The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-08-18
kelley's Speech at Indiana polls on
the Currency Question.

The Hon. W. ID. Kelley of Pennsvlva-
MIA had large audience at Indianapolis,
and began by referring to the prevailing
distress and commercial arrangement in
England, for which the rabid little fellow,
Bonsmy Price, could give no satisfactory
reason. When Intercepted, therefore,
by an indianapolis editor, he charged Mr..
Price with lodging the question by assert.
ing in vague terms that it was produced
by reckless trading, extravagant and un.
productive investments, and charged the
whole responsibility on the inflated bank
credit of hard-money England, where the
people were compelled to use credits
based on bank discounts.in lieu Of a suffi.
cient volume of their currency of the
realm. He analysed the English system
of currency, showing that its primary
basis was upon practically irredecmable
government obligations to the amount of
seventy million dollars, and only the
amount of notes in excess of the sum
were required to be redeemed in COIN
Judge Kelley charged that even With
such specie basis, England was COM
PEELED to periodically suspend payment.
suffered continual perturbation from
varying rates of discount, when not in
actual suspension, which produces ever
occurring crises and commercial ruin.
Our government, in denying the people a
sufficient volume Of legal tender money,
was forcing this nation into the practice
Of still more abominable system, where
by all industrious enterprise was laid un-
der tribute to issues of inferior bank
credits, and subjecting them to the con.
tinual drain Of usurious interest, with in
evitable bankruptcy in the end. he then
reviewed at great length tn" experience
of this country with specie banks, exhib-
iting ten-pound volume Of Thompson s
Bank Note Reporter, from which he
quoted copiously, to exhibit the beauties
Of the system. He passed in review the
financial history of the country from,
1888 to 1873, to prove the inter made
quateness of specie basis system. He
depicted in glowing terms the suffer-
ings of the English people under an
insane policy Of specie resumption in
1922, as a warning to the people of this
country of what might be expected if the
act of last January was carried out. He
demanded the repeal Of that act, which
AN
more absolute cruelty than the English
measure of history infamy. This, he
stated, was in clear antagonism to the
views of Indiana's distinguished gentle
man. He extolled the greenback as the
best form Of credit-as good as any hui
man government had ever devised and
made possible, and such credit was the
proper foundation Of currency. Refer
ring to the tramps SO vicious)y denounced
by the public press, lie pronounced them
to he largely composedo of Industrious and
well.meaning mechanics, robbed of their
employment by vicious legislation, forced
in shame to beg from strangers. He
closed with an eloquent eulogy of the
greenback and interconvertible bond sys-
tenn of currency.
Judge Kelley was loudly applauded in
many parts of his speech, and made a
profound impression. He goes from In
dianapolis to Chicago to ele;trify the in.
fationists OF the Northwest.