National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-09-27

Prof. Sumner, in his 'History of American
Currency" page 1877, gives the origin of the
legal-tender act and the measures taken to
prevent depreciation. To show the impossible
itysof keeping up the value of paper money by
acts of compulsion, he quotes from Pelatiah
Webster, who wrote in 1871 of the Continental
currency. Professor Sumner says:
The embarrassments of the Government be-
coming greater and greater, the bill for an
issue of legal-tender notes was hastily pre-
pared and offered in the House. Mr.. E. G.
Spaulding, of Buffalo, claims to have been the
author of this act, and no counter-claimsnt has
ever arisen. The act was earnestly opposed
by some of the oldest and best members of
both houses, but it was pressed as necessary"
and forced through with the energy and de-
cision which, earlier in the session, so much
needed to be eXerted in another direction. So
far as 1 know, Mr.. Owen Lovejoy is the only
man who is on record as having put his finger
on the irredeemable bank notes as the greatest
evil in the situation. The bill was signed on
the 18th February, 1862.
This act was passed, as the debate shows, as
q temporary war measure. On the part of its
advocates, Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens at the head,
1t was urged, and probably believed, that the
legal-tender clause would prevent depreciation
and give credit to the notes.
Pelatiah Webster wrote in 1871: sThe fatal
error that the credit and currency of the CONT
mental money could be kept up and supported
by acts of compulsion, entered SO deep into
the minds of Congress, and of all depart
ments of administration through the
States, that no considerations of justice,
religion, or policy, or even experience
of its utter inefflcacy, could eradicate
it. 1t seemed to be a kind of obstinate
delirium, totally deafto every argument drawn
from justice and right, from its natural ten
dency and mischief, from commoR sense,
and even common safety. This ruinous prin-
ciple was continued in practice for five sue
cessive years and appeared in all shapes and
forms, g. e., in tender acts, in limitations of
prices, in awful and threatening declarations,
in penal laws with dreadful and ruinous pun
ishments, and in every other way that could
be devised, and all executed with a relentless
severity by the highest authorities then in
being-Viz, by Congress, by assemblies and
conventions of the States, by committees of in
spection (whose powers In those days were
nearly sovereignty, and even by military force;
and, though men of all descriptions stood
trembling before this monster of force without
daring to lif: hand against it during all this
period, yet its unrestrained energy proved ever
Intellectual to its purposes, but in every In
stance increased the evils it was designed to
remedy and destroyed the benefits it was in
tended 10 promote. At best its utmost effect
was like that of water sprinkled on black
sfnltn's Jorge, winch lndeed deauens the name
for q moment but never fails to increase the
heat and force of the internal fire. Many
thousand families of full and easy fortune
were ruined by these fatal measures, and lie in
| ruins to this day, without the least benefit to
| the country or to the great and noble cause in
| which We were then engaged.
81 do not mention these things from any
pleasure have in Opening the wounds of my
| country, or exposing It's errors, but with q
hope that our fatal mistakes NAV be a caution
and warning to future flnanciers, who may live
and act in any country which may happen to
be in circumstances similar to ours at that
| time"