contributed not q
dollar to the war, and the legal tender is for
their especial benefit, to relieve them, and to
throw on the workingmsn and his posterity
the debt pre-eminently due by themselves
The right to emit bills of credit and to create
money is expressly surrendered by the State
to the Federal Government, in the positive
prohibition to the States OF the exercise of this
right OF sovereignty for to deny it also to the
Federal Government is to extiDgnish alto
geather an indispensable attribute Of self pre-
servatIon. Money we must have, as we need
breath and if it could be possible that the
Constitution excludes the right to create mo-
ney, then we should fiud ourselves remitted
to that authority greater than the Constitu-
tion-dire necessity-to secure the breath of
life. Suppose that, under decision of the
Supreme Court, or Ofa proclamation of specie
payment by repeal of the Legal Tender act,
the foreigner should demand specie for his.
debt. where should we get the money for the
currency ?-ths whole of which would then.
be payable in gold, and not to pay it ali.Wodld
leave just as great stain of dishonOr as 70 pay
none. 1t would be more-it would be adj
ding falsehood, by pretending to pay when
we know that is impossible. The fefeigner
ever since the issue of legal tendess,s has Re-
ceivedSn gold every do -
had just claim. Towal
have alwsys been specie