Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1875-08-03
GOV. ALLEN ON THE FINANCIAL
ISSUE.

cial question, at the democratic gathering IN
Gallipolis, Ohio, on the 21st ultimo:
The democratic party. he said, were here
in the very same condition they have been in
with regard to other laws. We had no power
to make more currency or less currency. The
other party could say this bill shall be, legal
tender and that bill shall not be. They put
up 1000 banks and entered into quasi con,
tract with those banks to take certain amount
of public stocks, and to issue a certain amount
of notes. They organized this great outside
power in The aid of the money poser,ofs tho
government. The democratic party could not
help it. They had no means of helping it
They were powerless, but now, 10 and behold!
these people, who have been ordered by
the will of the nation to vacate Congress and
come home and behave themselves and repent,
rise up and call this money they have circu-
lated 'trag money!" and they charge the dem>.
ocrats with wanting to ruin the county,
How? By letting this same rag money stand,
although the contraction of its general volume
by the public, which has curtailed the circu-
lating medium one half and has put all the
upon the verge of bankruptcy. They still
cry out more contraction. They still clamor
for specie payment Now this specie pays
In the first place, We want to know what
makes.a silver dollar worth hundred cents.
1t there be bar of lead, bar of iron and a
bar of gold lying hero, as long as they exist
in these bars they are not circulating medium.
a piece of pig-iron is Just as much money as
piece of gold until public authority has
stamped it and said it shall be taken for; SO
much. tits public authority, and that alone,
which gives piece of metal Its Characteristic
of money and makes it circulating medium
Now, you will observe that none but the goys
eminent of the United Strtes has this power.
The State can't do it; private man can't do
it. 1t has got to be done by aud with the au-
thority of the United States When silver
has passed through the mint of the governs
ment and comesiout quarters and half. dollars,
then it becomes money. Suppose, that in
stead of a bar of silver or gold the govern
ment of the United States takes piece Of
paper, called greenback, and says this shall
be Logan tender in receipt and. expenditures
ofalf government dues and in all transactions
of the people. Suppose the government TO
be in good standing aud sound credit, re,
sponsibe for its words aud for its paper, this
dollar, thus stamped Ikea piece Of metal, is
to all intents and purposes equivalent to
silver dollar. You want specie payment
44Oh bpecle WOulu De USED ii specie
payments were required to be made2 Per-
haps few ten>cent pieces or qurters to take
the place of shinplasters, which wear out SO
quickly and are very inconyenient. Upto that
poi5t specie would be used, and no further.
The party that is bowling all over the
country for specie payment passed currency
act in the last Congress, AID they could not
tell to save their own souls whether that act
was I'm act of initiation or contraction One
portion of the republican party swears it was
contraction; the other swears it was imitation;
but, whatever sort of act it was, they would
not debate or give any reasons for passing it.
They put of this day which was to carry de-
liverance to the nation for nearly four years.
Now, it specie payment was such good
thing, why didu't they put it into operation
right away? Because they knew the presi-
dental election would have to occur before
the expiration of four years, and they knew
if they undertook to enforce specie payments
before that election they would be utterly
ruined. They knew it would spread bank
ruptcy throughout the entire land, and that
no business man or laborer would escape
Tho panic drove money into the banks
Banks would not loan it to traders because
they distrusted their ability to pay in the fu>
ture. There are plenty Of men in the coun>
try who have money to loan, but it is not
borrowed, because tho great manufacturers
aud tradesmen who have need of it have the
threat of specie payment before them. They
will not borrow money worth eighty cents on
the dollar, and have to pay at the'rate of 100
cents, besides interest. Therefore the busi-
ness men let it stay where it is ".
That brings me to another proposition
When you do come to specie payments, what
RI WON k1yk n. IL
all-the existing debts of the country, thous-
auds of millions of them, all contracted upon
basis deprecated fifteen cents on the dollar
are to be paid on certain day by species
bearing standard? If you mean that you
simply mean an impossibility, come when
specie payments may. pronounce it an alb
solute, an utter impossibility for such an act
to have retrospective effect, and to act upon
contract previously made. That act must
have prospective effect, with the single ex-
ception ofsucb obligations as have been pre-.
viously understood to be payable in gold aud
silver, or its equivalent. All the pre>exist>
ing contracts must be paid in the currency in
which they were contracted. Then apply
the acts for specie payments to the debts aft
terward to be contracted, and then the PEG.
pie will know what they are about. IF the
people who have borrowed at the rate of IS
cents on the dollar are compelled to pay at
100 cents, it will break up every man in the
country. I say, therefore-I don't know how
many people may have said it before me, and
don't care for them-the truth comes fair
and spat into my brain. and 1 will utter it if
it bursts me, laughter say to you now,
whether l speak alone or not, the resumption
of specie payments by retrospective act that
embraces all existing contracts would be an
outrage, an iufamy and an absolute impossi-
bility short of revolution. [Cheers.
Tue THIEF who was arrested for robbing