Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-10-08

preserve and strengthen the credit of the Gov
ernment Congress came forward and on the
Soth of June, 1854, they passed bill which
is to-day the law Of the land, pledging
the Government Of the United States that
the whole volume Of the greenb2cks issued
and to be issued should never exceed the
amount OF four hundred millions of dollars.
That was solemn pledge given to our cIeuit- LIc
ors, and solemn pledge given TO tne " WIS Snt'
world, and is as sacred and ss oinGlng to-uSy
as at the hour It received the signature OF Ine
President of the United States"
Senator Morton spoke briefly in relation 10
the Orsenback reserve made by the Mccullough
retirement of forty-four millions, which he
held in common with Secretaries Boutwell,, :,
Richardson. President Grant and others, were
part of the four hundred millions to which the
legal tender circulation was limited. The sew
eraI issues, amounting to thirty-six millions,
were then referred to. Mr.. Pendleton's suhse-
quent conversion to
UnIImIted Paper Currency
was thus described:
In 1867, after the war was over, after the
emergency passed by, after the bonds had
been sold, Mr.. Pendleton, OF Ohio, the same
gentleman referred to before, came forward
with the proposition that the Government
should, in violation of the pledge given in
1864, in the absence of the military emergency
that had given the first justification, that the
Government should make q new and fresh
issue of greenbacks over and beyond the four
hundred millions, sufficient to pay the go
bonds, and that the bondholders be compelled
to receive these new greenbacks in payment
for them. Mr.. PendletoR did not then pre-
tend that Congress had the power to do this.
He did not intimate that he had changed his
views; on the contrary, he denied that he had,
and the excuse he gave was that this thing
having been dsne once might be done again,
although all the circumstances justifying and
demanding the first exercise of this power had
entirely passed by. The proposition was very
generally regarded as a reputation. 1t is
true a great many people thought, and per-
haps some think now, that the bondholders
were fair game, although their confidence and
faith in the Government in the time of war
their faith in its preservation-causedt them to
come forward with their money in aid of the
Government. This was st time when there
were many throughout the nation thought
they might as well throw their money into the
Ohio river as to lend it to the Government,
and that the Government could never put
down the rebellion and that the Confederacy
was fixed fact. Yet many thousands of men
all over the United States were found who
had faith to give their money to the Govern
ment then in the throes of rebellion, and the
Republican party has been wicked enough to
hold by the good faith of the Government and
require those men to be paid according to the
letter and form of the obligation"
The opinion of Chief Justice Chase in 1893,
as to the want of power to issue the green
back, or make anything but gold and silver
legal tender, Mr.. Morton continued, describ-
ing
Tho Democratic Ground and Lofty Tum.
bling on this Question.
"And you will remember, my friends, that
the Democratic party all over the United
States hailed that decision as the greatest dec
larstion of constitutional principles that had
ever taken place in the history of this Govern
ment. The next year General Grant was Pres
ident. Two vacancies were filed on the Su-
preme bench, and again the question came
before it; and then the Supreme bench, by a
majority of eleven, reversed the decision that
had been given the year before, and decided
that CongressIhad, during the war, the right
under the pressure of a military necessity to
save the lie of the nation, to issue the green.
back at that time and under those circum-
stances. Now, you will remember, that when
| that decision was made General Grant was
charged with having packed the Supreme
Court for the purpose of obtaining a reversal
of the decision in violation ofthe Constitution,
and saving and preserving the greenback. In
1872, only three years ago, during the last
Presidential campaign, you,win remember,
that the most persistent and clamoroUs charge
against the Republican party and against Gen
eral Grant was that he had packed the Su-
preme Court to obtain fraudulent and cor
rupt decision to sustain the greenback. And,
my friends, the Democratic party has never
changed its views upon that question. ven
ture to say the leaders who have framed this
platform, and who now demand further and
unlimited issue of greenbacks, that when per-
sonally questioned, they viii deny the power
of Congress to create the greenback. On the
floor of the Senate of the United States have
heard leading Democratic Senators, both before
and since the election of 1872, repeatedly
deny the power of Congress to create the
greenback; and l have heard such distin-
guished Senators as Thurman, of Ohio; Bayard
and Salisbury, of Delaware; Hamilton, of
MARYLAND, and others that I might name,
bring the solemn charge against General
Grant that he had packed the Supreme Court
to obtain a fraudulent decision on this ques-
tion. The Democraticsparty is not friend to
the greenback. It never was friend to the
greenback. 1t is solemnly committed by its
members in Congress, by its conventions, BY
its resolutions, to the unconstitutionality Of
the greenback. 1t has not obtained anv new
constitutional law. There may be new dis
coVeries of coal-beds, and of beds of iron. ore,
| but so far as constitutional law is concerned
there are no new discoveries. And if there
were no reasons for its creation in 1862, wher
greenbacks were necessary to preserve the life
of the nation, how can they now admit its con
stitutionality when the emergency has entirely
passed? If they now believe that Congress
has the power to make greenbacks when thu
| emergency is passed, what excuse have they
fer their course when they denied that poWel
in the time of war? If they do not believe thai
| Congress has the power, what excuse is it nov
that Congress exercised it under the pressure
Of great necessity In every point of viev
the action of the convention is wholly indefen
sible and, may be allowed to add, is utterl,
| dishonest"
| The Public Faith Gives Value to tn
GFeenback.
Senator Morton then shows how this polio
would destroy the value of the 'Tegal tender
Asking what it is that gives to our promise
to pay its market rate of eighty-fve cents o
theresbouts, he replys to the belief of tn
people that their Government will be able t.
redeem the amount now outstanding. II
adds:
"Whenever that conviction is past, wher
ever the volume of greenbacks becomes 6
much as to be beyond the power of the Coz
ernmeRt of the United States to get Ii
necessary gold to redeem them, or wheneVt
the conviction has been made on the minds
the people that the Government is not hone!
and will never take steps to pay this deb
then these greenbacks will perish like leave
in autumn. The wealth of the maker of
promissory note, whether it be by govern
ment or by a private individual, will neVe
gain that note value, unless there is willing
ness and ability on his part to pay the mott
or unless you could compel him to pay it b
process of law.
"If an individual who has issued his prom
issory note has property and you compel hiI
to pay his debt, his note may have value
the market, although he is personally dis
honest man and unwillingto pay, but you car
not sue government; therefore, the worth {
the obligation of government, whether bond
or greenbacks, depends entirely upon th
capacity of the government and upon its IL
tegrity. Therefore, it is that the faith an
credit Of a government is even higher tina
that of an individual, because the law ca
reach the individual but it cannot the govern
ment, and the credit of government depend
entirely upon its own voluntary actor
Now, whenever there is man in a commur
ity who is in debt, and is able to pay his debt
and will not do it, you pronounce him di
, honest. You would cast him out If yo
could. But if he. is honest and unable to pa
his debts, you will say he is unfortunate an
Will pity him. So with a government
When governments is able and willing to Day
like most OF the governments of Europe, the
| are considered honorable in the coumupity :