The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-08-18

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ding to people of al colors and opin-
ions equal protection. Justice and the
full enjoyment of their rights under
ted States, and Of the States in which
they live. When that time comes the
great result for which / have been la
boring will be accomplished, and /
shall know that the war is over.
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL.
am not here to defend the admins
tration against the charge Of universal
corruption which. its enemies are hurl-
ing against it. These charges are
their old, well-worn, threadbare stock
in trade. They hope by continued
vociferstion to make the people be-
louder when they do not contain two
per cent. Of truth. Frauds, pecula-
tions. and malfeaeances there are un-
der all governments and administra-
tions. and will continue to be until
the millennium comes and regenera-
ted human nature makes all men hon.
est in public and private stations.
They have converted the political
arena into a school for scandal, and
by their monstrous calumnies upon
public men and the workings of our
institutions. have done our country
infinite harm abroad. But have no
hesitation in saying that, when we
consider the magnitude of the govern
ment, the number of officers, the ex-
tent of revenues to be collected, the
difficulties attending the collection up
on certain articles, there meyer has
been period in the history of the
government when there has been less
fraud or peculation, or perhaps as lit
tie as now. Certainly there never has
been an administration which has
shown more resolution, vigor, Impair
tialIfy, or success in the discovery,
prosecution and punishment of cor
cry effort is systematically made to
detect frauds and to bring the perpe-
traitors to justice, without respect to
persons, friendships. OF political asso-
Citations. And this is all that can be
asked Of any administration. In this
respect the administration of Grant
eclipses any and all Democratic ad
ministrations of which the country
has any knowledge, for they were
more distinguished for the conceal
ment than the punishment of their
criminals. General Grant has been
IA fouily eliminated as any President
in our history, uniess it was Washing
ton and Jackson and yet none have
come out of the great Office clearer
than he BY the past I predict the
future, and that he will leave the
Presidency with the love, confidence,
| and admiration of the American peo-
pie, and that his great services as the
leader Of our armies and as President
will be remembered with gratitude
when his assailants are utterly forgot
ten.
| When Democratic politicians howl
about universal corruption. and boast
be administered by them. it is not
own history in the past, to observe
that your acquaintance with them in
/ Ohio and elsewhere, in their different
| relations in life, does not justify them
| in putting on airs or assuming that
/ they would be more honest or capa-
BILE in Office than other people. and
that they ought to be quite satisfied
with the assumption that they are on
the average as good as other people.
/ The men who talk most about corrup-
tion are men who, having no faith in
| themselves, have no faith in anybody
else; who believe according to their
/ standard that everybody is a rascal,
and cannot see, in fact, how any man
can be honest where he has a chance
to steal.
/ THE FINANCIAL QUESTION.
| By the acts of Congress of 1862 and
! 1863 the government was authorized
to issue legal-tender notes, commonly
called greenbacks, to the amount Of
$40O, ,O00, 600, which were issued from
time to time and put into circulation.
BY an act passed In 1854, to encour-
age the sale of our securities, the gov
ernment gave a solemn pledge to its
creditors that the whole amount of
| greenbacks to be issued should never
sequent acts, passed in 1866, portion
of these notes we're retired, until the
| amount in circulation was reduced to
$3.50, 100000 But it was claimed by
the Secretary of the Treasury and his
/ SUCCESSORS, and subsequently declared
! by the votes of both houses of Con-
grese, that the $44, ,0a0, 600 thus retired
constituted reserve in the Treasury,
| and might be reissued whenever the
/ exigencies of the government made it
| necessary. And in pursuance of this
claim of authority the Secretary Of
the Treasury. in 1873, after the begin
ming of the panic, put into circulation
| $26. 600, 600 of additional ereenbacks.
| leaving unissued only $4,000. 600 out
of the 800, ,OOO.0O0 The most of the
greenbacks had been issued and all
| were authorized, when what are known
as the five twenty bonds we're first put
upon the market. and it was with
these notes that the bonds we're purs
chased from the government at par.
1t was the opinion Of many distin
guished lawyers in Congress and ou,
of it. that as these notes by the terms
| of the law were made q legal tender
in payment of all public debts. except
interest on bonds and duties on i'm
ports, the government had right to
use them in payment of principal o.
| the fye-twenty bonds. In favor o.
| this opinion, the finance committee o.
the Senate unanimously reported III
| 1S66-Senator Sherman being Chair
| man, high authority. he having par
| ticipated in making all the laws upon
the subject. To this conclusion
subscribed fully, as question of law.
but with the expressed opinion thai
| they should not be used for that pur-
pose until they had been brought to
| par.
THE POISONED INGREDIENT IN THE
CAULDRoN
In 1867 . new financial school
sprang into existence, of which Mr..
Pendleton. Of Ohio, was the distin-
| guished head, asserting the right and
the duty of the government-then
long after the five-twenty bonds had