Daily Kennebec journal., 1875-08-05
-.sFN4ToR 5sTErKfN SPEAKS.

/
stand as a unit and strike heavy blows
The democratic papers in New England
have boasted that the democracy are the
real hard money party of the nation, but
| in Ohio. the only State in which the cur
rency issue has been raised this year, the
republicans stand up squarely for sound
currency-specie, or paper convertible in
to specie-while the democrats clamor for
more greenbacks and indefinite postpone
ment of specie payments. Gov. Allen.
Cary and Thurman have all spoken, the
two first in rabid initiation speeches. the
latter in weak and twaddling speech, in
which he abandoned the ground he for
mcrly maintained in Congress and gave
in his adhesion to the rag money platform
of his party in Ohio
On the republican side Gov. Hayes
spoke boldly on Saturday for sound
money, and was followed on the same day
by Senator Sherman in the ablest finan-
cial, sound currency speech yet delivered.
The speech is long and entirely devoted to
the currency question. 1t is based on the
fundamental idea that gold is the standard
of value, and that paper money is worth
only what gold 1t can be exchanged for !;
thus disagreeing radically with the idea
advanced by Gov. Allen in his speech,
that the government stamp is what gives
its value to paper money.
The arguments of Mr.. Sherman are
those advanced by all who advocate specie
| payments, and are generally understood
| in this section of the country. We have
not space to publish his speech entire, nor
| is it necessary for the enlightenment OF
| our readers. But a portion of his speech
is taken up with answering the question
why there is an excess of paper money,
and as the republicans are charged with
being responsible for this excess the re-
marks of Mr.. Sherman upon that point
will be found interesting and impor-
| tant:
But we republicans are often told that if gold is
| the standard of value, why was paper money is
| SueQ al all IN excess OF tnc amount De
kept at par in gold. The answer IS that 1t was Is
| sued under the overwhelming necessities of a
great civil war. / remember well all the circum-
| stances connected with the first and all the sue
ceeding issues of United States notes. and took as
| effective part any one else in providing for
their issue. 1t was in February, 1862, after all
| the banks had suspended specie payments, when
our armies had made no progress, our revenues
| were cut off by the war and our expenditures
| were more than 100000 day There was
L., 10 af
the Treasury, acquisitions for over $4,000 900 to
| pay our soldiers and to supply them with food,
| ammunition and transportation. Our bonds could
not be sold, for there was no currency to pay for
| them. We had to issue the notes Of the United
States in the form OF currency, and yet as part
| of the public debt. The only question whether
| they should be legal tender between individuals
| in the payment of debts. Upon this point | had
clear convictions. felt that if our soldiers were
to be compelled to take these notes as money that
we were bound, if we could, TO require everybody
else to take them as money. We could not leave
them to the tender mercies of creditors, shavers
and unpatrotc men, who would gladly decry
and repudiate these notes. We therefore made
them a legal tender, and the Supreme Court has
| upheld our power to do so. But we took every
| precaution to prevent their depreciation. We
| carefully limited the amount; we made them re-
| ceivable for all internal taxes we made them a
legal tender in payment of all debts, and we made
them convertible into bonds, the interest of which
| was payable in gold and the duties or taxes on
| imported goods were made payable in gold, so
| that we would have an ample fund in gold to pay
the interest After all this we limited the amount
beyond which we would never 90 at S400, 900, 900.
| Such was the and solictude with which we
| hedged in the greenbacks, and every dollar of
| them was issued with the understanding and de-
| clared public policy that after the was over
| they would be redeemed in gold The great er-
| ror of our financial policy was in repeang in
stead OF suspending, during the war; the right of
each holder at his will to convert his greenbacks
into bonds. This would have restored them, soon
after the war, to par in gold. The consequences
Of this error is to involve US in the discrcdt, now
ten years after the is over, of forcing every
body to take our notes at a depreciation of four
teen per cent. while the United States, with am
pie means, refuse to redeem them, according to
| the promise printed on their face; and this in
wolves us now in struggle with the democratic
party, which you are this fall called upon to de-
| eide. The republican party issued these United
| States notes a means for the salvation OF our
| country from democratic rebellion. The demo-
cratic Representatives then in Congress declared
| that we had no power to Issue these notes. that
! we had no right to make them legal tender, and
that if Issued they would depreciate to be worth
| less that they would be bought by the cord and
now they are trying to make their prophesy good.
| We, as republicans, ere now trying, perhaps too
carefully and cautiously to make these promis es
good. We mean to do We will do not on
ly without sacrificing any business interests, but
so as to promote them; but the democratic party
of Ohio, with the insane folly that has marked
their course since the beginning OF the war, are
bent on reducing our currency to the standard of
| Continental money, of the French assignats, of
the wild cat money OF forty years ago, and of Con-
| iederate money ten years ago, when it could be
| bought by the cord
That is an answer in relation to the re-
sponsbility Of republicans for grecuback
currency that will be satisfactory to all
reasonable and candid people. Can the
democrats give any approach TO so fair a
reason for the efforts of their party In
Ohio, since the country is at peace, for
farther issues of the greenback currency.
which was only justified at its origin by
the exigency of the war? The republi-
cans are faithfully striving now that the
war is over to make these greenbacks as
good as gold, but the democracy of Ohio
and all who desire the election of William
Allen are excrting an influence TO reduce
them In value and lead the country into
financial ruin.