The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-02-17
For the Telegraph .


[For the Telegraph
THE BRISTOL GREENBACK CLUB.
A meeting of this club was held in the
.own hall of Bristol last Thursday eve
ming. The President, JIM. Kellogg, Esq,
called the meeting to order and made a
brief statement of the objects of the club,
declared himself to be in favor ola purely
greenback legal tender currency, receiva-.
BILE for all government dues,and spoke of
the lamentable deficiency of knowledge
of our finapces ana currency system found
even among business men.
Ar invitation 10 present their views
was extended to all present.
The Secretary, @. l. Shumway, Their
read the constitution of the club. Briefly,
its object Is the repeal of the specie re-
sumption act Of Congress, and of the act
national banks; and the re-
placing of the bills of the ma tional tanKs
by greenbacks. The Secretary, after
eulogizing greenbacks, and showing to
bis own satisfaction the folly of allowing
the national banks to issue bills on which
the people paid annually enormous sums
of interest, presented an imposing array
of figures showing the national, corpora
ton, company, and individual indebted
ness of the people of the United States
to be hundreds Of billions and seventeen
dollars. After writing for information
to a number of his financial acquaintan-
ces and consulting all the books and sta
tistics in his own library, and making a
search in every nook and
Granny, he found there were but seventy
two millions in gold in the whole United
States. I cannot with my pen portray to
your readers the look of serenely pro
fround wisdom with which he asked the
the question, how with so small sum in
gold we could pay so great an indebted
ness.
The President then invited Col. Thorp
TO present his views. In response, the
Col. said he could talk better if there
were some opposition; but he was happy
20 place himself on the record as q green
back man. It seemed to him TO be a very
simple thing. The greenbacks were the
,nly debt on which we were paying no
interest. The national bank currency
vas taking eighteen millions OF dollars
q interest annually out of the earnings
# the people. Very simple supply
heir places with greenbacks, and issue
more if needed. We cannot have too
many greenbacks, if you make them in
erconvertible with bonds paying low
ate of interest. The French greenbacks
re at Ear with gold, and the French
government has an immensely greater
,olume Of them than we have. He want
ID TO see our greenbacks at per with gold,
nd one step in that direction would bel
o issue more greenbacks and wipe out
he national banks.
Mr.. Samuel Leonard received an invi-
alton to speak from the President, and
esronded briefly in opposition. He de- |
lored, with the gentleman to whose re-
marks he had just listened, the financial
istress, the stagnation CT trade, the
rostration of industry, in word, the
ard times which ha6 come upon us.
[e did not, however, refer these troub-
8 to the same cause ascribed by some of
le otLer gentlemen. They were deVel
ped before the specie resumption bill
as enacted. He thought they resulted
.ther from the reaction OF feverish ex-
tement, over-trading, over-producjng,
nprudently extended credits, etc. The
orking of the national banks, as ex-
Iained by his friend, Col. Thorp, was
erv clear to his mind, but he believed