The Van Buren press., 1875-07-27
.ue cas- active,

practicable interchange of commodities,
and as fixed and stable q. the nature of
the case will allow, and so long as we
must have government paper currency
VIC prefer greenbacks, which are sound
and cheap and good, to national bank
notes, which, at the outset, cost the peo
pie six per cent and are at last only re
deemable in grcenbao He confessed
that there were defects and dangers in
this coin basis system; that the super,
structure Of paper was larger than the
foundation Of coin. and that as the super
structure grows higher it crows wider
and larger, but he would not discuss u
day the merits of the various kinds of
currency. The present necessities de
mand relief that should be furnished. He
repeated he was hard money man that
return to specie payment should be
kept steadily in view in legislation and
action, and wise craftsmanship will seek
means of reconciling such return with
the true interests of labor and business,
and justice to the debtor. Resumption
can: be forced it must be the proper
outgrOwth of surrounding healthy condi-
tions or it will be neither beneficial nor
permanent When in congress he voted
against the legal tender act, believing the
law unconstitutional and the policy un-
wise AS the policy had become inter
woven with our system Of finance and
trade he would seek all The good he
could find in it He would not abandon
specie payment, but he would not rush
ruthlessly back to specie payment over
the prostration Of all business and the
ruin of the debtor. The Democrats cs
tablished the sub. treasury system, and
the government in 1861 paid nothing but
gold and silver A Republican congress
passed the bond act the legal tender act
and the national bank act. Gold and
silver ceased to circulate, and in 1865 the
various issues OF paper money had
reached an enormous sum Then com
menccd the Republican system of finance.
Contract the currency, and il necessary
to this end increase the intercst-payinp
debt, and contraction has been steadily
going ON. With the decrease in currcu-
cy has been a decline in the prosperity
and happiness of the country, until now
we are confronted with condition Of af
fairs which all feel too kecnly to make a
description necessary To-day there is
more property for sale on execution by
sheritfs of Ohio than ever before Gold
and paper stand to-day at a difference of
fourteen per cent. a year ago the differ
encc was ten per cent. The Republicans
claim contraction as remedy for these
things. Congress has passed law de-
claring that resumption shall take place
in January, 1870, and the treasury is pre-.
pairing for this by buying gold and'silver
Every dollar of gold purchased with
bonds for the redemption OF greenhaclls
draw annual interest 1t is the old story
Of funding 8 debt which pays no interest
with bonds which pay large interest. He
showed, by comparison, that the exports
of tlour, wheat, cotton, petroleum, meats.
turpentine, tallow, tobacco and timber
had fallen off eighty seven million dol
lars last year, and claimed that we had
been burning the candle at both ends
The Democratic patty points to the mid
die path as the way to safety. Abandon
this policy of contraction; stop tinker
ing with currency stop this effort at
forcing resumption; give stability for a
time, give business moment to revive :;
promote industry and production stimu-
late enterprise by the prospect of gain